WebSocket Subscriptions

Introduction

WebSocket subscriptions allow you to receive real-time updates when items are created, updated, or deleted in your Directus collections. Subscriptions maintain a persistent connection and push updates to clients instantly as they happen.

Prerequisites

Before using subscriptions, ensure:

WebSockets are enabled:

WEBSOCKETS_ENABLED=true
WEBSOCKETS_REST_ENABLED=true

You have an active WebSocket connection
You’re authenticated (if required by your auth mode)

To subscribe to updates for a collection, send a subscribe message:

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: 'subscription-1'
}));

Response:

{
  "type": "subscription",
  "status": "ok",
  "uid": "subscription-1",
  "data": {
    "event": "init"
  }
}

The init event confirms the subscription is active.

Subscription Message Format

{
  type: 'subscribe';
  collection: string;           // Collection name
  uid?: string | number;        // Optional unique identifier
  event?: 'create' | 'update' | 'delete'; // Filter by event type
  item?: string | number;       // Subscribe to specific item
  query?: {
    fields?: string[];          // Fields to return
    filter?: object;            // Filter conditions
    limit?: number;             // Limit results
    sort?: string[];            // Sort order
    // ... other query parameters
  };
}

Subscription Events

Subscriptions emit events when items are created, updated, or deleted:

Create Event

{
  "type": "subscription",
  "uid": "subscription-1",
  "data": {
    "event": "create",
    "data": [{
      "id": 123,
      "title": "New Article",
      "status": "draft"
    }]
  }
}

Update Event

{
  "type": "subscription",
  "uid": "subscription-1",
  "data": {
    "event": "update",
    "data": [{
      "id": 123,
      "title": "Updated Article",
      "status": "published"
    }]
  }
}

Delete Event

{
  "type": "subscription",
  "uid": "subscription-1",
  "data": {
    "event": "delete",
    "data": ["123"]
  }
}

Delete events return an array of deleted item IDs, not the full item data.

Control what data you receive by adding query parameters:

Select Specific Fields

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: 'sub-1',
  query: {
    fields: ['id', 'title', 'status', 'published_date']
  }
}));

You’ll only receive the specified fields in updates.

Apply Filters

Only receive updates for items matching specific criteria:

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: 'sub-2',
  query: {
    fields: ['*'],
    filter: {
      status: { _eq: 'published' },
      category: { _in: ['tech', 'science'] }
    }
  }
}));

You’ll only receive updates for published articles in the tech or science categories.

Limit Results

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: 'sub-3',
  query: {
    fields: ['id', 'title'],
    limit: 10,
    sort: ['-created_at']
  }
}));

Filter by Event Type

Subscribe only to specific event types:

Create Events Only

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  event: 'create',
  uid: 'sub-create'
}));

Update Events Only

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  event: 'update',
  uid: 'sub-update'
}));

Delete Events Only

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  event: 'delete',
  uid: 'sub-delete'
}));

Monitor changes to a single item:

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  item: 123,
  uid: 'sub-item-123'
}));

You’ll receive updates only when item 123 is updated or deleted.

You cannot subscribe to specific items in the directus_fields or directus_relations system collections. Subscribe to the entire collection instead.

Include related data in subscription updates:

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: 'sub-with-relations',
  query: {
    fields: [
      'id',
      'title',
      'status',
      'author.id',
      'author.name',
      'author.email',
      'categories.categories_id.id',
      'categories.categories_id.name'
    ]
  }
}));

Response with related data:

{
  "type": "subscription",
  "uid": "sub-with-relations",
  "data": {
    "event": "create",
    "data": [{
      "id": 123,
      "title": "New Article",
      "status": "published",
      "author": {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "john@example.com"
      },
      "categories": [
        {
          "categories_id": {
            "id": 1,
            "name": "Technology"
          }
        },
        {
          "categories_id": {
            "id": 2,
            "name": "Science"
          }
        }
      ]
    }]
  }
}

Unsubscribe

Stop receiving updates by sending an unsubscribe message:

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'unsubscribe',
  uid: 'subscription-1'
}));

Response:

{
  "type": "subscription",
  "status": "ok",
  "uid": "subscription-1",
  "data": {
    "event": "unsubscribe"
  }
}

If you don’t provide a uid, all subscriptions for the connection will be removed.

