Library Store API

Since 1.3.0

The Import/Export dialog within the Node-RED editor provides a way to save flows and nodes to a local library.

This local library is managed by the Storage API. The default being to store in under ~/.node-red/lib.

The Library Store API is a plugin mechanism that can be used to provide libraries that store their contents in other locations - not just in local files.

Node-RED provides a File Store plugin that can be used to add libraries stored on the local file-system. This could be used, for example, to create a library on a shared file-system via a tool like Dropbox, to make it easier to share flows with other developers you are working with.

Adding a File Store library

Edit your Node-RED settings file - typically ~/.node-red/settings.js
Find the editorTheme section and add a library section if one does not already exist.

Under that section add a sources array. Within that array you can add as many new file store sources as you want.

 editorTheme: {
     library: {
         sources: [
             {
                 id: "team-collaboration-library",
                 type: "node-red-library-file-store",
                 path: "/Users/tom/work/team-library/",
                 label: "Team collaboration",
                 icon: "font-awesome/fa-users"
             }
         ]
     },
 }

The configuration object can have the following properties:

Property	Description
`id`	Required A unique, url-safe, identifier for the library. Should contain only letters, numbers and the symbols `- _`.
`type`	Required Must be set to `node-red-library-file-store`
`path`	Required The absolute path to the where the library should be stored
`label`	An optional label to use in the editor, otherwise the `id` will be used.
`icon`	An optional icon from FontAwesome 4.7.
`types`	By default the library will be used to store all types of object. It can be restricted to certain types by setting this property to an array of the acceptable types. For example, to restrict it to just flows, set this property to `["flows"]`.
`readOnly`	To make this a read-only library so it can only be used to import from, set this property to `true`.

Creating a new Store plugin

To create a store backed by a different type of storage, you will need to create a new plugin.

The plugin is packaged as an npm module, with a package.json file.

The following code can be used as the starting point for the plugin. You should also refer to the File Store plugin.

package.json

{
    "name": "your-custom-library-store",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "description": "A Custom Library plugin for Node-RED",
    "keywords": [
        "node-red"
    ],
    "node-red": {
        "plugins": {
            "customstore": "store.js"
        }
    }
}

store.js

module.exports = function(RED) {

    // This must be a unique identifier for the library store type
    const PLUGIN_TYPE_ID = "node-red-library-custom-store";

    class CustomStorePlugin {

        /**
         * @param {object} config an object containing the configuration for an
         *                        instance of the store
         */
        constructor(config) {
            // Required properties
            this.type = PLUGIN_TYPE_ID;
            this.id = config.id;
            this.label = config.label;
        }

        /**
         * Initialise the store.
         */
        async init() {
        }

        /**
         * Get an entry from the store
         * @param {string} type The type of entry, for example, "flow"
         * @param {string} path The path to the library entry
         * @return if 'path' resolves to a single entry, it returns the contents
         *         of that entry.
         *         if 'path' resolves to a 'directory', it returns a listing of
         *         the contents of the directory
         *         if 'path' is not valid, it should throw a suitable error
         */
        async getEntry(type,path) {
            throw new Error("Not implemented")
        }

        /**
         * Save an entry to the library
         * @param {string} type The type of entry, for example, "flow"
         * @param {string} path The path to the library entry
         * @param {object} meta An object of key/value meta data about the entry
         * @param {string} body The entry contents
         */
        async saveEntry(type,path,meta,body) {
            throw new Error("Not implemented")
        }
    }

    // Register the plugin.
    RED.plugins.registerPlugin(PLUGIN_TYPE_ID, {
        // This tells Node-RED the plugin is a library source plugin
        type: "node-red-library-source",
        class: CustomStorePlugin
    })
}