Node-RED Node TypeScript Starter

This is a quick-start template repository for creating new Node-RED node sets in TypeScript.

What's included:

• TypeScript compilation
• Unit testing with Jest
• Local Node-RED instance with your node set pre-installed on the palette
• CLI scaffolding for new nodes from templates
• Dev watch mode

Project Structure

node-red-node-typescript-starter/
 ├──src/                             * source files of the node set
 │   ├──__tests__/                   * tests for the node set (test file names should match *.test.ts glob pattern)
 │   │   └──transform-text.test.ts   * tests for the transform-text node
 │   │
 │   └──nodes/                       * node set folder, where subfolder names = node types
 │       ├──shared/                  * folder for .ts files shared across multiple nodes in the node set
 │       │
 │       └──transform-text/          * source files of the transform-text node
 │           ├──icons/               * custom icons used by the node set in the editor
 │           │
 │           ├──modules/             * .ts modules for the runtime side (transform-text.js file) of the node
 │           │
 │           ├──shared/              * folder for .ts files shared between the runtime side (.js file) and the editor side (.html file) of the node
 │           │
 │           ├──transform-text.html/ * files for compiling and bundling into the editor side (transform-text.html file) of the node
 │           │   ├──modules/         * .ts modules
 │           │   ├──editor.html      * html template for the edit dialog
 │           │   ├──help.html        * html template for the help in the info tab
 │           │   └──index.ts         * entry file
 │           │
 |           └──transform-text.ts    * entry file for the runtime side (transform-text.js file) of the node
 |
 ├──package.json                     * dependencies and node types for the Node-RED runtime to load
 |
 ├──rollup.config.editor.json        * rollup config for building the editor side of the nodes
 |
 ├──tsconfig.json                    * base typescript config, for the code editor
 ├──tsconfig.runtime.json            * config for creating a production build of the runtime side of the nodes
 └──tsconfig.runtime.watch.json      * config for watching and incremental building the runtime side of the nodes

Getting Started

1. Generate a new GitHub repository by clicking the Use this template button at the top of the repository homepage (or just click this link), then clone your new repo.
2. Edit package.json:
   • name - should be a scoped name as per Node-RED recommendations
   • version
   • description
   • repository
   • keywords - add the node-red keyword to help make your nodes discoverable within the npm repository. Do NOT add it until you are happy that the node is stable and working correctly, and documented sufficiently for others to be able to use it.
   • author
   • node-red.version - specify supported node-red versions
   • engines.node - specify supported node.js versions
3. Install dependencies: npm install.

Developing Nodes

Build, Test & Start Node-RED with your node set on the palette, in Watch mode:

npm run dev

Adding Nodes

You can quickly scaffold a new node and add it to the node set. Use the following command to create my-new-node-type node:

npm run add-node my-new-node-type

The node generator is based on mustache templates. At the moment there are three templates available:

• blank (used by default) - basic node for Node-RED >=1.0
• blank-0 - node with a backward compatibility for running on Node-RED <1.0
• config - configuration node

To generate a node using a template, specify it as the third argument:

npm run add-node my-new-node-type blank

or

npm run add-node my-new-node-config config

Adding Node Templates

If you want to make your own template available, add it to ./utils/templates/.

Building Node Set

Create a production build:

npm run build

Start Node-RED with the built node set on the palette:

npm run start

Validation

Before publishing the package you built, run the full suite of validation tests to see how your Node Scorecard will look on Flow Library:

npm run validate

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License

MIT © Alex Kaul