Multiple Subscriptions

You can have multiple active subscriptions on a single connection:

// Subscribe to articles
ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: 'sub-articles'
}));

// Subscribe to comments
ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'comments',
  uid: 'sub-comments'
}));

// Subscribe to users
ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'users',
  uid: 'sub-users'
}));

Each subscription is tracked independently via its uid.

Permission Handling

Subscriptions respect user permissions:

You can only subscribe to collections you have read access to
You only receive updates for items you can read
If a filter query requires permissions you don’t have, you’ll get an error
If permissions change and you lose access, updates stop silently

Permission error example:

{
  "type": "subscribe",
  "status": "error",
  "uid": "subscription-1",
  "error": {
    "code": "FORBIDDEN",
    "message": "You don't have permission to access this collection."
  }
}

Complete Example

Here’s a complete example with authentication and subscriptions:

const ws = new WebSocket('ws://your-directus-instance.com/websocket');
const subscriptions = new Map();

ws.onopen = () => {
  console.log('Connected');
  
  // Authenticate
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({
    type: 'auth',
    access_token: 'your-access-token'
  }));
};

ws.onmessage = (event) => {
  const message = JSON.parse(event.data);
  
  // Handle authentication response
  if (message.type === 'auth' && message.status === 'ok') {
    console.log('Authenticated successfully');
    
    // Subscribe to articles
    ws.send(JSON.stringify({
      type: 'subscribe',
      collection: 'articles',
      uid: 'articles-sub',
      query: {
        fields: ['id', 'title', 'status'],
        filter: {
          status: { _eq: 'published' }
        }
      }
    }));
  }
  
  // Handle subscription responses
  if (message.type === 'subscription') {
    const { uid, data } = message;
    
    if (data.event === 'init') {
      console.log(`Subscription ${uid} initialized`);
      subscriptions.set(uid, true);
    }
    
    if (data.event === 'create') {
      console.log('New item created:', data.data);
      // Update UI with new item
    }
    
    if (data.event === 'update') {
      console.log('Item updated:', data.data);
      // Update UI with modified item
    }
    
    if (data.event === 'delete') {
      console.log('Item deleted:', data.data);
      // Remove item from UI
    }
    
    if (data.event === 'unsubscribe') {
      console.log(`Unsubscribed from ${uid}`);
      subscriptions.delete(uid);
    }
  }
  
  // Handle errors
  if (message.status === 'error') {
    console.error('Error:', message.error);
  }
};

ws.onerror = (error) => {
  console.error('WebSocket error:', error);
};

ws.onclose = () => {
  console.log('Connection closed');
  subscriptions.clear();
};

// Unsubscribe before closing
window.addEventListener('beforeunload', () => {
  subscriptions.forEach((_, uid) => {
    ws.send(JSON.stringify({
      type: 'unsubscribe',
      uid: uid
    }));
  });
  
  ws.close();
});

Using with React

Example React hook for WebSocket subscriptions:

import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

function useWebSocketSubscription(collection, query = {}) {
  const [data, setData] = useState([]);
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);
  const [connected, setConnected] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    const ws = new WebSocket('ws://your-directus-instance.com/websocket');
    const subscriptionId = `${collection}-sub`;

    ws.onopen = () => {
      setConnected(true);
      
      // Authenticate
      ws.send(JSON.stringify({
        type: 'auth',
        access_token: localStorage.getItem('access_token')
      }));
    };

    ws.onmessage = (event) => {
      const message = JSON.parse(event.data);

      if (message.type === 'auth' && message.status === 'ok') {
        // Subscribe after authentication
        ws.send(JSON.stringify({
          type: 'subscribe',
          collection,
          uid: subscriptionId,
          query
        }));
      }

      if (message.type === 'subscription' && message.uid === subscriptionId) {
        const { event, data: eventData } = message.data;

        if (event === 'create') {
          setData(prev => [...eventData, ...prev]);
        } else if (event === 'update') {
          setData(prev => prev.map(item => {
            const updated = eventData.find(u => u.id === item.id);
            return updated || item;
          }));
        } else if (event === 'delete') {
          setData(prev => prev.filter(item => !eventData.includes(item.id)));
        }
      }

