Node-RED

Node-RED is a visual programming environment for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services. It's the Swiss Army knife of automation.

Installation

Node-RED is installed natively with the ei23 script (not as a Docker container). This offers advantages for GPIO usage and performance.

Access

Node-RED is accessible at http://[IP]:1880

Nodes

Nodes are the central components of Node-RED. They are dragged onto the workspace and connected together.

Pre-installed Nodes

The ei23 script automatically installs the following nodes:

Installing Additional Nodes

Additional nodes can be installed via the Palette (Hamburger menu → Manage Palette).

Setup

MQTT Node Configuration

1. Drag an mqtt in node onto the workspace
2. Double-click the node
3. Click the pencil ✏️ next to Server
4. Configure:
   • Server: localhost or IP of the MQTT broker
   • Port: 1883
   • Username/Password: If configured
5. Click Connect → Done
6. Enter a Topic (e.g. home/temperature/#)

Home Assistant Node Configuration

1. Drag a server Config node onto the workspace
2. Or create it via an HA node
3. Configure:
   • Base URL: http://localhost:8123 (or IP)
   • Access Token: Create in HA under Profile → Long-lived tokens

Inject Node

The Inject node triggers flows manually or on schedule:

• Once: Click the button
• Scheduled: Configure repeat interval
• Timed: At specific times

Debug Node

The Debug node displays data in the debug panel:

• The sidebar "Debug" tab shows all outputs
• Useful for testing and finding errors

Flows

Pages (Tabs)

Flows can be organized in pages:

1. Click + next to the tab name
2. Name the page (e.g. "Heating", "Lights", "Sensors")
3. Organize your nodes thematically

Subflows

Subflows are reusable groups of nodes:

1. Select nodes
2. Right-click → Selection to Subflow
3. The subflow appears as a single node in the panel

Flow Library

Flows can be saved in the library:

1. Select nodes
2. Right-click → Save selection to library
3. Reuse via library

Variables and Context

Node-RED offers three context levels:

Example: Counter

// Increment counter
let count = flow.get("counter") || 0;
count++;
flow.set("counter", count);
msg.payload = count;
return msg;

Dashboard

The pre-installed node-red-dashboard provides a web interface for UI elements:

Access

The dashboard is accessible at http://[IP]:1880/ui

Available UI Elements

Configuration

1. Double-click a UI element
2. Select the Group and Tab
3. Configure size and position

Password Protection

Via the ei23 Script

ei23
# Select "Set new passwords"

Manually

Edit /home/[user]/.node-red/settings.js:

adminAuth: {
    type: "credentials",
    users: [{
        username: "admin",
        password: "$2a$08$...", // bcrypt hash
        permissions: "*"
    }]
}

cd ~/.node-red/
node -e "console.log(require('bcryptjs').hashSync('YOUR_PASSWORD', 8));"

Backup

Node-RED data is backed up with the ei23 backup. Manually:

# Backup
sudo tar -czf ~/nodered_backup.tar.gz ~/.node-red/

# Restore
sudo tar -xzf ~/nodered_backup.tar.gz -C ~/
sudo service nodered restart

Updates

Node-RED is updated with the ei23 update:

ei23 update

Or manually:

# Update Node-RED and nodes
bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/linux-installers/master/deb/update-nodejs-and-nodered) --confirm-install --update-nodes

Home Assistant Integration

The pre-installed hass-node-red addon enables integration with Home Assistant:

1. In Node-RED: Configure Home Assistant server
2. In Home Assistant: Create long-lived token
3. URL: http://localhost:8123 (if HA is in Docker)

Example: Light on Motion

[HA: Motion Sensor] → [Switch] → [HA: Light on]
                        ↓
                   [Delay 5min] → [HA: Light off]

Notes

• Node-RED runs on port 1880
• Configuration: /home/[user]/.node-red/settings.js
• Flows: /home/[user]/.node-red/flows.json
• Service: sudo systemctl status nodered
• Logs: journalctl -u nodered -f

Further Information

• Official Documentation
• Flow Library
• Node-RED Forum
• YouTube Tutorials