The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standard for helping AI tools and LLMs talk to applications and services like Directus.

The Directus Content MCP Server is an interface for Directus users to interact with their data in LLMs. Some good use cases are:

• Content Editors: build custom pages, write blog posts, update content, organize assets and more inside your Directus project.
• Data Analysts: query collections, generate reports, analyze trends, and extract insights from your Directus data using natural language.

It intentionally limits destructive actions that would result in really bad outcomes like data loss from deleting fields or deleting collections.

We plan to provide more tools for developers who are working with local / development Directus projects in future releases and potentially as a separate package to help further prevent data loss.

• An existing Directus project

If you don't have an existing Directus project, you can get started with a free trial on Directus Cloud at https://directus.cloud/register

OR

You can spin up a sample Directus instance locally with the following terminal command.

npx directus-template-cli@latest init

You can use email and password or generate a static token to connect the MCP to your Directus instance.

To get a static access token:

1. Login to your Directus instnace
2. Go to the User Directory and choose your own user profile
3. Scroll down to the Token field
4. Generate token and copy it
5. Save the user (do NOT forget to save because you’ll get an error that shows Invalid token!)

1. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Settings.

2. Under the Developer tab, click Edit Config to open the configuration file.

3. Add the following configuration:

   {
   	"mcpServers": {
   		"directus": {
   			"command": "npx",
   			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
   			"env": {
   				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
   				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token>"
   			}
   		}
   	}
   }

   or if you're using email and password

   {
   	"mcpServers": {
   		"directus": {
   			"command": "npx",
   			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
   			"env": {
   				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
   				"DIRECTUS_USER_EMAIL": "[email protected]",
   				"DIRECTUS_USER_PASSWORD": "your-password"
   			}
   		}
   	}
   }

   Make sure you replace the placeholder values with your URL and credentials.

4. Save the configuration file and restart Claude desktop.

5. From the new chat screen, you should see an icon appear with the Directus MCP server.

1. Open Cursor and create a .cursor directory in your project root if it doesn't exist.

2. Create a .cursor/mcp.json file if it doesn't exist and open it.

3. Add the following configuration:

   {
   	"mcpServers": {
   		"directus": {
   			"command": "npx",
   			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
   			"env": {
   				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
   				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token>"
   			}
   		}
   	}
   }

   or if you're using email and password

   {
   	"mcpServers": {
   		"directus": {
   			"command": "npx",
   			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
   			"env": {
   				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
   				"DIRECTUS_USER_EMAIL": "[email protected]",
   				"DIRECTUS_USER_PASSWORD": "your-password"
   			}
   		}
   	}
   }

   Make sure you replace the placeholder values with your URL and credentials.

4. Save the configuration file.

5. Open Cursor and navigate to Settings/MCP. You should see a green active status after the server is successfully connected.

The MCP Server provides the following tools to interact with your Directus instance:

The MCP server comes with a system prompt that helps encourage the right tool use and provides guiderails for the LLM. You can overwrite the default system prompt in your env configuration by setting the MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT variable.

You can also disable the system prompt entirely if desired.

Just set MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT_ENABLED to false

The MCP server supports dynamic prompts stored in a Directus collection. Prompts are not widely supported across MCP Clients, but Claude Desktop does have support for them.

You can configure the following:

• DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION_ENABLED: Set to "true" to enable prompt functionality
• DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION: The name of the collection containing prompts
• DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_NAME_FIELD: Field name for the prompt name (default: "name")
• DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_DESCRIPTION_FIELD: Field name for the prompt description (default: "description")
• DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_SYSTEM_PROMPT_FIELD: Field name for the system prompt text (default: "system_prompt")
• DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_MESSAGES_FIELD: Field name for the messages array (default: "messages")

Both system prompts and message content support mustache templating using the {{ variable_name }} syntax:

1. Define variables in your prompts using double curly braces: Hello, {{ name }}!
2. When calling a prompt, provide values for the variables in the arguments parameter
3. The MCP server will automatically replace all variables with their provided values

If you've forked or cloned this repository and made custom modifications (like the new permissions tools), follow these instructions to use your local version instead of the published NPM package.

1. Clone your forked repo: git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/directus-mcp.git
2. Navigate to the directory: cd directus-mcp
3. Install dependencies: pnpm install
4. Build the project: pnpm build
5. Note the full path to your built file: /path/to/your/directus-mcp/dist/index.js

1. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Settings
2. Under the Developer tab, click Edit Config
3. Add the following configuration (replace paths with your actual paths):

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "node",
			"args": ["/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/path/to/directus-mcp/dist/index.js"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token"
			}
		}
	}
}

4. Save and restart Claude Desktop

1. Create a .cursor directory in your project root if it doesn't exist
2. Create a .cursor/mcp.json file with:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "node",
			"args": ["/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/path/to/directus-mcp/dist/index.js"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token"
			}
		}
	}
}

3. Save the file and restart Cursor
4. Check Settings → MCP to verify the connection

1. Open Raycast and search for "MCP Servers"
2. Select "Install Server" from the MCP Servers menu
3. Use this configuration:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "node",
			"args": ["/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/path/to/directus-mcp/dist/index.js"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-url.com",
				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token"
			}
		}
	}
}

4. Press Command+Enter to install

For active development with auto-rebuild on file changes:

1. In your directus-mcp directory, run: pnpm dev
2. This will watch for changes and automatically rebuild
3. Your MCP clients will use the latest built version (you may need to restart them after changes)

Here's a complete example with all options for Claude Desktop using a local build:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "node",
			"args": ["/Users/cdslipp/Code/open source/directus/directus-mcp/dist/index.js"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-instance.com",
				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your_directus_token",
				"DISABLE_TOOLS": [],
				"MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT_ENABLED": "true",
				"MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT": "You're a content editor working at Directus.\nYou're a master at copywriting and creating messaging that resonates with technical audiences.",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION_ENABLED": "true",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION": "ai_prompts"
			}
		}
	}
}

• "Command not found" error: Make sure you're using the full absolute path to dist/index.js
• Changes not reflecting: After rebuilding (pnpm build), restart your MCP client
• Permission errors: Ensure the dist/index.js file has execute permissions: chmod +x dist/index.js
• Module not found errors: Make sure you've run pnpm install and pnpm build successfully

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-instance.com",
				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your_directus_token"
			}
		}
	}
}

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-instance.com",
				"DIRECTUS_USER_EMAIL": "[email protected]",
				"DIRECTUS_USER_PASSWORD": "your_password"
			}
		}
	}
}

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"directus": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["@directus/content-mcp@latest"],
			"env": {
				"DIRECTUS_URL": "https://your-directus-instance.com",
				"DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your_directus_token",
				"DISABLE_TOOLS": ["delete-item", "update-field"],
				"MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT_ENABLED": "true",
				"MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT": "You are an assistant specialized in managing content for our marketing website.",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION_ENABLED": "true",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION": "ai_prompts",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_NAME_FIELD": "name",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_DESCRIPTION_FIELD": "description",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_SYSTEM_PROMPT_FIELD": "system_prompt",
				"DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_MESSAGES_FIELD": "messages"
			}
		}
	}
}

We love to see community contributions, but please open an issue first to discuss proposed changes before submitting any PRs.

This started as an experiment by the dude, the legend, the @rijkvanzanten 🙌

MIT