Node-RED is a development tool installed by default on the Raspbian distribution, the official Linux distribution of the Raspberry Pi. If you have decided to run your Orange Pi under Armbian, here’s how to install Node-RED. For this article, I installed Node-RED on Armbian and an Orange Pi Lite (Wi-Fi version).

Install Node-RED on Armbian

Installing Node-RED is now much easier with the installation script. Initially intended for the Raspbian distribution of the Raspberry Pi, it works perfectly on the Armbian distribution of Orange Pi. Log in SSH or open a Terminal and run the installation script by executing this command. The operation lasts about 15 minutes.

bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/update-nodejs-and-nodered)

1	bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/update-nodejs-and-nodered)

This can take 20-30 minutes on a Pi 1 - please wait.

  Stop Node-RED                       ✔
  Remove old version of Node-RED      ✔
  Remove old version of node.js       ✔
  Install node.js for Armv6           ✔   Node v6.11.0   Npm 3.10.10
  Clean npm cache                     ✔
  Install Node-RED core               ✔   0.16.2 
  Install extra nodes                 ✔
  Install serialport node             ✔
  Npm rebuild existing nodes          ✔
  Add menu shortcut                   ✔
  Update systemd script               ✔
  Update update script                ✔

Any errors will be logged to   /var/log/nodered-install.log

All done.
  You can now start Node-RED with the command  node-red-start
  or using the icon under   Menu / Programming / Node-RED
  Then point your browser to localhost:1880 or http://{your_pi_ip-address}:1880

Started  Thu 22 Jun 14:42:28 UTC 2017  -  Finished  Thu 22 Jun 15:00:14 UTC 2017

This can take 20-30 minutes on a Pi 1 - please wait.

Stop Node-RED ✔

Remove old version of Node-RED ✔

Remove old version of node.js ✔

Install node.js for Armv6 ✔ Node v6.11.0 Npm 3.10.10

Clean npm cache ✔

Install Node-RED core ✔ 0.16.2

Install extra nodes ✔

Install serialport node ✔

Npm rebuild existing nodes ✔

Add menu shortcut ✔

Update systemd script ✔

Update update script ✔

Any errors will be logged to /var/log/nodered-install.log

All done.

You can now start Node-RED with the command node-red-start

or using the icon under Menu / Programming / Node-RED

Then point your browser to localhost:1880 or http://{your_pi_ip-address}:1880

Started Thu 22 Jun 14:42:28 UTC 2017 - Finished Thu 22 Jun 15:00:14 UTC 2017

Start Node-RED on startup with PM2

There are several ways to start NR automatically on Mac (or Windows). Here I suggest you use PM2, a process manager for Node.js. The advantage is that this solution works on all platforms. Convenient, if you ever have the urge to develop on Raspberry Pi.

sudo npm install -g pm2

1	sudo npm install -g pm2

If you no longer know the Node-RED path, run this command

which node-red

1	which node-red

On macOS, it should be in /usr/local/bin/node-red .

To run NodeRED, run this command PM2

pm2 start /usr/local/bin/node-red -- -v

1	pm2 start /usr/local/bin/node-red -- -v

The configuration is saved and automatic start is activated

pm2 save
pm2 startup

1 2	pm2 save pm2 startup

A short video to see how to do

Installing Node-RED on Armbian – Depreciated method

Do not use this method anymore. Use the detailed installation script previously.

The installation of Node-RED on Orange Pi (or Raspberry Pi) is different from other Linux distributions (how to install on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS) since it will have to install everything from the sources. Here’s how to do it step by step.

