Agent Skills
Agent Skills are instructions that AI coding agents load when a task needs them. The official Directus skills teach an agent how Directus works and the mistakes it would otherwise make: wrong API payloads, permissions that leak data, Flows that fail silently, and upgrade steps that break a project.
Skills and MCP solve different problems. The MCP server gives an agent access to your Directus instance. Skills give it the knowledge to use that access well. Use them together for the best results.
The skills follow the open Agent Skills standard and live in the directus/agent-skills repository.
Before You Start
You will need an AI coding agent that supports Agent Skills, such as Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, or GitHub Copilot.
Install the Skills
Any Agent
Run the skills CLI in your project:
npx skills@latest add directus/agent-skills
The CLI installs the skills for the agents you choose, including Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and GitHub Copilot. To install a single skill, add --skill with its name:
npx skills@latest add directus/agent-skills --skill directus-sdk
The skills are also listed at https://directus.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json, following the Agent Skills Discovery format. Tools that support discovery can install them from the domain alone:
npx skills@latest add https://directus.com
Claude Code
Add the marketplace and install the plugin:
claude plugin marketplace add directus/agent-skills
claude plugin install directus@directus-agent-skills
Codex
codex plugin marketplace add directus/agent-skills
codex plugin add directus@directus-agent-skills
Manual Install
Copy any folder under skills/ in the repository into your agent's skills directory. Claude Code reads .claude/skills/, and most other agents read .agents/skills/.
Available Skills
Each skill is a short guide that loads extra reference material only when a task needs it, so your agent's context stays small.
| Skill | Use it for |
|---|---|
directus | Working with a running instance: REST and GraphQL queries, filters, auth, files, realtime, content versions, and the MCP server |
directus-content | Editing content as an editor would: pages, page builder blocks, translations, drafts, publishing, and images |
directus-content-modeling | Designing schemas: collections, fields, relationships, page builders, translations, indexes, existing databases, and starters |
directus-access-control | Roles, policies, permissions, the public policy, multi-tenancy, licensing limits, and testing access |
directus-flows | Automating with Flows: triggers, the data chain, operations, utility flows, loops, and debugging |
directus-insights | Building Insights dashboards: panels, variables, layout, and who can see them |
directus-sdk | Using @directus/sdk: client setup, auth modes on the server and in the browser, counts, and headers |
directus-visual-editing | Wiring a site to Live Preview and the Visual Editor with @directus/visual-editing |
directus-extensions | Building extensions: choosing a type, scaffolding, app and API extension APIs, sandboxing, and publishing |
directus-environment-sync | Moving schema and configuration between instances with Environment Sync and the Directus CLI (d6s) |
directus-self-hosting | Deploying and running Directus: Docker Compose, configuration, storage, email, scaling, and backups |
directus-upgrade | Upgrading a project across versions, with the breaking changes and how to find affected code |
You don't need to pick a skill. Your agent reads each skill's description and loads the right one for the task.
Use Skills with MCP
Skills work with any way your agent talks to Directus, but they pair best with MCP:
- Connect the Directus MCP server so your agent can read your schema and make changes on your instance.
- Connect the Docs MCP server so your agent can search this documentation when a skill doesn't cover a topic. The Claude Code plugin connects this server for you.
Versions
The skills are verified against a specific Directus release, listed in the repository's README. Before doing any work, a skill checks your instance's version. On an older instance, the agent reads the notes for that major version first so it doesn't use features you don't have yet.
New skill versions ship as GitHub releases. To update, run the install command again or update the plugin in your agent.
Next Steps
- Set up the Directus MCP server so your agent can work on your instance.
- Report problems or suggest new skills in the agent-skills repository.
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