Node-RED

Node-RED is an open source, low-code tool for building flows that connect devices, APIs and online services. You wire together small blocks in a browser editor instead of writing a full program.

Each block in Node-RED does one job, such as reading a sensor, transforming data or sending a message. You connect the blocks into flows that react to events in real time. Flows can be shared, and the community has published thousands of extra blocks and example flows that cover many common tasks. The runtime is built on Node.js, so it can run on cheap hardware as well as in the cloud.

• Build flows by wiring blocks in a browser editor
• Thousands of community nodes and example flows
• Run on a Raspberry Pi or in the cloud
• Event-driven runtime built on Node.js
• Visualize real-time data

Hobbyists building home automation, engineers gathering sensor data, and teams that want to automate simple integrations without a large codebase. Industrial users also run it to collect and process data.

Node-RED is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It can run locally, in Docker, or on a device. Large flows can become hard to read, so it helps to group them and document what each one does.