Directus Flows Automation Setup

Setting Up Flows (Automation) in Directus

Flows are a visual automation builder in Directus. Logic: trigger (event) → chain of operations. Without coding, you can set up notifications, data synchronization, API calls, email sending.

Flow Triggers

• Event Hook — collection event (create, update, delete)
• Schedule — by schedule (cron)
• Webhook — incoming HTTP request
• Manual — manual run from admin UI
• Another Flow — call from another Flow

Example: Notification on New Order

Trigger: Event Hook → items.create → collection orders

Operations:

1. Read Data — get order details with populate

   { "collection": "orders", "key": "{{$trigger.key}}", "query": { "fields": ["*", "customer.*"] } }
   

2. Condition — check that order is expensive

   { "rule": { "total": { "_gte": 10000 } } }
   

3. Send Email (via Operations → Email)

   To: [email protected]
   Subject: Large order #{{$last.id}} for {{$last.total}} $
   Body: Customer: {{$last.customer.email}}
   

4. Webhook → POST to Slack

   {
     "url": "{{SLACK_WEBHOOK}}",
     "method": "POST",
     "body": { "text": "New order #{{$last.id}} from {{$last.customer.email}}" }
   }
   

Example: Daily Report (Schedule)

Trigger: Schedule → 0 9 * * 1-5 (at 9:00 AM, Mon-Fri)

Operations:

1. Read Data — last 24 hours of orders

   {
     "collection": "orders",
     "query": {
       "filter": {
         "date_created": { "_gte": "$NOW(-24h)" },
         "status": { "_in": ["paid", "delivered"] }
       }
     }
   }
   

2. Transform (JS code)

   const orders = $last
   const total = orders.reduce((sum, o) => sum + o.total, 0)
   return { count: orders.length, revenue: total }
   

3. Webhook → Slack with summary

Example: Incoming Webhook (Stripe)

Trigger: Webhook → POST method

Operations:

1. Condition — check event type

   { "rule": { "type": { "_eq": "checkout.session.completed" } } }
   

2. Read Data — find order by ID from metadata

   {
     "collection": "orders",
     "query": { "filter": { "stripe_session_id": { "_eq": "{{$trigger.body.data.object.id}}" } } }
   }
   

3. Update Data — update order status

   {
     "collection": "orders",
     "key": "{{$last[0].id}}",
     "payload": { "status": "paid" }
   }
   

Custom Operation Extension

For operations not in the standard set:

// extensions/operations/send-sms/index.ts
export default {
  id: 'operation-send-sms',
  handler: async ({ phone, message }: { phone: string; message: string }) => {
    const response = await fetch('https://api.sms.ru/sms/send', {
      method: 'POST',
      body: new URLSearchParams({
        api_id: process.env.SMSRU_API_ID!,
        to: phone,
        msg: message,
      }),
    })
    return response.json()
  },
}

Environment Variables in Flows

In Directus settings (Settings → Project Settings → Flows Variables) you can set variables available to all Flows:

SLACK_WEBHOOK = https://hooks.slack.com/...
CRM_API_URL = https://api.crm.com

In operation reference as {{SLACK_WEBHOOK}}.

Debugging Flows

Directus saves execution logs for each Flow — in admin you can see each step with input/output data and errors. "Test" button allows manual run with mock data.

Timeline

Setting up 3–5 Flows (notifications, webhooks, reports) — 1–2 days without coding.