pepr90210/node-red-mcp-server repository overview

⁠Node-RED MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI language models to interact with Node-RED programmatically. This Docker image provides a bridge between Claude Desktop and your Node-RED instance.

⁠Quick Start

docker run --rm -i \
  -e NODE_RED_URL=http://your-node-red-host:1880 \
  -e NODE_RED_TOKEN=your-node-red-token \
  pepr90210/node-red-mcp-server:latest

⁠What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standardized protocol that allows AI language models to securely access external data sources and tools. This server specifically enables communication between Claude Desktop and Node-RED.

⁠Features

• Flow Management: Create, read, update, and delete Node-RED flows
• Node Control: Manage individual nodes within flows
• Inject Node Triggering: Programmatically trigger inject nodes
• Settings Access: Read and modify Node-RED runtime settings
• Search Capabilities: Find nodes and flows by various criteria

⁠Environment Variables

⁠Configuration for Claude Desktop

Add this configuration to your ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "node-red": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "--name",
        "node-red-mcp-server",
        "-e",
        "NODE_RED_URL=http://your-node-red-host:1880",
        "-e",
        "NODE_RED_TOKEN=your-node-red-token",
        "pepr90210/node-red-mcp-server:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

⁠Node-RED Authentication

⁠Getting Your Token

1. Enable Node-RED authentication in your settings.js:

adminAuth: {
    type: "credentials",
    users: [{
        username: "admin",
        password: "$2b$08$...", // bcrypt hash
        permissions: "*"
    }]
}

1. Generate an access token:

curl -X POST http://your-node-red-host:1880/auth/token \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"client_id":"node-red-admin","grant_type":"password","scope":"*","username":"admin","password":"your-password"}'

⁠Without Authentication

If your Node-RED instance doesn't require authentication, simply omit the NODE_RED_TOKEN environment variable.

⁠Usage Examples

Once configured with Claude Desktop, you can use natural language to interact with Node-RED:

• "Show me all my Node-RED flows"
• "Create a new flow with an inject node and debug node"
• "Trigger the inject node in my temperature monitoring flow"
• "What are the current Node-RED settings?"

⁠Docker Compose Example

version: '3.8'

services:
  node-red-mcp-server:
    image: pepr90210/node-red-mcp-server:latest
    stdin_open: true
    environment:
      - NODE_RED_URL=http://host.docker.internal:1880
      - NODE_RED_TOKEN=your-token-here
    extra_hosts:
      - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"

⁠Architecture

This server uses:

• Node.js 18 Alpine - Lightweight base image
• MCP SDK - Official Model Context Protocol implementation
• Axios - HTTP client for Node-RED API communication
• stdio transport - Communication with Claude Desktop via stdin/stdout

⁠Troubleshooting

⁠Connection Issues

1. Verify Node-RED URL: Ensure the URL is accessible from the Docker container
2. Check Token: Verify your Node-RED token is valid and has proper permissions
3. Network Access: Make sure Docker can reach your Node-RED instance

⁠Common Problems

• Empty responses: Check if Node-RED authentication is properly configured
• Permission errors: Ensure your token has the required permissions
• Connection timeouts: Verify network connectivity between container and Node-RED

⁠Security Considerations

• Store tokens securely - avoid hardcoding in configuration files
• Use environment variables or Docker secrets for sensitive data
• Ensure Node-RED instance is properly secured
• Consider using HTTPS for Node-RED in production

⁠Source Code

This image is built from the original node-red-mcp-server⁠ repository by Evgeniy Karavaev.

⁠GitHub Repository

• Original Source: https://github.com/karavaev-evgeniy/node-red-mcp-server⁠
• Docker Build Files: Available in the source repository
• Issues & Contributions: Please report issues to the original GitHub repository

⁠License

MIT License - see the source repository for full license details.

⁠Tags

• latest - Latest stable version
• 1.0.1 - Specific version tags

⁠Support

For issues related to:

• This MCP Server: GitHub Issues⁠
• MCP Protocol: Model Context Protocol Documentation⁠
• Node-RED Integration: Node-RED Documentation⁠
• Claude Desktop: Anthropic Documentation⁠