Deploying and starting node-red flows from the command-line

[Professor Hantzen]

Is this possible?

For example, if I had a flow file I wanted to run, I would ordinarily:

1) Enter "node-red" from the command line.

2) Navigate to localhost:1880 in a browser

3) Click "Deploy".

4) Click the "Start" button of the "Inject" node to commence the flow.

Conversely, if I'd developed in node.js, I would enter:

node <mynodefile.js>

On the command line to have my program up and running, and could package this in a shell script for example.

How can I achieve the same effect with node-red?  Is it possible to enclose the flows file in a node.js program for example?  Or is there a better way to achieve a similar outcome?

Many thanks!

[Dave C-J]

by default node-red will start running the flows file as soon as you start it.

you can also pass in a flow file as a command line parameter if you like...

so 

    node-red  myflow.json

will run my file ... 

[Ben Hardill]

And inject nodes can be set to fire once on start

[Dave C-J]

Good catch. Thanks Ben

[Professor Hantzen]

Oh! Lol - that's somewhat easier than I thought it'd be. :D  I didn't realise you could specify a specific flow file, and totally forgot about "Inject once on start" - of course! Thank you both.

Out of interest, is there a way to package a flow in a node.js file?  Eg, if I wanted to implement a flow into some code I already have.

[Julian Knight]

As NR runs in its own process, you could simply spawn it. Capture the PID so you can terminate it and monitor it too - Node.JS is ACE!