> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/directus/directus/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Self-Hosted Deployment

> Deploy and manage Directus on your own infrastructure with complete control over your data and configuration.

Self-hosting Directus gives you complete control over your data, infrastructure, and deployment environment. This guide covers deploying Directus on your own servers.

## Requirements

Before deploying Directus, ensure your environment meets these requirements:

### System Requirements

* **Node.js**: Version 22 or higher
* **Package Manager**: pnpm 10.x (recommended) or npm
* **Operating System**: Linux, macOS, or Windows Server
* **Memory**: Minimum 512MB RAM (2GB+ recommended)

### Database Support

Directus works with any of these SQL databases:

* **PostgreSQL** 13+ (recommended)
* **MySQL** 8.0+ or 5.7+
* **MariaDB** 11.4+
* **SQLite** 3.x (development only)
* **Microsoft SQL Server** 2019+
* **OracleDB** 18+
* **CockroachDB** 24.3+

### Optional Services

* **Redis**: For caching and rate limiting
* **S3-compatible Storage**: For file storage (AWS S3, MinIO, etc.)
* **SMTP Server**: For email notifications

## Installation Methods

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash npm theme={null}
  npm install directus
  ```

  ```bash pnpm theme={null}
  pnpm add directus
  ```

  ```bash yarn theme={null}
  yarn add directus
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Quick Start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install Directus">
    Create a new directory and install Directus:

    ```bash theme={null}
    mkdir my-directus-project
    cd my-directus-project
    pnpm init
    pnpm add directus
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Environment">
    Create a `.env` file with your database configuration:

    ```bash theme={null}
    # Database
    DB_CLIENT=postgres
    DB_HOST=localhost
    DB_PORT=5432
    DB_DATABASE=directus
    DB_USER=postgres
    DB_PASSWORD=your-password

    # Security
    SECRET=replace-with-random-secret

    # Admin User (first time only)
    ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com
    ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bootstrap Database">
    Initialize the database and create admin user:

    ```bash theme={null}
    npx directus bootstrap
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start Directus">
    Launch the Directus server:

    ```bash theme={null}
    npx directus start
    ```

    Your Directus instance will be available at `http://localhost:8055`
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Database Configuration

Configure your database connection using environment variables:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash PostgreSQL theme={null}
  DB_CLIENT=postgres
  DB_HOST=localhost
  DB_PORT=5432
  DB_DATABASE=directus
  DB_USER=postgres
  DB_PASSWORD=your-password
  DB_SSL=false
  ```

  ```bash MySQL theme={null}
  DB_CLIENT=mysql
  DB_HOST=localhost
  DB_PORT=3306
  DB_DATABASE=directus
  DB_USER=root
  DB_PASSWORD=your-password
  ```

  ```bash MariaDB theme={null}
  DB_CLIENT=mysql
  DB_HOST=localhost
  DB_PORT=3306
  DB_DATABASE=directus
  DB_USER=root
  DB_PASSWORD=your-password
  ```

  ```bash SQLite theme={null}
  DB_CLIENT=sqlite3
  DB_FILENAME=/directus/database/database.sqlite
  ```

  ```bash MS SQL Server theme={null}
  DB_CLIENT=mssql
  DB_HOST=localhost
  DB_PORT=1433
  DB_DATABASE=directus
  DB_USER=sa
  DB_PASSWORD=your-password
  ```

  ```bash CockroachDB theme={null}
  DB_CLIENT=cockroachdb
  DB_HOST=localhost
  DB_PORT=26257
  DB_DATABASE=directus
  DB_USER=root
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Production Deployment

### Using PM2

PM2 is a production process manager for Node.js applications:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install PM2">
    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install -g pm2
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create Ecosystem File">
    Create `ecosystem.config.cjs` in your project root:

    ```javascript theme={null}
    module.exports = {
      apps: [
        {
          name: 'directus',
          script: './node_modules/.bin/directus',
          args: 'start',
          env: {
            NODE_ENV: 'production',
          },
          instances: 'max',
          exec_mode: 'cluster',
          autorestart: true,
          max_memory_restart: '1G',
        },
      ],
    };
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start with PM2">
    ```bash theme={null}
    pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs
    pm2 save
    pm2 startup
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Using systemd

For Linux systems with systemd:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create Service File">
    Create `/etc/systemd/system/directus.service`:

    ```ini theme={null}
    [Unit]
    Description=Directus
    After=network.target

    [Service]
    Type=simple
    User=directus
    WorkingDirectory=/var/www/directus
    ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /var/www/directus/node_modules/.bin/directus start
    Restart=on-failure
    Environment=NODE_ENV=production

    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable and Start">
    ```bash theme={null}
    sudo systemctl enable directus
    sudo systemctl start directus
    sudo systemctl status directus
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Reverse Proxy Setup

### Nginx

Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy:

```nginx theme={null}
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8055;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}
```

### Apache

Configure Apache with mod\_proxy:

```apache theme={null}
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your-domain.com

    ProxyPreserveHost On
    ProxyPass / http://localhost:8055/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:8055/

    <Location />
        Require all granted
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>
```

### Caddy

Caddy configuration with automatic HTTPS:

```caddy theme={null}
your-domain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8055
}
```

## SSL/TLS Configuration

Secure your Directus instance with HTTPS:

