Directus

Consume Directus API

Actions100

Overview

The Directus node for n8n, when configured with the Resource: Item and Operation: Update Multiple, allows you to update multiple items in a specified Directus collection in a single API call. This is particularly useful for batch updates, such as changing the status of several articles at once or applying bulk edits to records.

Practical scenarios:

Publishing or unpublishing multiple content items (e.g., articles, products) simultaneously.
Updating a specific field (like "status" or "category") across many records based on their IDs.
Bulk editing user data or other custom collections in your Directus instance.

Example:
You have a list of article IDs and want to set their status to "published" in one go.

Properties

Name	Type	Meaning
Data (JSON)	json	An object containing an array of item keys (`keys`) and the partial item data (`data`) to update.
Collection	options	The unique name of the parent collection where the items reside.

Details:

Data (JSON):
- Expects a JSON object like:
```
{
  "keys": [1, 2],
  "data": {
    "status": "published"
  }
}
```
- keys: Array of item primary keys (IDs) to update.
- data: Partial object with fields and values to update for each item.
Collection:
- The target collection's name (e.g., "articles").

Output

The output will be an array of objects, each with a json property containing the response from Directus.
The structure of the json field typically reflects the updated items as returned by the Directus API. For example:
```
{
  "json": {
    "id": 1,
    "status": "published",
    ...
  }
}
```
If the operation fails and "Continue On Fail" is enabled, the output will contain an error message:
```
{
  "json": {
    "error": "Error message here"
  }
}
```

Dependencies

External Service: Requires access to a Directus instance (API endpoint).
Authentication: Needs valid Directus API credentials configured in n8n under the credential type directusApi.
n8n Configuration: No special environment variables are required beyond standard credential setup.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

Invalid Collection Name: If the collection does not exist, Directus will return an error.
Malformed Data (JSON): If the JSON is invalid or missing required fields (keys, data), the request will fail.
Permission Denied: The API credentials must have permission to update items in the specified collection.
Nonexistent Keys: If any of the provided keys do not correspond to existing items, those updates may fail or be ignored.

Typical Error Messages:

"Collection not found": Check the collection name.
"Invalid payload" or "Malformed JSON": Ensure the Data (JSON) property is correctly formatted.
"Unauthorized" or "Forbidden": Verify your API credentials and permissions.
"Item(s) not found": Double-check the IDs in the keys array.