How to Add and Remove Users in Directus

Comprehensive guide to managing user accounts in Directus through the Admin App, API, and command line interface.

Adding Users via Admin App

Method 1: Create User Directly

1. Navigate to Users Module

   • Open Directus Admin at /admin
   • Click User Directory in sidebar
   • Or navigate to Settings → Access Control → Users

2. Create New User

   • Click Create Item (+) button
   • Fill in required fields:
     • Email - Required, must be unique
     • Password - Set initial password
     • First Name / Last Name - Optional
     • Title - Optional job title
     • Description - Optional bio
     • Avatar - Optional profile image
     • Role - Required, select user role
     • Status - Active, Invited, Draft, Suspended, Archived

3. Assign Role

   • Select from existing roles
   • Role determines permissions

4. Click Save

Method 2: Invite User via Email

1. Create User with "Invited" Status

   • Set Status to Invited
   • Enter Email
   • Optionally set Role

2. Send Invitation

   • User receives email with activation link
   • User sets their own password
   • User account activates upon completion

Adding Users via API

Create User via REST API

# Create new user
curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://your-directus.com/users' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ADMIN_TOKEN' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "email": "user@example.com",
    "password": "SecurePassword123!",
    "first_name": "John",
    "last_name": "Doe",
    "role": "ROLE_UUID",
    "status": "active"
  }'

Using Directus SDK

import { createDirectus, rest, createUser, authentication } from '@directus/sdk';

const directus = createDirectus('https://your-directus.com')
  .with(authentication())
  .with(rest());

// Login as admin
await directus.login('admin@example.com', 'password');

// Create user
const newUser = await directus.request(
  createUser({
    email: 'user@example.com',
    password: 'SecurePassword123!',
    first_name: 'John',
    last_name: 'Doe',
    role: 'role-uuid',
    status: 'active',
  })
);

console.log('User created:', newUser.id);

Invite User via API

import { inviteUser } from '@directus/sdk';

// Send invitation email
await directus.request(
  inviteUser('user@example.com', 'role-uuid')
);

Adding Users via CLI

# Using Directus CLI
npx directus users create \
  --email="user@example.com" \
  --password="SecurePassword123!" \
  --role="role-uuid"

User Roles

Assigning Roles

// Update user role
import { updateUser } from '@directus/sdk';

await directus.request(
  updateUser('user-id', {
    role: 'new-role-uuid',
  })
);

Multiple Roles (Directus 10.5+)

Users can have multiple roles:

await directus.request(
  updateUser('user-id', {
    role: 'primary-role-uuid',
    additional_roles: ['role-uuid-1', 'role-uuid-2'],
  })
);

Editing Users

Via Admin App

1. Go to User Directory
2. Click user to edit
3. Modify details
4. Click Save

Via API

import { updateUser } from '@directus/sdk';

await directus.request(
  updateUser('user-id', {
    first_name: 'Jane',
    last_name: 'Smith',
    title: 'Content Manager',
    status: 'active',
  })
);

Reset Password

import { passwordRequest, passwordReset } from '@directus/sdk';

// Request password reset (sends email)
await directus.request(
  passwordRequest('user@example.com')
);

// Reset with token
await directus.request(
  passwordReset('reset-token', 'NewPassword123!')
);

Removing Users

Via Admin App

1. Navigate to User Directory
2. Select User
   • Click user to delete
3. Delete User
   • Click trash icon or Delete button
   • Confirm deletion
4. User Permanently Deleted

Soft Delete (Archive)

Instead of deleting, archive users:

await directus.request(
  updateUser('user-id', {
    status: 'archived',
  })
);

Via API

import { deleteUser } from '@directus/sdk';

// Permanently delete user
await directus.request(deleteUser('user-id'));

Bulk User Deletion

import { deleteUsers } from '@directus/sdk';

// Delete multiple users
await directus.request(
  deleteUsers(['user-id-1', 'user-id-2', 'user-id-3'])
);

User Statuses

Available Statuses

• active - User can login and access system
• invited - User invited but not activated
• draft - User account in draft state
• suspended - User temporarily disabled
• archived - User soft-deleted

Change Status

// Suspend user
await directus.request(
  updateUser('user-id', { status: 'suspended' })
);

// Reactivate user
await directus.request(
  updateUser('user-id', { status: 'active' })
);

Bulk User Import

Import from CSV

import { createUsers } from '@directus/sdk';
import { parse } from 'csv-parse/sync';
import fs from 'fs';

const csvContent = fs.readFileSync('users.csv', 'utf-8');
const records = parse(csvContent, { columns: true });

for (const record of records) {
  await directus.request(
    createUser({
      email: record.email,
      password: record.password,
      first_name: record.first_name,
      last_name: record.last_name,
      role: record.role_id,
      status: 'active',
    })
  );
}

Security Best Practices

1. Strong Password Policy

Configure in Directus settings:

# .env
AUTH_PASSWORD_POLICY="/^.{8,}$/"  # Minimum 8 characters

2. Two-Factor Authentication

Enable 2FA for users:

// Users can enable 2FA in their profile
// Admins can require 2FA per role

3. Regular User Audits

// List inactive users
const { data: inactiveUsers } = await directus.request(
  readUsers({
    filter: {
      last_access: {
        _lt: '$NOW(-30d)',  // Not accessed in 30 days
      },
    },
  })
);

Troubleshooting

Cannot Create User

Checks:

1. Admin permissions
2. Unique email address
3. Valid role UUID
4. Password meets policy requirements

User Cannot Login

Checks:

1. User status is active
2. Correct email and password
3. Role has appropriate permissions
4. Account not suspended or archived

Lost Admin Access

Recovery:

# Reset admin password via CLI
npx directus users update admin@example.com --password="NewPassword123!"

Next Steps

• Roles & Permissions - Configure user permissions
• Directus Users API - API reference
• Access Control - Security configuration

Resources

• Directus Users Documentation
• Directus SDK
• Authentication