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Self-host Directus

Open data platform — instant REST & GraphQL APIs and a no-code data studio on top of any SQL database.

Deploy Directus with Nixploy

Install Nixploy on any Docker host — a €5 VPS is enough for most of these:

install.sh
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bablilayoub/nixploy/main/install.sh | sudo bash
  1. 1

    Open Templates in the panel

    Search for Directus and open it. The compose file, the variables and the suggested domain are already filled in.

  2. 2

    Give it a domain

    Point a DNS record at your server and enter it. Traefik requests the certificate on the first request — there is no separate certbot step and nothing to renew by hand.

  3. 3

    Deploy

    Nixploy renders the compose file, validates it against the platform's safety rules, and brings the stack up on a private per-environment network. Live logs stream while it happens.

  4. 4

    Schedule a backup

    Directus keeps its state in named volumes (directus-uploads, directus-extensions, directus-db-data). Add a schedule and Nixploy streams the dump to S3 or to disk, encrypted, and can verify a restore.

What this deploys

Images
  • directus/directus:11
  • postgis/postgis:17-3.5-alpine
Routed to
directus:8055
Persistent volumes
directus-uploads, directus-extensions, directus-db-data
Variables it asks for
  • ADMIN_EMAILEmail of the initial admin user
  • PUBLIC_URLPublic URL of the instance
Secrets Nixploy generates
KEY, SECRET, ADMIN_PASSWORD, DB_PASSWORDCreated at deploy time and stored encrypted — you never invent or paste them.

What you get with it

  • Automatic HTTPS through Traefik and Let's Encrypt, renewed for you.

  • Live logs, a web terminal into the container, and CPU/memory/network history.

  • Encrypted backups to S3 or disk, on a schedule, with verified restores.

  • Roll back to the previous version when an update goes wrong.

  • An MCP endpoint, so an AI agent can deploy, read the logs and diagnose it for you — see the MCP guide.

Why self-host Directus?

Running it yourself means the data lives on a disk you control, there is no per-seat price as the team grows, and nothing is retired or repriced by somebody else. The cost is the part Nixploy takes over: a reverse proxy, certificates that renew, a volume that survives a redeploy, backups you can actually restore, and a way to see the logs when it misbehaves.

Directus upstream

Nixploy packages the project; it is not affiliated with it. Website · Docs · Source

All 146 templates

Rent the box. Keep the rest.

One command, three services, and the first account is yours.