API Reference

Directus REST API Reference

Curated REST API endpoints for scripting and direct HTTP access. For full docs, see https://docs.directus.io/reference/introduction.html

Authentication

Static Token (recommended for scripts)

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/items/posts"

Login for Temporary JWT

curl -X POST "${DIRECTUS_URL}/auth/login" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "user@example.com", "password": "secret"}' | jq .data

Returns access_token (~900s TTL) and refresh_token.

Refresh Token

curl -X POST "${DIRECTUS_URL}/auth/refresh" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"refresh_token": "YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN"}'

Core Item Endpoints

List Items

GET /items/{collection}?fields=id,title,status&limit=25&sort=-date_created

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/items/posts?fields=id,title,status&limit=25&sort=-date_created" | jq .

Get Single Item

GET /items/{collection}/{id}

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/items/posts/uuid-here" | jq .data

Create Item

POST /items/{collection}

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "New Post", "status": "draft"}' \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/items/posts" | jq .data

Update Item

PATCH /items/{collection}/{id}

curl -s -X PATCH \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"status": "published"}' \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/items/posts/uuid-here" | jq .data

Delete Item

DELETE /items/{collection}/{id}

curl -s -X DELETE \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/items/posts/uuid-here"

Query Parameters

Schema Migration Pipeline

Export Schema Snapshot

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/schema/snapshot" | jq . > schema-snapshot.json

Compare Snapshots (Diff)

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @schema-snapshot.json \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/schema/diff" | jq . > schema-diff.json

Apply Diff (Migrate)

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DIRECTUS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @schema-diff.json \
  "${DIRECTUS_URL}/schema/apply"

This enables CI/CD schema deployments across environments.

Response Format

{
  "data": [ ... ],
  "meta": {
    "total_count": 100,
    "filter_count": 42
  }
}

Single items: { "data": { ... } }

Utility Endpoints

Detailed References

• endpoints-items.md — Full items API with all query combinations, batch operations
• endpoints-schema.md — Collections, fields, relations, schema migration
• endpoints-system.md — Users, roles, permissions, auth, activity, settings