Directus

Your database, with a CMS on top.

What is Directus?

Directus is a headless CMS and data platform that sits on top of any SQL database. It adds REST and GraphQL APIs and a no-code admin app, so editors, developers and AI agents work on the same data, with permissions you can set per field and per record. Your database schema is your content model: change a field and you change a database column. You can self-host Directus anywhere, including on European infrastructure, or run it on Directus Cloud. Two Point O implements Directus for projects where content and business data meet.

One source of truth for content and business data

Most headless CMSs store content in their own format, separate from the rest of your data. Directus does the opposite: it works directly on your SQL database. Your website, product catalogue, portal and internal tools can all read the same data.

Editors get a clean admin app with live preview, an asset manager and dashboards. Developers keep full control of the schema, with no abstraction layer in the way. And with a native MCP server, AI agents work on your live data under the same access rules as your team.

How Directus works

Where Directus fits best

• Product catalogues and master data: Manage products, specifications and reference data in one place, and feed them to your website, apps and reporting at the same time.

• Portals and internal tools: Give customers, partners or colleagues a secure way to work with your data, with permissions per field and per record, built in rather than bolted on.

• Websites and apps on existing data: Already have a database? Directus puts APIs and an admin app on top, so you can launch a website or app without rebuilding your data layer.

What your team gets out of the box

For editors, Directus comes with visual editing and live preview, so they see changes in your actual website or app as they type. The digital asset manager keeps images and files right next to your content, and transforms them on demand.

For control, granular permissions go beyond standard roles. You decide per field and per record who can see, edit or publish, and AI agents follow the same rules.

For everyday work, dashboards turn your live data into charts and reports without exporting it, and Flows automate tasks such as notifications, approvals and data updates. The built-in AI Assistant writes, translates and creates records. Prefer your own AI tools? Connect them through MCP.

Directus compared to a typical SaaS headless CMS

Neither model is better. They solve different problems.

With Directus, your SQL schema is the content model: change a field and you change a database column. Your data lives in your own database, self-hosted or on Directus Cloud, and content and business data sit in the same tables. Your team or partner runs the platform, unless you choose Directus Cloud. That makes it a strong fit for catalogues, portals, internal tools and data ownership.

With a typical SaaS headless CMS, the content model lives inside the vendor’s platform and your data in the vendor’s cloud, sometimes with a choice of region. The vendor handles hosting and upgrades, and business data stays separate, synced through integrations. That suits marketing content run by editorial teams.

Is this solution right for you?

1. 1

   You need access rules per field or per record, beyond standard role-based access

2. 2

   Your content and business data share the same tables, or they should

3. 3

   You want full ownership of your data and infrastructure, in the EU if needed