Installing Node-RED on a Wiren Board controller manually

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This is an outdated installation method. Starting with the testing release (based on Debian Trixie), Node-RED is installed on the controller as a ready-made wb-node-red package with a single command — see the main instruction.

Description

This page describes manual installation of Node-RED on the controller via npm. The wb-node-red package works only on releases based on Debian Trixie, so on earlier releases install Node-RED following this instruction.

If you need a newer version of Node-RED than the one installed via npm, use installation in Docker.

Installation

To avoid losing installed software and its data, update the controller software only using the apt package manager. For details, see Wiren Board Software.

The controller's built-in flash storage is divided into partitions, and the largest one, mounted at /mnt/data, is reserved for the user. Keep this in mind when installing software and when updating the controller firmware.

Copy the commands from the instructions, paste them into controller console using the Shift+Insert keys and run with the Enter key. In case of errors, carefully read the output, there will be instructions and hints.

Install the required components:

apt update && apt install -y nodejs git make g++ gcc build-essential

Start the Node-RED installation:

npm install -g --unsafe-perm node-red

If you need to update the Node-RED version, run the installation command again.

Creating a service

To start Node-RED automatically, you need to set up a service. To do this, create a nodered.service file in the /etc/systemd/system/ folder:

nano /etc/systemd/system/nodered.service

Then paste the following lines into this file:

[Unit]
Description=Node-RED graphical event wiring tool
Wants=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
Group=root
WorkingDirectory=/home

Nice=5
Environment="NODE_OPTIONS=--max_old_space_size=256"
ExecStart=/usr/bin/env node-red $NODE_OPTIONS $NODE_RED_OPTIONS
KillSignal=SIGINT
Restart=on-failure
SyslogIdentifier=Node-RED

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the changes and close the file. Now enable the service and start it with the command:

systemctl enable nodered && systemctl start nodered

Check the service status with the command; the output should contain the line Active: active (running):

# systemctl status nodered
● nodered.service - Node-RED graphical event wiring tool
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/nodered.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
   Active: active (running) since Fri 2021-12-03 06:32:25 UTC; 24s ago
 Main PID: 2757 (node)
   CGroup: /system.slice/nodered.service
           └─2757 node /usr/bin/node-red --max_old_space_size=256

Dec 03 06:32:25 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP systemd[1]: Started Node-RED graphical event wiring tool.
Dec 03 06:32:36 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: 3 Dec 06:32:36 - [info]
Dec 03 06:32:36 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: Welcome to Node-RED
Dec 03 06:32:36 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: ===================
Dec 03 06:32:36 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: 3 Dec 06:32:36 - [info] Node-RED version: v2.1.4
Dec 03 06:32:36 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: 3 Dec 06:32:36 - [info] Node.js  version: v12.19.0
Dec 03 06:32:36 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: 3 Dec 06:32:36 - [info] Linux 5.10.35-wb6 arm LE
Dec 03 06:32:41 wirenboard-AWQBNTYP Node-RED[2757]: 3 Dec 06:32:41 - [info] Loading palette nodes

Node-RED web interface

After starting the service, open a browser and enter the address of your controller on the network and port 1880. For example: http://192.168.42.1:1880

Configuring access to the Node-RED interface

When Node-RED is started for the first time, access to the web interface is not restricted. If you need to control which actions users can perform in the Node-RED interface, configure the access level as follows:

Run the command in the controller console
```
node-red admin hash-pw
```
Then enter a password and press Enter. The system will output a hash of the entered password. Copy it and use it later.
Run the command in the controller console
```
nano /root/.node-red/settings.js
```
A text editor will open.
Find the adminAuth block:

    //adminAuth: {
    //    type: "credentials",
    //    users: [{
    //        username: "admin",
    //        password: "$2a$08$zZWtXTja0fB1pzD4sHCMyOCMYz2Z6dNbM6tl8sJogENOMcx>
    //        permissions: "*"
    //    }]
    //},

Uncomment it.

    adminAuth: {
        type: "credentials",
        users: [{
            username: "admin",
            password: "$2a$08$zZWtXTja0fB1pzD4sHCMyOCMYz2Z6dNbM6tl8sJogENOMcx>
            permissions: "*"
        }]
    },

Enter a user name in the username field. Enter the previously copied password hash in the password field.

Configuration example:

    adminAuth: {
        type: "credentials",
        users: [{
            username: "wirenboard",
            password: "$2y$08$EODPHZ9o5pXn2uOj8EPyTOxfpKbdmJWSZupINKuQZAz/pZ1v0lay6",
            permissions: "*"
        }]
    },

If the permissions value is set to "*", it means the user has full access to all functions and features of the Node-RED interface.

Save the changes with Ctrl+O.
Restart Node-RED with the command
```
systemctl restart nodered
```

If you need to configure one more access level, repeat steps 1 — 3. Then add parameters for one more user with the required access rights to the same block. Save the changes and restart Node-RED.

Configuration example:

    adminAuth: {
        type: "credentials",
        users: [{
            username: "wirenboard",
            password: "$2y$08$EODPHZ9o5pXn2uOj8EPyTOxfpKbdmJWSZupINKuQZAz/pZ1v0lay6",
            permissions: "*"
        },
            {
            username: "user",
            password: "$2y$08$xaV6PiE0Pq5tRzZPndY7wOOY0ybBdK9aygscSxiu4qoLAA7Tc8yza",
            permissions: "read"
        }]
    },

The permissions values can be as follows:

"read": allows read-only access;
"write": allows writing (for example, changing flows);
"delete": allows deletion;
"deploy": allows deploying changes;
"*": full access to all functions and features.

Troubleshooting

Sometimes, if there is an error in a flow, the Node-RED web interface may stop loading; in this case, check the nodered service logs.

If the logs show an error in a flow:

Connect to the controller via SSH.
Stop the service if it is running:
```
systemctl stop nodered
```
Start Node-RED in safe mode:
```
node-red --safe
```
Identify the problem and stop the Node-RED instance running in safe mode.
Start the service again:
```
systemctl start nodered
```

If you installed Node-RED in Docker, use the instructions on the Installing Node-RED in Docker page.

Removal

If you are migrating to the wb-node-red package, do not delete the ~/.node-red directory until you have moved your flows following the instructions.

If you no longer need Node-RED, you can remove it:

Stop, disable and remove the service:

systemctl stop nodered && systemctl disable nodered && rm /etc/systemd/system/nodered.service

Remove Node-RED itself:

npm -g remove node-red && npm -g remove node-red-admin && rm -R ~/.node-red

Node.js can also be removed, but make sure you do not have other installed programs that use it, for example, zigbee2mqtt. To remove node.js, run the command:

apt remove nodejs

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