# Install node-red with Homebrew, Nix Low-code programming for event-driven applications. Version 5.0.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-02. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:node-red ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install node-red ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#node-red ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/no/node-red/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:node-red - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 5.0.1 - **Source summary:** Low-code programming for event-driven applications - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-02T16:40:50Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - node-red (cli) - node-red-pi (cli) - node-red (alias) - node-red-pi (alias) ## Dependencies - node ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Service: declared - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 5.0.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-02 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://nodered.org/ - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage Node-RED is a flow-based, low-code programming tool for event-driven applications. Its own site frames it as a way to collect, transform, and visualize real-time data, with a browser editor, Node.js runtime, JSON flow files, and a community library of more than 5,000 nodes and flows. ### Project history Node-RED began in early 2013 as a side project by Nick O'Leary and Dave Conway-Jones in IBM's Emerging Technology Services group. The original proof of concept visualized and manipulated mappings between MQTT topics, then grew into a general-purpose tool for wiring hardware devices, APIs, online services, and application logic. ### Adoption history The project was open-sourced in September 2013 and became one of the founding JS Foundation projects in October 2016. The Node.js Foundation and JS Foundation later merged into the OpenJS Foundation in 2019, giving Node-RED a vendor-neutral home alongside other JavaScript ecosystem projects. A major adoption moment came on 25 November 2015, when Node-RED announced that the November 2015 Raspbian Jessie image shipped with Node-RED pre-installed and that it was also available through the Raspbian Jessie APT repositories. That helped push it into Raspberry Pi, home automation, education, and industrial IoT workflows. ### How it is used Homebrew users install it with `brew install node-red` and run the `node-red` command, then open the editor at `http://localhost:1880`. Node-RED's local install docs also show the npm path with `npm install -g node-red`, Docker via `docker run -it -p 1880:1880 --name mynodered nodered/node-red`, and command-line flags such as `--settings`, `--userDir`, `--port`, and `--safe`. ### Why package nerds care Node-RED sits in a funny and useful place for package people: it is a Node.js app, a visual programming environment, and a runtime for long-lived flows. The package pulls in the usual Node dependency world, but its users often think in deployed flow files, credentials files, palettes, and hardware-adjacent integrations rather than in conventional application source trees. Homebrew Formulae lists node-red 5.0.0 and reports 1,044 installs over 365 days. That is small compared with npm usage, but it is a convenient macOS/Linux package-manager path for local flow development and lightweight automation boxes. ### Related projects - Node.js - OpenJS Foundation - Raspberry Pi - FlowFuse - MQTT ### Sources - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes formula declares a Homebrew service. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - formula declares a Homebrew service ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.node-red/settings.js - Windows: %HOMEPATH%\.node-red\settings.js ## Credential files - Unix: ~/.node-red/flows__cred.json - Windows: %HOMEPATH%\.node-red\flows__cred.json ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** node-red - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - node-red: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/no/node-red/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [node](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/node/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [flowpipe](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/flowpipe/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, workflow-automation. - [dagu](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dagu/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, workflow-automation. - [git-town](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/git-town/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, workflow-automation. - [action-docs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/action-docs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, nodejs. - [chalk-cli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/chalk-cli/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, nodejs. - [claudekit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/claudekit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, workflow-automation. - [corepack](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/corepack/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, nodejs. - [czg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/czg/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, nodejs. - [node-red](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/node-red/) - Same normalized package name appears in another local ecosystem. Shared terms: applications, automation, cli, code, driven. - [n8n-mcp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/n8n-mcp/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: automation, cli, code, developer, developer-tools. - [node-red](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/node-red/) - Same normalized package name in another local ecosystem. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/node-red.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/node-red.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph