Node-RED Workbench

The Cybus Connectware Workbench is a built-in Node-RED environment designed for rapid prototyping and testing. This feature provides an accessible, visual programming interface for developing connectivity workflows without extensive coding.

Prototyping vs. Production Environment

The built-in Node-RED Workbench is designed for prototyping and testing purposes only. It is not recommended for production deployments.

For production environments, create a service commissioning file that installs Node-RED as a dedicated Cybus:Container resource. This approach provides full control over versioning, lifecycle management, and isolation of your Node-RED instance.

Accessing the Node-RED Workbench

To access the Node-RED Workbench:

1. On the navigation panel, click Services.

2. In the sidebar, click Node Red Workbench.

1. The Node-RED editor will open in a new browser tab.

Connecting Node-RED to the Connectware API

When creating flows that interact with the Connectware API:

Connection Parameters

• Use connectware as the server name for both:

  • MQTT connections (port 1883)

  • HTTPS connections (port 443)

Authentication

When subscribing to or publishing on the Connectware server:

1. Configure the appropriate username and password in your Node-RED nodes.

2. Ensure the user account has sufficient permissions or roles to access the required topics.

For more information on managing user permissions, see User Management.

Working with Node-RED

For comprehensive guidance on using Node-RED, refer to the official Node-RED documentation.

Node-Red Workbench Projects

Node-RED Workbench supports Node-RED projects to integrate with Git repositories, allowing you to store and version your flows.

Projects allow you to:

• Store flows in external Git repositories

• Implement version control for your flows

• Collaborate with team members on flow development

• Manage multiple flow projects within the same Workbench

For detailed information about this functionality, refer to the Node-RED Projects documentation.

Enabling Workbench Projects (Docker)

By default, Node-RED Workbench projects in Connectware are disabled. To enable Node-RED Workbench projects:

1. Open the .env file.

2. Set the CYBUS_WORKBENCH_PROJECTS_ENABLED variable to true.

# Workbench Configuration
CYBUS_WORKBENCH_PROJECTS_ENABLED=true

1. Restart the Connectware instance for the changes to take effect. See Restarting Connectware.

Result: Once enabled, you will see additional project management options in your Node-RED interface.