How to install Directus on Debian Latest

Directus is an open-source toolkit that helps you build custom database-driven APIs, without requiring any coding skills. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of setting up Directus on a Debian server, step by step.

Prerequisites

Before we start, please make sure that you have:

• A Debian server (version 10 or later)
• A non-root user with sudo privileges
• Access to the terminal, either locally or through SSH

Step 1: Update the System

Let's start with updating the system packages to the latest version:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Required Packages

Directus requires a few packages to be installed on your system before it can run correctly. Run the following command to install the packages:

sudo apt install curl wget gnupg2 ca-certificates apt-transport-https -y

Step 3: Install and Configure MariaDB

Directus requires a database to store its data. We will use MariaDB, a popular MySQL database fork, for this purpose. Install MariaDB by running the following command:

sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client -y

Once the installation is complete, run the following command to secure your database server:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

You will be prompted for a few options, such as setting a root password, removing anonymous users, etc. Follow the prompts and answer them as per your requirements.

Now, let's create a new database and user for Directus:

sudo mysql -u root -p

This will open the MariaDB prompt. Enter the following commands to create a new database and user:

CREATE DATABASE directus;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON directus.* TO 'directus'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace 'password' with a secure password of your choice.

Step 4: Install Directus

We will now install Directus using the official Directus package repository. Run the following commands:

curl -s https://get.directus.io/ | sudo bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install directus-cli -y

Step 5: Initialize Directus

Now that we have installed Directus, we need to initialize it. Run the following command to initialize Directus and provide the database details:

sudo directus init --db=mysql --host=localhost --name=directus --username=directus --password=password

Replace 'password' with the Secure Password you had set earlier.

Step 6: Start Directus

Once the initialization is complete, start the Directus server by running the following command:

sudo directus start

You should now be able to access Directus by visiting http://your_server_ip:8055 (replace your_server_ip with your actual server IP address).

Conclusion

That's it! You have successfully installed Directus on your Debian server. You can now use Directus to create custom database-driven APIs for your applications. If you face any issues during the installation or configuration process, please refer to the official Directus documentation for additional help.