Installing from CLI

1. Confirm Minimum Requirements

Directus requires two things to run: Node.js (opens new window) and a Database. For both these system requirements, we aim to support the current LTS release (and newer).

To run Directus, you currently need Node 12.20 or newer, and one of the following databases:

Database	Version
PostgreSQL	10+
MySQL [1]	5.7.8+ / 8+
SQLite	3+
MS SQL Server	13+
MariaDB [2]	10.2.7+
CockroachDB [2]	21.1.13+
OracleDB[2] [3]	19+

^[1] MySQL 8+ requires mysql_native_password (opens new window) to be enabled
^[2] Older versions may work, but aren't officially supported. Use at your own risk.
^[3] Make sure to install node-oracledb and it's system dependencies when using OracleDB

Variants

In addition to the databases above, other variants are also supported, including AWS Aurora (MySQL), AWS Redshift (PostgreSQL), Azure SQL (MS SQL).

Apple Silicon

When installing Directus on an Apple-made ARM CPU, make sure you have libvips installed. See Apple M1 (opens new window).

2. Create a Project

Navigate to the directory where you wish to create a new Directus project. The new project and directory will be created inside the current directory. Create a new Directus project by running the following npm command.

npm init directus-project my-project

WARNING

Except for SQLite, the database must already be running before creating your Directus project.

3. Start your Project

To start Directus, navigate to the project directory, my-project.

cd my-project

Run the following command in your project directory.

npx directus start

4. View your Project

The default port used by Directus is 8055. To view your project locally, go to http://localhost:8055 (opens new window) in your browser.

Changing Port

If you want to use a different port, use the PORT environment variable.

.env Permissions

By default, the create-directus-project tool will set the file permissions of the generated .env to -rw-r----- (0640). If you run Directus from a separate user on your machine, make sure these permissions are correct.

Configure / Update / Upgrade your Project

See the Updates & Migrations to learn how to maintain your project moving forward.