nr-mcp 1.2.0

MCP server for Node-RED — safe deploy with optimistic locking, smart search, full flow management via AI assistants

nr-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants interact with Node-RED — read flows, search nodes, edit function code, deploy changes safely, and manage modules.

Built to solve real problems: the existing Node-RED MCP implementations use PUT /flow/:id which reorders your tabs. nr-mcp uses the correct GET → POST /flows pattern with optimistic locking, so your tab order is always preserved.

Features

13 tools for complete Node-RED flow management:

Tool	Description
nr_get_flow_summary	Overview of all tabs with node counts and groups
nr_get_flow	Get a single tab with all nodes — by name or ID
nr_search_nodes	Search nodes by name, type, or JavaScript code content
nr_get_function_code	Extract full JS code from function nodes (incl. init/finalize)
nr_get_node_config	Full config with computed upstream/downstream connections
nr_get_flow_context	Read flow-level context variables
nr_safe_deploy	Deploy changes with optimistic locking — never reorders tabs
nr_create_nodes	Batch-create nodes/groups in a single deploy
nr_delete_nodes	Batch-delete with automatic wire and group cleanup
nr_inject	Trigger inject nodes remotely to test flows
nr_get_installed_modules	List installed modules and available node types
nr_install_module	Install npm packages from the Node-RED registry
nr_get_debug_output	Read debug/error data from flow context

Why not just use the existing MCP servers?

• Tab reorder bug: Other implementations use PUT /flow/:id which silently reorders your tabs in Node-RED. nr-mcp uses the correct GET → POST /flows full-deploy pattern.
• Optimistic locking: Every deploy checks the rev field. If someone else deployed between your read and write, you get a clear conflict error instead of silent data loss.
• Smart search: Search across node names, types, function code, templates, and actions in one call.
• Production-tested: Built and used daily for managing complex Node-RED installations (home automation, IoT, energy management).

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• uv (recommended) or pip
• Node-RED instance with Admin API enabled

Install with uv (recommended)

uv tool install git+https://github.com/Texan-NXTassist/nr-mcp.git

Or from a local clone:

git clone https://github.com/Texan-NXTassist/nr-mcp.git
cd nr-mcp
uv tool install .

This creates the nr-mcp command in ~/.local/bin/.

Install with pip

pip install git+https://github.com/Texan-NXTassist/nr-mcp.git

Configuration

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Description
NR_URL	No	Node-RED URL (default: http://localhost:1880)
NR_TOKEN	No*	Bearer token for token-based auth
NR_USER	No*	Username for Basic Auth
NR_PASS	No*	Password for Basic Auth

* At least one auth method is recommended. Auth is checked in order: token → basic auth → no auth.

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nr-mcp": {
      "command": "nr-mcp",
      "env": {
        "NR_URL": "http://localhost:1880",
        "NR_USER": "admin",
        "NR_PASS": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tip: If you get a "working directory" error, create a wrapper script:

#!/bin/bash
cd /tmp
exec nr-mcp "$@"

Then point command to the wrapper path.

Cursor / VS Code

Add to your MCP settings (.cursor/mcp.json or VS Code equivalent):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nr-mcp": {
      "command": "nr-mcp",
      "env": {
        "NR_URL": "http://localhost:1880",
        "NR_TOKEN": "your-access-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage examples

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "Show me all Node-RED tabs and their node counts"
• "Search for nodes that contain 'mqtt' in their code"
• "Show me the function code for node abc123"
• "Update the function code in node xyz to add error handling"
• "Create an inject node and an HTTP request node on the Weather tab"
• "What modules are installed? Is node-red-dashboard available?"
• "Install node-red-contrib-influxdb"
• "Trigger the 'Test' inject node and check for errors"

Architecture

nr-mcp is a Python MCP server that communicates with Node-RED via its Admin API. It uses stdio transport (standard for MCP) and makes HTTP calls to your Node-RED instance.

AI Assistant ↔ MCP (stdio) ↔ nr-mcp ↔ HTTP ↔ Node-RED Admin API

Key design decisions

• GET→POST pattern: All deploys fetch full flows, modify in-place, then POST back. Never uses PUT /flow/:id which reorders tabs.
• Optimistic locking: Uses the Node-RED rev field to detect concurrent modifications.
• No caching: Every tool call fetches fresh data. Slightly slower, but always correct.
• Single retry on conflict: Deploy operations retry once on 409 Conflict.

For more details, see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Node-RED setup

The Admin API must be enabled (it is by default). If you've restricted it, ensure these endpoints are accessible:

• GET /flows and POST /flows — flow read/write
• GET /context/flow/:id — flow context
• POST /inject/:id — inject trigger
• GET /nodes and POST /nodes — module management

See Node-RED Admin API docs for auth configuration.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

git clone https://github.com/Texan-NXTassist/nr-mcp.git
cd nr-mcp
uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -e .

License

MIT — see LICENSE.