We start by doing some housekeeping in the package manager

sudo apt-get remove -y nodered nodejs nodejs-legacy npm
sudo apt-get autoremove -y

1 2	sudo apt-get remove -y nodered nodejs nodejs-legacy npm sudo apt-get autoremove -y

Then we install Node-RED from the source code

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_4.x | sudo bash -

1	curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_4.x \| sudo bash -

Now the necessary dependencies: Node.js, Python, Build

sudo apt-get install -y build-essential python-dev nodejs

1	sudo apt-get install -y build-essential python-dev nodejs

Before going any further, we can check the installed versions

$ npm -v
2.15.11

1 2	$ npm -v 2.15.11

$ node -v
v4.6.2

1 2	$ node -v v4.6.2

This complies with the Node-RED specifications (here).

Clean the npm cache and run the Node-RED installation. Attention, it is quite long, several minutes on an Orange Pi Lite because everything must be compiled for the ARM processor (Allwinner H3 @ 1,2GHz). I encountered a crash during this stage. I just restarted the command after reboot.

sudo npm cache clean
sudo npm install -g --unsafe-perm node-red

1 2	sudo npm cache clean sudo npm install -g --unsafe-perm node-red

Finally we install the scripts that will start and stop Node-RED

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/nodered.service -O /lib/systemd/system/nodered.service
sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/node-red-stop -O /usr/bin/node-red-stop
sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/node-red-start -O /usr/bin/node-red-start

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/nodered.service -O /lib/systemd/system/nodered.service

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/node-red-stop -O /usr/bin/node-red-stop

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/raspbian-deb-package/master/resources/node-red-start -O /usr/bin/node-red-start

All you have to do is activate the Node-RED service to enable it to start when Armbian starts.

sudo sed -i -e 's#=pi#=orangepi#g' /lib/systemd/system/nodered.service
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/node-red-st*
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

sudo sed -i -e 's#=pi#=orangepi#g' /lib/systemd/system/nodered.service

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/node-red-st*

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

It only remains to create the directory of operation of Node-RED.

mkdir .node-red
cd .node-red

1 2	mkdir .node-red cd .node-red

You can add the node-red-admin module.

sudo npm install -g node-red-admin

1	sudo npm install -g node-red-admin

Here is a list of articles to go further with Node-RED

Source:

The installation procedure proposed in this tutorial is extracted from the installation script developed by Brian Weet https://gist.github.com/brianweet/a055f344f57cd485dc8b91cd18523002

Updates:

[06/28/2017] – installation using bash script

Asterion Daedalus

Yeah, but no. Didn’t work for me.
- Projets DIY
  
  Hello Asterion. Can you give us more information about your configuration and versions (armbian, nodejs…). Thank’s
  - Asterion Daedalus
    
    Armbian debian server from:
    https://dl.armbian.com/orangepizero/Debian_jessie_default.7z
    
    apt-get would fail when attempting to install nodejs so I used the binary install from:
    
    https://nodejs.org/dist/v6.11.0/node-v6.11.0-linux-armv7l.tar.xz
    
    Downloaded node-red then the usual way through npm.
    
    Runs fine from command line.
    
    So, I will have to look at the service scripts I assume? They might need tweaking.
    
    Error reported when using systemctrl start nodered.service is:
    ? nodered.service – Node-RED graphical event wiring tool.
    Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nodered.service; disabled)
    Active: failed (Result: start-limit) since Wed 2017-06-14 09:34:56 CEST; 2s ago
    Docs: http://nodered.org/docs/hardware/raspberrypi.html
    Process: 1366 ExecStart=/usr/bin/env node-red-pi $NODE_OPTIONS $NODE_RED_OPTIONS (code=exited, status=217/USER)
    Main PID: 1366 (code=exited, status=217/USER)
    
    Jun 14 09:34:55 house systemd[1]: Unit nodered.service entered failed state.
    Jun 14 09:34:56 house systemd[1]: nodered.service holdoff time over, schedu…t.
    Jun 14 09:34:56 house systemd[1]: Stopping Node-RED graphical event wiring …..
    Jun 14 09:34:56 house systemd[1]: Starting Node-RED graphical event wiring …..
    Jun 14 09:34:56 house systemd[1]: nodered.service start request repeated to…t.
    Jun 14 09:34:56 house systemd[1]: Failed to start Node-RED graphical event …..
    Jun 14 09:34:56 house systemd[1]: Unit nodered.service entered failed state.
    - Projets DIY
      