### Using Let's Encrypt with Certbot

```bash theme={null}
# Install certbot
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Obtain certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

# Auto-renewal
sudo certbot renew --dry-run
```

### Update Directus Configuration

Set the public URL to use HTTPS:

```bash theme={null}
PUBLIC_URL=https://your-domain.com
```

## Storage Configuration

Configure file storage for uploads:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Local Storage theme={null}
  STORAGE_LOCATIONS=local
  STORAGE_LOCAL_DRIVER=local
  STORAGE_LOCAL_ROOT=./uploads
  ```

  ```bash AWS S3 theme={null}
  STORAGE_LOCATIONS=s3
  STORAGE_S3_DRIVER=s3
  STORAGE_S3_KEY=your-access-key
  STORAGE_S3_SECRET=your-secret-key
  STORAGE_S3_BUCKET=your-bucket-name
  STORAGE_S3_REGION=us-east-1
  ```

  ```bash DigitalOcean Spaces theme={null}
  STORAGE_LOCATIONS=spaces
  STORAGE_SPACES_DRIVER=s3
  STORAGE_SPACES_KEY=your-access-key
  STORAGE_SPACES_SECRET=your-secret-key
  STORAGE_SPACES_BUCKET=your-space-name
  STORAGE_SPACES_REGION=nyc3
  STORAGE_SPACES_ENDPOINT=https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com
  ```

  ```bash Azure Blob Storage theme={null}
  STORAGE_LOCATIONS=azure
  STORAGE_AZURE_DRIVER=azure
  STORAGE_AZURE_CONTAINER_NAME=your-container
  STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_NAME=your-account
  STORAGE_AZURE_ACCOUNT_KEY=your-key
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Email Configuration

Set up email for password resets and notifications:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash SMTP theme={null}
  EMAIL_FROM=noreply@example.com
  EMAIL_TRANSPORT=smtp
  EMAIL_SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
  EMAIL_SMTP_PORT=587
  EMAIL_SMTP_USER=your-username
  EMAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD=your-password
  EMAIL_SMTP_SECURE=false
  ```

  ```bash SendGrid theme={null}
  EMAIL_FROM=noreply@example.com
  EMAIL_TRANSPORT=smtp
  EMAIL_SMTP_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
  EMAIL_SMTP_PORT=587
  EMAIL_SMTP_USER=apikey
  EMAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD=your-sendgrid-api-key
  ```

  ```bash AWS SES theme={null}
  EMAIL_FROM=noreply@example.com
  EMAIL_TRANSPORT=ses
  EMAIL_SES_CREDENTIALS__ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
  EMAIL_SES_CREDENTIALS__SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
  EMAIL_SES_REGION=us-east-1
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Monitoring and Logging

Configure logging for production:

```bash theme={null}
# Log level (error, warn, info, debug)
LOG_LEVEL=info

# Log style (pretty, raw, json)
LOG_STYLE=json

# Ignore health check endpoints
LOG_HTTP_IGNORE_PATHS=/server/health
```

## Backup Strategy

Implement regular backups:

### Database Backups

```bash theme={null}
# PostgreSQL backup
pg_dump -U postgres directus > directus-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# MySQL backup
mysqldump -u root -p directus > directus-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
```

### File Storage Backups

```bash theme={null}
# Local storage backup
tar -czf uploads-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz ./uploads

# S3 sync
aws s3 sync ./uploads s3://your-backup-bucket/uploads
```

## Scaling Considerations

### Horizontal Scaling

Run multiple Directus instances behind a load balancer:

* Use Redis for session storage and caching
* Use S3-compatible storage (not local filesystem)
* Enable database connection pooling
* Configure sticky sessions on load balancer

### Performance Optimization

```bash theme={null}
# Enable caching
CACHE_ENABLED=true
CACHE_STORE=redis
CACHE_TTL=30m

# Redis configuration
REDIS=redis://localhost:6379

# Rate limiting
RATE_LIMITER_ENABLED=true
RATE_LIMITER_STORE=redis
RATE_LIMITER_POINTS=50
RATE_LIMITER_DURATION=1
```

## Security Best Practices

1. **Use Strong Secrets**: Generate cryptographically secure random strings for `SECRET`
2. **Enable HTTPS**: Always use SSL/TLS in production
3. **Configure CORS**: Restrict origins to your application domains
4. **Rate Limiting**: Enable rate limiting to prevent abuse
5. **Regular Updates**: Keep Directus and dependencies updated
6. **Firewall**: Restrict database access to application servers only
7. **Backups**: Implement automated backup strategy

## Troubleshooting

### Check Logs

```bash theme={null}
# PM2 logs
pm2 logs directus

# systemd logs
sudo journalctl -u directus -f
```

### Health Check

Verify Directus is running:

```bash theme={null}
curl http://localhost:8055/server/health
```

### Common Issues

* **Port already in use**: Change `PORT` in `.env` file
* **Database connection failed**: Verify database credentials and host
* **Permission denied**: Ensure user has write access to uploads directory
* **Out of memory**: Increase server memory or reduce `max_memory_restart`

## Next Steps

* Configure [authentication providers](/deployment/configuration#authentication)
* Set up [file storage](/deployment/configuration#storage)
* Enable [caching and optimization](/deployment/configuration#cache)
* Review [environment variables](/deployment/configuration)