Directus MCP Server Extension

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 extension allows any MCP client to connect to your Directus instance. 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.

Note: This extension is derived from the official Directus MCP implementation and has been adapted to work as a Directus extension with HTTP streaming support, eliminating the need for separate server setup and environment variable configuration.

Installation

Prerequisites

• 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

Step 1. Get Directus Credentials

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!)

Step 2. Configure the MCP in your AI Tool

Claude Desktop (Remote Connection)

If your Claude Desktop supports remote MCP connections, you can connect directly:

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": {
   			"url": "https://YOUR_DIRECTUS_URL/directus-extension-mcp/mcp?access_token=YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
   		}
   	}
   }

   Make sure you replace YOUR_DIRECTUS_URL with your Directus instance URL and YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN with your access token.

4. Save the configuration file and restart Claude desktop.

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

Using mcp-remote for Clients Without Native Remote Support

If your MCP client doesn't support remote connections natively, you can use mcp-remote as a bridge:

1. Configure your MCP client to use mcp-remote:

   For Claude Desktop:

   {
   	"mcpServers": {
   		"directus": {
   			"command": "npx",
   			"args": [
   				"mcp-remote",
   				"https://YOUR_DIRECTUS_URL/directus-extension-mcp/mcp?access_token=YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
   			]
   		}
   	}
   }

   For Cursor:

   {
   	"mcpServers": {
   		"directus": {
   			"command": "npx",
   			"args": [
   				"mcp-remote",
   				"https://YOUR_DIRECTUS_URL/directus-extension-mcp/mcp?access_token=YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
   			]
   		}
   	}
   }

   Make sure you replace YOUR_DIRECTUS_URL with your Directus instance URL and YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN with your access token.

2. Save the configuration file and restart your MCP client.

3. The server should now be connected and available for use.

Tools

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

Tool	Description	Use Cases
system-prompt	Provides context to the LLM assistant about its role	Start of a session to understand the system context
users-me	Get current user information	Understanding permissions, personalizing responses
read-collections	Retrieve the schema of all collections	Exploring database structure, understanding relationships
read-items	Fetch items from any collection	Retrieving content, searching for data, displaying information
create-item	Create new items in collections	Adding new content, records, or entries
update-item	Modify existing items	Editing content, updating statuses, correcting information
delete-item	Remove items from collections	Cleaning up outdated content
read-files	Access file metadata or raw content	Finding images, documents, or media assets
import-file	Import files from URLs	Adding external media to your Directus instance
update-files	Update file metadata	Organizing media, adding descriptions, tagging
read-fields	Get field definitions for collections	Understanding data structure, field types and validation
read-field	Get specific field information	Detailed field configuration
create-field	Add new fields to collections	Extending data models
update-field	Modify existing fields	Changing field configuration, interface options
read-flows	List available automation flows	Finding automation opportunities
trigger-flow	Execute automation flows	Bulk operations, publishing, status changes
read-comments	View comments on items	Retrieving feedback, viewing discussion threads
upsert-comment	Add or update comments	Providing feedback, documenting decisions
markdown-tool	Convert between markdown and HTML	Content formatting for WYSIWYG fields
get-prompts	List available prompts	Discovering pre-configured prompt templates
get-prompt	Execute a stored prompt	Using prompt templates for consistent AI interactions

System Prompt

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 by setting the MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT environment variable in your Directus server configuration (.env file or similar).

You can also disable the system prompt entirely if desired.

Just set MCP_SYSTEM_PROMPT_ENABLED to false in your Directus server environment variables.

Prompt Configuration

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 environment variables in your Directus server configuration:

• 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")

Mustache Templating

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

🙏 Thanks To

• @rijkvanzanten for the initial experiment
• The Directus team for releasing an official open-source MCP integration
• Claude Sonnet 4 for helping me rework the extension and add HTTP support.

License

MIT