      Ok. Can you give me the npm and node versions please. Did you try to follow the steps of the tutorial before? You must also install build-essential and python-dev
      - Asterion Daedalus
        
        npm -v
        3.10.10
        node -v
        6.11.0
      - Asterion Daedalus
        
        Nope, added build-essential an python-dev, reinstalled node-red. Still same problem. I also noted the step to create .node-red with mkdir is not necessary as it is created by the build. As for below, it looks like this post is out of date given the movement in npm and node versions.
      - Projets DIY
        
        Well, I have to re-install with the latest versions of npm and nodejs. On the other hand, everything works very well with the versions indicated in the article. I made several tutorials with this configuration. As soon as I have a little time, I update the article. If you find the solution before me, do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you very much.
      - Asterion Daedalus
        
        Cheers. I will keep at it.
      - Asterion Daedalus
        
        SOLVED. I just used PM2 as suggested from node-red site.
        
        What got me going was the following (from root):
        
        npm install -g pm2
        whereis node-red
        node-red: /usr/local/bin/node-red
        pm2 start /usr/local/bin/node-red –node-args=”–max-old-space-size=128″ — -v
        pm2 save
        pm2 startup
        export PM2_HOME=”/root/.pm2″ # because I installed in root otherwise PM2_HOME=”/root/{user}/.pm2″
        reboot #takes a while after rebooting but it should come up
      - Projets DIY
        
        Hi Asterion. I just updated the article. I used the new install script to install Node-RED. It works like a charm. He takes care of everything. Like you, I installed PM2 to automatically launch Node-RED at startup. It’s much simpler. Everything is done in 15 ‘on my Orange Pi Lite! See you soon i hope. Christophe
      - Asterion Daedalus
        
        Okay, I spotted one problem caused by the block copying of the service commands above, for the node-red-start script the wget finishes silently but was not copying the file to /usr/bin as it had random characters in URL and file name (substituting spaces). I tidied that up.
        
        However, error message is now:
        ? nodered.service – Node-RED graphical event wiring tool.
        Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nodered.service; disabled)
        Active: failed (Result: start-limit) since Wed 2017-06-14 13:54:19 CEST; 5s ago
        Docs: http://nodered.org/docs/hardware/raspberrypi.html
        Process: 2737 ExecStart=/usr/bin/env node-red-pi $NODE_OPTIONS $NODE_RED_OPTIONS (code=exited, status=217/USER)
        Main PID: 2737 (code=exited, status=217/USER)
        
        Jun 14 13:54:18 house systemd[1]: Unit nodered.service entered failed state.
        Jun 14 13:54:19 house systemd[1]: nodered.service holdoff time over, scheduling restart.
        Jun 14 13:54:19 house systemd[1]: Stopping Node-RED graphical event wiring tool….
        Jun 14 13:54:19 house systemd[1]: Starting Node-RED graphical event wiring tool….
        Jun 14 13:54:19 house systemd[1]: nodered.service start request repeated too quickly, refusing to start.
        Jun 14 13:54:19 house systemd[1]: Failed to start Node-RED graphical event wiring tool..
        Jun 14 13:54:19 house systemd[1]: Unit nodered.service entered failed state.
Jck Hmans

On my orange pi zero or PM2 I had to use this syntax:

pm2 start node-red

then the save and the the startup command. Followed by the additional command PM2 spat out which in my case was:

sudo env PATH=$PATH:/usr/bin /usr/lib/node_modules/pm2/bin/pm2 startup systemd -u pi –hp /home/pi

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Install Node-RED on Orange Pi running Armbian, auto start with PM2

Install Node-RED on Armbian

Start Node-RED on startup with PM2

Installing Node-RED on Armbian – Depreciated method

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