Directus on GCP - Developer Guide

Welcome to the Meetrix Directus developer guide for Google Cloud Platform! With the Meetrix pre-configured GCP image, you can deploy a production-ready Directus instance in minutes.

This guide walks you through finding the product on GCP Marketplace, configuring the deployment, pointing DNS, accessing the admin panel, and managing the server.

What Is Directus?

Directus is an open-source data platform that wraps a REST and GraphQL API, plus an admin app, around your database. Deploying it on Google Cloud Platform as a self-hosted headless CMS keeps your content and data inside your own GCP project instead of a third-party SaaS account.

Related Article

Meetrix Directus - Developer Guide (AWS)

Step-by-step guide for deploying and configuring Directus on AWS using the Meetrix pre-configured AMI and CloudFormation.

Meetrix.IO • Binuka Ranatunga

Launch Directus from GCP Marketplace

Step 1: Find the Product

1. Log in to your Google account.
2. Go directly to the product page: Directus on GCP Marketplace
3. You can also browse all Meetrix products at the Meetrix Solutions Page.
4. You will see the following product listing page.

Step 2: Accept the Agreement

1. Select your GCP project from the project selector at the top.
2. Review the product description and pricing details, then click GET STARTED.
3. Accept the terms and conditions and click AGREE.

Free Trial

This product includes a 5-day free trial with up to USD 50.00 in licence fee credits. To activate it, tick I accept the solution trial Terms and Conditions on the launch screen before proceeding.

Configure Your Directus Deployment on GCP

You will see the deployment configuration form. Fill in the fields across the following sections:

General

• Deployment name - A unique name for this deployment.
• Deployment Service Account - Use an existing account with the required roles, or create a new one.
• Zone - Select the GCP zone closest to your users.
• Machine type - Default e2-small (2 vCPU, 1 shared core, 2 GB memory) works for most setups. Choose a larger type in the Compute-optimised or Memory-optimised series for heavier API traffic.

Networking

• Network / Subnetwork - Leave as default unless you have a custom VPC.
• External IP - Leave as Ephemeral so the instance is reachable from the internet.
• Allow SSH (TCP port 22) - Enabled by default. Restrict the source IP range if you want to limit SSH access to specific IPs.

Application Settings

• Domain name - The domain for your Directus instance (e.g. directus.yourdomain.com). Make sure to point your DNS A record to the instance IP before or shortly after deploying.
• Admin email - Used to create the initial administrator account and for SSL certificate registration via Let's Encrypt.
• Admin password - The password for the initial administrator account. Store this securely.

Click DEPLOY and wait a few minutes for the deployment to complete.

Point DNS to Your Directus Server

Step 1: Get the External IP

1. Once deployment is complete, click the VM instance resource name in the deployment details.
2. Copy the External IP from the Network interfaces section.

Step 2: Create a DNS A Record

1. Go to your DNS provider.
2. Add an A record pointing your Directus domain (e.g. directus.yourdomain.com) to the copied external IP.
3. Wait for DNS propagation before proceeding (typically a few minutes to 1 hour).

Access Directus

Once DNS has propagated and SSL has issued, visit your domain. You'll see the Directus sign-in screen. Sign in with the admin email and password you set in the deployment's Application Settings.

Generate an SSL Certificate for Directus Manually

Directus will automatically try to issue SSL for the domain name you provided during deployment. If it's unsuccessful, for example if DNS hadn't propagated yet, you can generate it manually.

Step 1: SSH into the Server

1. Go to the VM instance page in the GCP console.
2. Click SSH to open a browser-based terminal and authorize access.

Step 2: Run the Certificate Script

The image includes a pre-configured certificate script. Run it with:

sudo bash /root/certificate_generate_standalone.sh

This script runs certbot using the domain name and admin email you provided during deployment.

Check Directus Server Logs

SSH into the server as shown above, then check the running containers and their logs:

sudo docker ps

Select the correct container and check its logs:

sudo docker logs <container_id>

You can also view instance-level logs from the VM instance page in the GCP console by clicking Logging.

Manage Your Directus Deployment on GCP

Shut Down the VM

To stop the VM without deleting it, go to Compute Engine → VM Instances in the GCP console, select your instance, and click Stop. You can restart it at your convenience by clicking Start/Resume.

Delete the Deployment

To fully remove the deployment and stop all billing:

1. Go to Solution deployments in the GCP console.
2. Find your Directus deployment.
3. Click Delete to remove all associated resources.

Upgrades

When there is an upgrade, we will update the product with a newer version. You can check the product version in GCP Marketplace. If a newer version is available, back up your server data, delete the current deployment, and launch the product again using the newer version.

Troubleshoot Directus on GCP

Insufficient Capacity Error

If you see an error stating there is not sufficient capacity for the selected machine type while deploying, try a different zone or try again later.

502 Bad Gateway

If you see a 502 Bad Gateway error when accessing your domain, the application is likely still starting up. Wait 5-10 minutes and try again.

Storage Full Error

If the application becomes unresponsive, check whether the instance storage is full. SSH into the server and run:

df -h

If the root volume is between 90-100%, resize the boot disk from the Compute Engine console, then reboot the instance.

Technical Support

If you run into any issues, our support team is here to help. Reach out to us at support@meetrix.io and we will respond within 12 hours.