@staminna/directus-mcp-server

Enhanced MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Directus v12.0.0 with TypeScript, WebSocket support, and full API coverage.

Test Coverage

Coverage badges are generated from coverage/coverage-summary.json by npm run badges (no external service required). Run npm run test:coverage first.

Features

• 🔐 Full Authentication - Token-based authentication with Directus

• 📦 Collection Management - CRUD operations for collections and items

• 📁 File Operations - Upload, download, and manage files

• 🔄 Flow Management - Create, update, trigger, and manage Directus Flows

• 👥 User Management - User CRUD and role management

• 🔍 Schema Tools - Analyze and validate collection schemas

• 🩺 Diagnostics - Collection access diagnostics and troubleshooting

• ⚡ WebSocket Support - Real-time subscriptions (coming soon)

Related MCP server: Storyblok MCP Server

Installation

Via npm (Recommended)

npm install -g @staminna/directus-mcp-server

From Source

git clone https://github.com/staminna/mcp-server-claude.git
cd mcp-server-claude
npm install
npm run build

Environment Variables

Authentication — no OAuth required

This server uses a static Directus access token (DIRECTUS_TOKEN) and runs over stdio transport. OAuth is not required, by design:

• The MCP specification only defines OAuth 2.1 authorization for HTTP-based transports. For stdio servers the spec says implementations "SHOULD NOT" use it and should instead retrieve credentials from the environment — exactly what this server does.

• Directus 12 fully supports static access tokens. The OAuth 2.1 support Directus added (mid-2026) applies to its own built-in remote MCP endpoint and is optional; there are no breaking changes to token authentication in Directus 12 (see DIRECTUS_V12_BREAKING_CHANGES.md).

• OAuth only becomes relevant if you expose an MCP server remotely over HTTP (Streamable HTTP/SSE). As a local stdio subprocess of Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, etc., this server needs only the env token.

Generate the token in Directus under User Settings → Token (use a dedicated user with least-privilege role for production).

Using with a Claude subscription (Max/Pro) — no API key needed

MCP servers do not consume Anthropic API tokens themselves; only the AI client's model calls do. If you use this server inside Claude Code or Claude Desktop with a Claude Max (or Pro) subscription, the model usage is covered by the subscription — you do not need an Anthropic API key. An API key is only required when driving Claude programmatically via the Claude API (e.g. the remote MCP connector).

IDE Configuration

🟣 Cursor

1. Open Cursor Settings: Cmd+, (macOS) or Ctrl+, (Windows/Linux)

2. Search for "MCP" or navigate to Features → MCP Servers

3. Click "Edit in settings.json"

4. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@staminna/directus-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
        "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if installed locally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directus": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-server-claude/dist/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
        "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Save the file and restart Cursor

🌊 Windsurf

1. Open Windsurf Settings: Cmd+, (macOS) or Ctrl+, (Windows/Linux)

2. Search for "MCP Servers"

3. Click "Edit in settings.json"

4. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@staminna/directus-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
        "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here",
        "DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION_ENABLED": "true",
        "DIRECTUS_PROMPTS_COLLECTION": "ai_prompts",
        "DIRECTUS_RESOURCES_ENABLED": "true",
        "DIRECTUS_RESOURCES_EXCLUDE_SYSTEM": "true",
        "NODE_ENV": "production"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if installed locally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directus": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-server-claude/dist/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
        "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Save the file

6. Quit Windsurf completely (Cmd+Q or Ctrl+Q)

7. Reopen Windsurf and wait ~10 seconds for MCP to initialize

🤖 Claude Desktop

1. Locate your Claude Desktop config file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Create or edit the config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@staminna/directus-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
        "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if installed locally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "directus": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-server-claude/dist/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
        "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop

🔮 Claude.ai (Web with MCP)

For Claude.ai web interface with MCP support:

1. Navigate to Claude.ai settings

2. Find the MCP configuration section

3. Add a new MCP server with:

{
  "name": "directus",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@staminna/directus-mcp-server"],
  "env": {
    "DIRECTUS_URL": "http://localhost:8065",
    "DIRECTUS_TOKEN": "your-directus-token-here"
  }
}

Note: Claude.ai MCP support may require a Pro subscription and specific browser extensions.

Available Tools

Collection Management

Schema & Fields

Flow Management

User Management

File Management

Diagnostics

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can interact with Directus through your AI assistant:

"List all collections in my Directus instance"

"Create a new collection called 'blog_posts' with title, content, and published fields"

"Get all items from the 'products' collection where status is 'published'"

"Create a new flow that triggers on item creation in the 'orders' collection"

"Analyze the schema of the 'users' collection including relationships"

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Connecting

1. Verify Directus is running: Ensure your Directus instance is accessible at the configured URL

2. Check token permissions: The API token needs appropriate permissions for the operations you want to perform

3. Restart IDE: After changing MCP configuration, fully restart your IDE

4. Check logs: Look for MCP-related errors in your IDE's developer console

Permission Errors

Ensure your Directus token has the required permissions:

• Admin token for full access

• Or configure specific role permissions for collections you need to access

Connection Timeout

If using a remote Directus instance:

• Verify the URL is correct and accessible

• Check firewall/network settings

• Ensure CORS is properly configured on Directus

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Watch mode
npm run dev

# Run server
npm start

# Type check
npm run typecheck

# Lint
npm run lint

Testing

The project ships unit, integration and end-to-end suites (vitest). Coverage thresholds (90% statements/lines/functions, 85% branches) are enforced — the test run fails below them.

# Unit + integration tests
npm test

# With coverage report (coverage/ — text, html, lcov, json-summary)
npm run test:coverage

# End-to-end: builds, then spawns the real server over stdio against a mock Directus
npm run test:e2e

# Everything
npm run test:all

# Refresh the README coverage badges from the last coverage run
npm run badges

The e2e suite uses the official MCP SDK client (StdioClientTransport) to spawn dist/index.js as a subprocess, talking to an in-process mock Directus on an ephemeral port — no real Directus instance or network access needed.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository

2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)

3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')

4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)

5. Open a Pull Request

License

MIT © Jorge Domingues Nunes

Links

• npm Package

• GitHub Repository

• Directus Documentation

• MCP Protocol Specification