Changelog

FlowFuse Device Agent version v3.6.0 combined with FlowFuse v2.21.0 allows you to monitor the CPU and Memory usage of Remote Instances

Screenshot of Device Performance data

The view is available from the "Performance" tab on the Remote Instance page.

This feature is available to Enterprise customers on FlowFuse Cloud and to Enterprise licensed self hosting customers.

Instances running the latest Node-RED version on FlowFuse v2.21.0 will now be able to export Node-RED SubFlows as Node-RED nodes.

This is done from the Node-RED editor using a custom sidebar.

Screenshot of Node-RED with the SubFlow export sidebar

The nodes are added to the Team's Library of Custom Nodes and can be installed into any of the Team's Node-RED instances from the Catalogue generated by the Team Library.

Screenshot of Node-RED Manage Palette showing new SubFlow modules

This feature is available to FlowFuse Cloud Pro and Enterprise teams and to Enterprise Self hosting users.

The new Tables we introduced in FlowFuse 2.20.0 feature may be still in Beta but to help you make the most of it we have added a codelens to the query editor to help you get your queries written faster.

Behind the scenes, when you ask for assistance, we gather schema info and include this in the process of making a prediction as to the best tables and fields to use for in the query.

Let's see it in action

Demo of table node with assistance

Included in FlowFuse v2.21.0 is the ability to configure the HTTP CORS response for HTTP routes served by the Node-RED instances.

This includes routes from HTTP-in/HTTP-response nodes and the Node-RED Dashboard.

Screenshot of Hosted Instance Security Settings

This feature will require the latest Stack version and uses will be prompted to upgrade if required.

As part of FlowFuse release v2.21.0, self hosted Enterprise users will be able to enable direct SSO login from the FlowFuse login page.

Screenshot of FlowFuse Login Page with SSO Direct Button

This can be enabled from the Admin Settings page. When enabled it will add a button for all SAML SSO configurations to the login page. These buttons bypass the email domain matching that would normally be used to select which SSO provider to use. This can be used when users use the same email domain but need to authenticate with different SSO providers.

Screenshot of FlowFuse Admin Settings for Direct SSO

We’ve introduced a new feature: AI-generated Snapshot Descriptions.
When creating a snapshot, you can now generate a concise description of what it contains and why it was created.

This makes it easier to understand the purpose of a snapshot at a glance, especially when working in a team or looking back weeks later.

How it works

When creating a snapshot, you’ll see a new “Generate with AI” option.
With one click, a suggested description is created for you, which you can accept as-is or edit before saving.

Demo of generating snapshot descriptions

This feature is currently available for hosted instances only. Support for remote instances will follow shortly.

FlowFuse has offered a built in MQTT Team Broker since FlowFuse v2.10.0, but connecting to it still required manual configuration in your Node-RED instances through the core MQTT nodes.

Today, we are adding dedicated MQTT nodes that require no setup to use. Just add a FlowFuse MQTT Node to your Node-RED instance, deploy it & go.

Pretty much all of the capabilities of the Node-RED MQTT Nodes are present making it very straightforward and to get up and running in no time.

Screenshot of Node-RED with FlowFuse MQTT Nodes

Screenshot of Node-RED with FlowFuse MQTT-in node edit panel

To get the new FlowFuse MQTT Nodes in your Node-RED instance, you will need to be running the latest version of the FlowFuse Device Agent (V3.6.0 or greater) or a stack running with the FlowFuse launcher (V2.20.1 or greater) which will be released in the coming days.

Recently, we introduced "Flows Explainer" to the FlowFuse Assistant. It provides a concise description of the selected flows. This turned out so well we thought "wouldn't it be good if the generated explanation could be persisted as built in documentation" so we added a single click option to add the documentation as a comment node to your flows. We also provided a Copy to Clipboard button so you can grab it and add it to the Documentation section of a flow tab, node group or external documentation.

Let's see it in action

Demo of documenting flows with the Flows Explainer

While this feature is just a simple quality of life addition, we are hopeful it is small touches like these that improve your daily workflow.

We've renamed our Team tier to Pro tier to better reflect what it's truly designed for: using Node-RED professionally to build applications, replace and augment software in your organization, and scale professional Node-RED deployments.

The Pro plan empowers developers and engineers to move beyond collaboration and into production-ready industrial applications that optimize operations and drive real business value.

All existing Team plan subscribers will automatically transition to Pro. Your applications, instances, and team configurations remain exactly the same.

What's new:

• A name that better represents professional Node-RED application development
• Clearer positioning for organizations ready to scale their Node-RED implementations

Ready to build professional Node-RED applications? Get started with Pro or contact us to learn more.

In conjunction with the release of Node-RED 4.1.0 and FlowFuse 2.20.0, we have added smart suggestions to the Editor.

When you drop a node onto the editor workspace, the upstream connected nodes in your flow are analysed and a next node suggestion is presented for quick insertion via the keyboard TAB key or the click of your mouse. It presents up to 5 of the most common following nodes which can be cycled through using your keyboards UP and DOWN arrows, so even if the first suggestion isn't correct, it's very likely that the correct choice is only a key press away.

To achieve this, we processed thousands of real working flows and built a decision tree model for the greatest accuracy possible.

Let's see it in action

Demo of smart suggestions

We hope this new feature makes the process of writing flows for Node-RED flows in FlowFuse even easier.

As part of the FlowFuse v2.20.0 release we are adding an option for a Team level hosted relational database.

Screenshot of the FlowFuse Tables onboarding wizard

Tools to create tables and to show sample data are included, but we will be iterating on these moving forward.

Screenshot of Table Explorer

Paired with the Database is a new FlowFuse Tables node which will automatically pick up the credentials when deployed in FlowFuse Hosted Instance running on a v2.20.0+ Stack, or when running with the latest version of the FlowFuse Device Agent.

