Setting up Node-RED

Installing Node-Red

Node-Red is just a node.js package, so you follow the same approach described above.

The install command would be

npm install -g node-red

For more information: http://nodered.org/

(The website says "sudo npm install -g node-red" - sudo is a Linux command that Windows does not need)

Installing various node-red nodes needed for this project

A number of user created nodes are required for the various examples provided to work - a few of the most common follow.

All node-red additional nodes must be installed in the node-red user directory. On Windows 7 that's "C:\Users\User\.node-red", and usually it's the '.node-red' folder in your node.js user directory, so access it via the node.js command prompt. The node.js command prompt should open in the node.js user directory - you can then go down to the node-red directory by using the command 'cd .node-red'. Thereafter you install all node-red nodes using npm in the same way that node.js packages where installed.

Johnny-Five node

This node allows you to access Johnny-Five more directly (https://github.com/monteslu/node-red-contrib-gpio).

npm install -g node-red-contrib-gpio

Arduino Node

This node allows you to access the pins and analogue inputs directly from the Arduino once the Firmata is installed. (https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-red-node-arduino)

npm install -g node-red-node-arduino

Node Red Dashboard

This tools allow for rapid creation of user interfaces (UIs). A quick chart of button can be generated and integrated with the node-red flow - (https://github.com/node-red/node-red-dashboard )

npm install -g node-red-dashboard

Freeboard

This is another UI tool that can be used instead of dashboard - (https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-red-contrib-freeboard )

npm install -g node-red-contrib-freeboard

Getting Started

After installing Node-Red, I suggest you go through the two sample flows to get acquainted with the idea of node-red ( http://nodered.org/docs/getting-started/first-flow).

Once that is up and running, and you'd like to get your first temperature measurement, and you have a breadboard, a thermistor, an Arduino and some other goodies, head over to the measuring temperature example.