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title: About
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---
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Node-RED is a flow-based programming tool, originally developed by [IBM's Emerging Technology Services](https://emerging-technology.co.uk)
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team and now a part of the [OpenJS Foundation](https://openjsf.org/).
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### Flow-based Programming
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Invented by J. Paul Morrison in the 1970s, [flow-based programming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow-based_programming)
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is a way of describing an application's behavior as a network of black-boxes, or
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"nodes" as they are called in Node-RED. Each node has a well-defined purpose; it
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is given some data, it does something with that data and then it passes that
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data on. The network is responsible for the flow of data between the nodes.
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It is a model that lends itself very well to a visual representation and makes
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it more accessible to a wider range of users. If someone can break down a problem
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into discrete steps they can look at a flow and get a sense of what it is doing;
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without having to understand the individual lines of code within each node.
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### Runtime/Editor
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Node-RED consists of a Node.js based runtime that you point a web browser at to
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access the flow editor. Within the browser you create your application by dragging
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nodes from your palette into a workspace and start to wire them together. With a
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single click, the application is deployed back to the runtime where it is run.
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Node-RED is a flow-based programming tool, originally developed by IBM Emerging Technology Services team and now a part of the [OpenJS Foundation](https://openjsf.org/).
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<divclass="grid"style="min-height: 0;">
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<div class="col-1-2">
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<div class="content feature" style="padding: 20px 0;"><img src="/images/nr-image-1.png" /></div>
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</div>
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<div class="col-1-2">
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<div class="content blurb" style="padding: 20px 0;">
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<h3>Browser-based flow editing</h3>
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<p>Node-RED provides a browser-based flow editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using the wide range of nodes in the palette. Flows can be then deployed to the runtime in a single-click.</p>
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<p>JavaScript functions can be created within the editor using a rich text editor.</p>
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<p>A built-in library allows you to save useful functions, templates or flows for re-use.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="content blurb" style="padding: 20px 0;">
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<h3>Built on Node.js</h3>
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<p>The light-weight runtime is built on Node.js, taking full advantage of its event-driven, non-blocking model. This makes it ideal to run at the edge of the network on low-cost hardware such as the Raspberry Pi as well as in the cloud.</p>
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<p>It is easy to extend the range of palette nodes to add new capabilities, with over <a href="https://flows.nodered.org">5000 nodes</a> already shared by the community.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="col-1-2">
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<div class="content feature" style="padding: 20px 0;"><img src="/images/nr-image-2.png" /></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<divclass="grid"style="min-height: 0;">
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<div class="content feature" style="padding: 20px 0;"><img src="/images/nr-image-3.png" /></div>
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</div>
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<div class="content blurb" style="padding: 20px 0;">
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<h3>Social Development</h3>
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<p>The flows created in Node-RED are stored using JSON which can be easily imported and exported for sharing with others.</p>
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<p>An online <a href="https://flows.nodered.org" target="_blank">flow library</a> allows you to share your best flows with the world.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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The palette of nodes can be easily extended by installing new nodes created by
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the community and the flows you create can be easily shared as JSON files.
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### History
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Conway-Jones of IBM's Emerging Technology Services group.
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What began as a proof-of-concept for visualising and manipulating mappings
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between MQTT topics, quickly became a much more general tool that could be easily
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extended in any direction.
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between MQTT topics, quickly became a much more general tool for building light-weight,
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event-driven applications.
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It was open-sourced in September 2013 and has been developed in the open ever
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since, culminating in it being one of the founding projects of the JS Foundation
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in October 2016.
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In 2019, the Node.js Foundation merged with the JS Foundation to form the
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Open-sourced in September 2013, Node-RED was one of the founding projects of the JS Foundation
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in October 2016. In 2019, the Node.js Foundation merged with the JS Foundation to form the
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[OpenJS Foundation](https://openjsf.org/).
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In 2021, Nick founded <ahref="https://flowfuse.com">FlowFuse, Inc.</a> to continue
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driving Node-RED forward, making it more accessible for enterprise use. FlowFuse was
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created to elevate Node-RED for enterprise contexts through a secure, professional,
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and scalable platform and has found particular success in industrial applications
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helping teams connect, collect, transform and visualize operational data.
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<divclass="doc-callout">
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<b>Why is it called Node-RED?</b> The name was a light-hearted play on words
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sounding like 'Code Red'. It stuck and was a great improvement on whatever it was
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