Node-RED
Node-RED is an open-source visual programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services. It provides a browser-based flow editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using a wide range of predefined nodes.
nodejs
javascript
iot
flows
programming
Node-RED: Open-Source Visual Programming Tool
Node-RED is an open-source visual programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services. It provides a browser-based flow editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using a wide range of predefined nodes.
What is Node-RED?
Node-RED is an open-source visual programming tool built on Node.js for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services. It provides a browser-based flow editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using a wide range of nodes that can be deployed to its runtime in a single click.
Some key capabilities and features of Node-RED include:
- Browser-based flow editor - Easy to create flows by dragging and dropping nodes and wiring them together
- Wide range of nodes - Prebuilt nodes for APIs, databases, web services, hardware devices, and more
- Open source - Built on open standards and extends through open-source contributed nodes
- Cross-platform - Runs on Raspberry Pi, cloud, enterprise environments, and more
- Built-in package manager - Easily install third party nodes
- Works with both code and no-code approaches
- Integrations - Connect with services like Twitter, Weather APIs, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and more
- Active community - Community forums and slack for support
Node-RED enables wiring together flows in new and interesting ways very quickly. It bridges together gaps between devices, APIs, events and services. The wide range of nodes helps integrate new devices and services into overall systems and workflows.
Node-RED Features
Features
- Flow-based programming
- Browser-based flow editor
- Large library of predefined nodes
- Connects APIs and online services
- Integrates with hardware devices
- Open-source and extensible
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Visual programming is easy to learn
Active open-source community
Integrates well with JavaScript and Node.js
Can be deployed locally or to the cloud
Extensive documentation and tutorials
Cons
Steep learning curve for advanced features
Basic flows are easy but complex logic can get messy
Upgrading flows on new versions can cause breaks
Limited native debugging capabilities
Node performance impacts flow execution speed
Official Links
The Best Node-RED Alternatives
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