Directus | The Collaborative Backend & CMS

# Directus > Directus is the collaborative backend that puts data back in the hands of the teams who use it. Self-hostable headless CMS and Studio over any SQL database, with built-in MCP for Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor. Directus is source-available under the Monospace Source Code License (MSCL). The platform combines a visual Studio (admin UI), REST and GraphQL APIs, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) over any SQL database (Postgres, MySQL, MSSQL, Oracle, SQLite, and others). Used by teams at Mercedes, Allstate, and Club Med. ## Product - [Home](https://directus.com/): Overview of the collaborative backend - [AI & MCP](https://directus.com/ai): Connect Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor to data through the Model Context Protocol - [Enterprise](https://directus.com/enterprise): Role-based permissions, audit trails, and policy controls applied to every request from your team, your apps, and your AI agents - [Pricing](https://directus.com/pricing): Free to self-host. Cloud for managed deployments. Enterprise for SSO, governance, and scale - [Get Started](https://directus.com/start): Install Directus locally with Docker, on Cloud, or self-hosted - [Marketplace](https://directus.com/marketplace): Extensions, integrations, and templates built by the community ## Comparisons - [Directus vs Strapi](https://directus.com/strapi): Collaborative backend with built-in MCP vs Node.js headless CMS - [Directus vs Contentful](https://directus.com/contentful): Self-hostable collaborative backend vs SaaS headless CMS - [Directus vs Sanity](https://directus.com/sanity): Self-hostable backend over your SQL database vs hosted structured content CMS - [Directus vs Hygraph](https://directus.com/hygraph): Self-hostable backend with REST and GraphQL vs GraphQL-first headless CMS - [Directus vs Payload](https://directus.com/payload): Collaborative backend with built-in MCP vs TypeScript-first headless CMS ## Resources - [Resources Hub](https://directus.com/resources): Case studies, techni