JavaScript file

The node .js file defines the runtime behaviour of the node.

Node constructor

Nodes are defined by a constructor function that can be used to create new instances of the node. The function gets registered with the runtime so it can be called when nodes of the corresponding type are deployed in a flow.

The function is passed an object containing the properties set in the flow editor.

The first thing it must do is call the RED.nodes.createNode function to initialise the features shared by all nodes. After that, the node-specific code lives.

function SampleNode(config) {
    RED.nodes.createNode(this,config);
    // node-specific code goes here

}

RED.nodes.registerType("sample",SampleNode);

Receiving messages

Nodes register a listener on the input event to receive messages from the up-stream nodes in a flow.

this.on('input', function(msg) {
    // do something with 'msg'
});

Sending messages

Nodes can send messages to the down-stream nodes in a flow using the send function:

var msg = { payload:"hi" }
this.send(msg);

If msg is null, no message is sent.

If the node is sending a message in response to having received one, it should reuse the received message rather than create a new message object. This ensures existing properties on the message are preserved for the rest of the flow.

Multiple outputs

If the node has more than one output, an array of messages can be passed to send, with each one being sent to the corresponding output.

this.send([ msg1 , msg2 ]);

Multiple messages

It is possible to send multiple messages to a particular output by passing an array of messages within this array:

this.send([ [msgA1 , msgA2 , msgA3] , msg2 ]);

Closing the node

Whenever a new flow is deployed, the existing nodes are deleted. If any of them need to tidy up state when this happens, such as disconnecting from a remote system, they should register a listener on the close event.

this.on('close', function() {
    // tidy up any state
});

If the node needs to do any asynchronous work to complete the tidy up, the registered listener should accept an argument which is a function to be called when all the work is complete.

this.on('close', function(done) {
    doSomethingWithACallback(function() {
        done();
    });
});

Note that node-red will wait indefinitely for the done() call.

Logging events

If a node needs to log something to the console, it can use one of the follow functions:

this.log("Something happened");
this.warn("Something happened you should know about");
this.error("Oh no, something bad happened");

The warn and error messages also get sent to the flow editor debug tab.

Handling errors

If the node encounters an error that should halt the current flow, it should log the event with the this.error function.

If the error is one that a user of the node may want to handle for themselves, the function should be called with the original message (or an empty message if this is an Input node) as the second argument:

node.error("hit an error", msg);

This will trigger any Catch nodes present on the same tab.

Setting status

Whilst running, a node is able to share status information with the editor UI. This is done by calling the status function:

this.status({fill:"red",shape:"ring",text:"disconnected"});

The details of the status api can be found here.