Node RED
Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions.
- Home Automation & IoT
- JavaScript
- Apache-2.0
- Docker
- Actively maintained
GitHub stats
- GitHub stars
- 23,716
- Forks
- 3,894
- Open issues
- 225
- Commits, last 12 months
- 684
- Last commit
- Oct 1, 2026
- Latest release
- 5.0.7Sep 8, 2026
- Created
- Sep 5, 2013
Data from the GitHub API, refreshed daily.
About Node RED
Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions. Node RED is open source under the Apache-2.0 license and written mainly in JavaScript, so you can read the code, run it on your own hardware and keep full control of your data.
The project has 23,716 stars and 3,894 forks on GitHub, with 684 commits over the last year. It ships a Docker image, which makes it a good fit for a small VPS or a home server running Docker Compose.
Topics
- node-red
- javascript
- low-code
- openjs-foundation
- flow-based-programming
- visual-programming
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What is Node RED?
Node RED is a free, open-source app you can host on your own server, listed in our Home Automation & IoT category. Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions. The source code lives at github.com/node-red/node-red, where it has 23,716 stars.
Is Node RED free and open source?
Yes. Node RED is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I run Node RED with Docker?
Yes. Node RED provides a Docker image, so you can run it on any Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed. The project README lists the image name and the environment variables to set.
What are the best alternatives to Node RED?
Popular open-source alternatives to Node RED include Home Assistant, Tasmota and Thingsboard. Node RED itself is a self-hosted alternative to Zapier, IFTTT, Nest / SmartThings and Google Home.
Is Node RED actively maintained?
The most recent commit to Node RED was on Oct 1, 2026 with 684 commits in the past twelve months. The latest release is 5.0.7, published Sep 8, 2026. Check the open issues on GitHub to gauge how quickly maintainers respond.