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:

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 from PyPI

pip install nr-mcp

Install with uv (recommended)

uv tool install nr-mcp

Or from source:

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/.

Configuration

Environment variables

* 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.