Idea: Dashboard on the Same App

[rei-vilo]

This is just an idea, to be discussed..

Instead of launching a separate browser for the dashboard, could the IDE and the Dashboard be under the same app?

[sakazuki]

Hi @rei-vilo ,

Thank you for your idea.

I understand "the Dashboard" means this (https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-dashboard).

I am not familiar with the dashboard.
Could you let me know the idea more detail, now I don't know the good point to used it in the same app.

My thought is that the editor is for flow creators, but the dashboard is for users.

Regards,
sakazuki

[rei-vilo]

Hi @sakazuki,

Thank you for the prompt answer.

One of the key features of Node-RED is the dashboard, which provides all the GUI elements for a command-and-control panel.

When used in command-line mode, Node-RED provides two addresses:

• http://127.0.0.1:1880 for the IDE, and
• http://127.0.0.1:1880/ui for the dashboard.

For example, the following dashboard...

...has the corresponding code

[{"id":"e29f40ae.dc2ed","type":"ui_gauge","z":"7ce61b5f.bdd744","name":"","group":"c15d2070.9f5a4","order":1,"width":0,"height":0,"gtype":"gage","title":"gauge","label":"units","format":"{{value}}","min":0,"max":10,"colors":["#00b500","#e6e600","#ca3838"],"seg1":"","seg2":"","x":440,"y":180,"wires":[]},{"id":"6f03ce05.75a94","type":"ui_slider","z":"7ce61b5f.bdd744","name":"","label":"slider","tooltip":"","group":"c15d2070.9f5a4","order":0,"width":0,"height":0,"passthru":true,"outs":"all","topic":"","min":0,"max":10,"step":1,"x":220,"y":120,"wires":[["e29f40ae.dc2ed"]]},{"id":"c15d2070.9f5a4","type":"ui_group","z":"","name":"Default","tab":"9e7f0f63.821678","disp":true,"width":"6","collapse":false},{"id":"9e7f0f63.821678","type":"ui_tab","z":"","name":"Home","icon":"dashboard","disabled":false,"hidden":false}]

Today, Node-RED Desktop exposes the IDE window, but not the dashboard window. This means I need an external browser to display the dashboard.

The idea would be Node-RED Desktop provides both windows, saving the need for a browser.

Summarising the options,

• The command-line mode requires two applications:

  1. a terminal to launch node-red;
  2. a browser with two windows: one for IDE at http://127.0.0.1:1880, and another for the dashboard at http://127.0.0.1:1880/ui.

• Using Node-RED Desktop still requires two applications:

  1. Node-RED Desktop for launching Node-RED and for displaying the IDE;
  2. A browser for the dashboard at http://127.0.0.1:59487/ui

• Suggested Node-RED Desktop implementation with one single application:

  1. Node-RED Desktop for launching Node-RED, displaying the IDE and the dashboard.

Node-RED Desktop uses port :59487 instead of command-line :1880.

[rei-vilo]

You may pay a visit at a similar project, electron-node-red at https://github.com/zuhito/electron-node-red.

The Electron unique window shows the editor and the dashboard, among other options, although not in different tabs.

This is very useful to distribute the Node-RED flow as an application.

[sakazuki]

In v1.0.0-beta.5,
I add a new function to open in the same app by clicking a link with Ctrl (mac: Command)

[rei-vilo]

Very nice!

[sakazuki]

done