Directus Data Model CLI (drcts) to migrate schemas from one instance to another without the need for a server component.

• Directus Data Model CLI
  • Installation
  • Usage
    • Authenticate
    • Migrate
    • Export
    • Apply
    • Diff
    • Apply Diff
  • Environment Variables
• Licensing

It is a Go implementation of the Directus Migration, allowing you to:

• migrate schemas from one instance to another
• save schemas to files
• restore schemas from files
• save schema differences

It is planned to be extended with additional features in the future:

• selective migration
• creation of custom collection presets
• data migration

For complete backup and restore functionality, see Postgres Migration.

If you have Go installed, you can install the CLI by running:

go install github.com/Piitschy/drcts@latest

Alternatively, you can use npm to install the CLI:

npm i -g drcts

Remember that the npm binary path may still need to be added to the paths of your operating system. This is particularly important under Windows. I therefore recommend using it under WSL.

You can authenticate with the Directus API by providing the URL with a token or by login with an email and password. The token is the primary way to authenticate with the Directus API, so if set, the email and password will be ignored.

• --bu or --base-url - URL of the base Directus instance.
• --bt or --base-token - Token of the base Directus instance.
• --be or --base-email - Email of the base Directus instance.
• --bp or --base-password - Password of the base Directus instance.

Same for the target instance:

• --tu or --target-url - URL of the target Directus instance.
• --tt or --target-token - Token of the target Directus instance.
• --te or --target-email - Email of the target Directus instance.
• --tp or --target-password - Password of the target Directus instance.

In the following examples, we will use the --bu and --bt flags to authenticate with the Directus API. You can also use the --be and --bp flags to authenticate with the Directus API by providing an email and password.

You can get the token from the Directus instance by going to the account settings and creating a new token. I recommend creating a new role and account with only the necessary permissions for the migration.

IMPORTANT: Only collections that are readable by the directus user can be migrated. On the target system, the user must have the appropriate permissions to create collections!

drcts --bu <base-url> --bt <base-token> --tu <target-url> --tt <target-token> migrate

Or just run drcts migrate and follow the instructions.

Don't forget to set -y flag in scripts to skip the confirmation prompt.

To export the schema of a Directus instance to a file, run:

drcts --bu <base-url> --bt <base-token> save -o <output-file>

Formats supported: json, yaml, csv, xml. But only json is appliable.

To apply a schema from a file to a Directus instance, run:

drcts --tu <target-url> --tt <target-token> apply -i <input-file>

It's only possible to apply a schema in json format.

To compare the schema of two Directus instances, run:

drcts --bu <base-url> --bt <base-token> --tu <target-url> --tt <target-token> save-diff -o <diff-output-file>

or

drcts  --tu <target-url> --tt <target-token> save-diff -i <base-schema-file> -o <diff-output-file>

Or just run drcts save-diff and follow the instructions.

Formats supported: json, yaml, csv, xml. But only json is appliable.

To apply a schema diff from a file to a Directus instance, run:

drcts --tu <target-url> --tt <target-token> apply-diff -i <diff-file>

Or just run drcts apply-diff and follow the instructions.

It's only possible to apply a schema diff in json format.

You can also use environment variables to set the Directus instance URL and token:

• DRCTS_BASE_URL

• DRCTS_BASE_TOKEN

• DRCTS_TARGET_URL

• DRCTS_TARGET_TOKEN

• DRCTS_SCHEMA_FILE (for save and apply)

• DRCTS_DIFF_FILE (for save-diff and apply-diff)

For version 1.0.0+ I will change the license from GPL-3.0 to MIT to facilitate the use in commercial products. Until then, the current GPL-3.0 license applies.