      if (message.status === 'error') {
        setError(message.error);
      }
    };

    ws.onerror = (err) => {
      setError(err);
    };

    ws.onclose = () => {
      setConnected(false);
    };

    return () => {
      ws.send(JSON.stringify({
        type: 'unsubscribe',
        uid: subscriptionId
      }));
      ws.close();
    };
  }, [collection, JSON.stringify(query)]);

  return { data, error, connected };
}

// Usage
function ArticlesList() {
  const { data: articles, error, connected } = useWebSocketSubscription('articles', {
    fields: ['id', 'title', 'status'],
    filter: { status: { _eq: 'published' } }
  });

  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>;
  if (!connected) return <div>Connecting...</div>;

  return (
    <ul>
      {articles.map(article => (
        <li key={article.id}>
          {article.title} - {article.status}
        </li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

Best Practices

Use Unique Subscription IDs

Always provide unique uid values for each subscription to track them independently:

ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'articles',
  uid: `articles-${Date.now()}` // Unique ID
}));

Request Only Needed Fields

Reduce bandwidth by requesting only the fields you need:

// Good - minimal fields
query: {
  fields: ['id', 'title', 'status']
}

// Avoid - all fields when not needed
query: {
  fields: ['*']
}

Filter at the Source

Use filter queries instead of filtering in the client:

// Good - server-side filtering
query: {
  filter: { status: { _eq: 'published' } }
}

// Avoid - receiving all updates and filtering client-side

Unsubscribe When Done

Always unsubscribe when you no longer need updates:

// In React useEffect cleanup
return () => {
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({
    type: 'unsubscribe',
    uid: subscriptionId
  }));
};

Handle Reconnection

Re-establish subscriptions after reconnecting:

function resubscribe() {
  activeSubscriptions.forEach(sub => {
    ws.send(JSON.stringify(sub));
  });
}

ws.onopen = () => {
  authenticate();
  resubscribe();
};

Troubleshooting

No Updates Received

Verify:

The subscription was successful (received init event)
You have read permissions for the collection
Items match your filter criteria
The WebSocket connection is still active

Permission Errors

Ensure you have the correct permissions:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "FORBIDDEN",
    "message": "You don't have permission to access this collection."
  }
}

Check your role’s read permissions for the collection.

Invalid Collection Error

Make sure the collection exists and is accessible:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_COLLECTION",
    "message": "The provided collection does not exist or is not accessible."
  }
}

Cannot Subscribe to Specific Item

Some system collections don’t support item-level subscriptions:

// This will fail for directus_fields and directus_relations
ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'directus_fields',
  item: 123 // Not allowed
}));

// Subscribe to the whole collection instead
ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  type: 'subscribe',
  collection: 'directus_fields'
}));

Next Steps

WebSocket Overview

Learn about WebSocket connection and authentication

SDK Real-time

Use the Directus SDK for easier WebSocket management

GraphQL Subscriptions

Real-time updates using GraphQL

Query Filters

Learn about filter syntax and query parameters

Documentation Index

​Introduction

​Prerequisites

​Subscribe to a Collection

​Subscription Message Format

​Subscription Events

​Create Event

​Update Event

​Delete Event

​Subscribe with Query Parameters

​Select Specific Fields

​Apply Filters

​Limit Results

​Filter by Event Type

​Create Events Only

​Update Events Only

​Delete Events Only

​Subscribe to Specific Item

​Subscribe with Relationships

​Unsubscribe

​Multiple Subscriptions

​Permission Handling

​Complete Example

​Using with React

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

WebSocket Overview

SDK Real-time

GraphQL Subscriptions

Query Filters

Introduction

Prerequisites

Subscribe to a Collection

Subscription Message Format

Subscription Events

Create Event

Update Event

Delete Event

Subscribe with Query Parameters

Select Specific Fields

Apply Filters

Limit Results

Filter by Event Type

Create Events Only

Update Events Only

Delete Events Only

Subscribe to Specific Item

Subscribe with Relationships

Unsubscribe

Multiple Subscriptions

Permission Handling

Complete Example

Using with React

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Next Steps