Screenshot of Node-RED with FlowFuse Tables Node

The database is a Postgres instance and you will be able to connect 3rd party clients using the credentials provided.

This feature will be available to FlowFuse Cloud Enterprise Tier customers and to Enterprise Licensed Self Hosted customers on Kubernetes to start with, we hope to make it available to Docker Compose users in a future release.

It is currently marked as a Beta Feature while we continue to iterate on adding new features and observe how it is used.

We’ve rolled out a redesigned Applications Page interface to give you sharper insight into instance status across hosted and remote deployments.

Key Updates

• Application Shortcuts Maintained The existing shortcuts to instances, devices, device groups, snapshots, and pipelines have been retained in the new layout for easy access.

• Summary Tiles for Each App Instead of listing every instance individually, you now get compact summary tiles with counts of Running, Error, and Not Running instances for both hosted and remote groups. Visual layout is clean and instant to scan.

• Grouped Instances by Status Each application shows two separate tiles: one for hosted instances and one for remote. That way you see app health at a glance, without needing to drill into details.

• Aggregate Status Tiles Each status tile represents an aggregate count of instances in a given state (e.g. Running, Error). Clicking on a tile takes you to a filtered view of the underlying instances.

Why This Matters

• Page load times have been significantly improved by reducing the number of rendered elements and simplifying data fetching.
• Cuts out clutter—no more scrolling through long lists.
• Quick status view helps you spot issues fast.
• Cleaner separation between hosted vs remote gives context instantly.

Screenshot of the Simplified Applications page

FlowFuse provides a growing library of blueprints that provide a great way to get started quickly with a pre-built solution across a range of scenarios.

With the 2.19 release of FlowFuse, instances that have been updated to the latest version can now import blueprints directly into their editor.

The Node-RED import dialog (Ctrl-i or the import menu option) now has a blueprints section. Under that you can browse the available blueprints by category and select one to import.

Screenshot of the Node-RED import dialog

When you import a blueprint, you may get an error about 'unknown' nodes. This will be because the blueprint depends on Node-RED nodes you haven't currently got installed. You can check the blueprint library for details on what the blueprints require and then install them via the Palette Manager within Node-RED.

We recognise that isn't as smooth an experience as we'd like - but the good news is it's about to get much better. With the imminent Node-RED 4.1 release, the editor will be able to automatically install any missing modules for you. Keep an eye out for the 4.1 release announcement and update your instances to take full advantage.

Last month we introduced a way for the FlowFuse Device Agent to import Node-RED flows during the setup process. Today, we have built on that and added some new features:

• Automatically scan common file locations and offer any flows found for immediate selection
• Scan common directories and present any that contain multiple flows as a quick browse selection
• Offer a "Browse filesystem" option to let you navigate and select any flows on your device

Lets see it in action

Import automatically located ~/.node-red/flows.json flows file

Screenshot of the Importing an Automatically located flows file during Device Agent Setup

Using the "Browse filesystem" option to navigate the filesystem to chose a different flows file

Screenshot of Browsing the filesystem for flows file during Device Agent Setup

We hope these new enhancements make the process of migrating existing Node-RED flows to FlowFuse even easier.

Following on from the recent improvements we made earlier this month, we have added even more goodness to the FlowFuse Assistant:

We have:

• Added a menu for quick access to the new features
• Improved the look and feel of the Flow Explainer
• Added a codelens to assist you creating HTML, VUE, Vuetify & CSS in FlowFuse Node-RED Dashboard templates

And there more to come in the next week - stay tuned!

New Menu

Screenshot of the new Assistant Menu

Flow Explainer updated look & feel

Animated GIF showing the Flow Explainer Updated Layout

New Codelens for building ui-templates

Animated GIF showing the Assistant building HTML & VUE template code

Animated GIF showing the Assistant building CSS styles

Updating the Assistant

If you are running Node-RED v4.x, head over to the Palette Manager, update the plugin and restart your instance.

Screenshot of Updating the Assistant for a Node-RED 4 instance

If you are still running Node-RED v3.x we strogly recommend you update your stack to use Node-RED v4.x but you can still manually update the plugin by adding @flowfuse/nr-assistant to the instance settings then restart it.

Screenshot of Updating Assistant for a Node-RED 3 instance

We’re excited to announce the release of the all-new Home Page, designed to simplify navigation and provide relevant information at a glance.

Key Features

• A more intuitive and dedicated landing page, replacing the dual-purpose "Applications" view.
• Recently Modified Instances: The Home page highlights recently modified hosted and remote instances, providing key statistics at a glance:
  • Number of running, error, and not running instances.
  • Each tile is clickable for direct access.
• Recent Activity Section: A comprehensive view of the latest 50 changes made within the current team is now integrated, enabling better tracking of team activities and updates.

These enhancements are intended to make managing your instances and reviewing activity smoother and more effective.

Screenshot of the new home/landing page in FlowFuse

This improvement aligns with the feedback we received from the community, aimed at delivering a more user-friendly and focused experience.

We're excited to announce an enhancement to the existing Performance view for Hosted Instances in FlowFuse. We've expanded the view to include a new Memory Utilization chart.

Screenshot of the Performance view with Memory Utilization

This update provides additional insight, allowing you to monitor not only CPU usage but also memory consumption over time. The inclusion of memory metrics makes it easier than ever to detect performance issues and optimize your Node-RED Flows.

Last year, we introduced the FlowFuse Assistant, a Node-RED plugin designed to assist FlowFuse users with tools for developing their Node-RED instances. Today, we are excited to announce that the Assistant has been updated with a new feature powered by AI: the Flows Explainer. This feature uses AI to analyze your Node-RED flows and provide a detailed explanation of what they do, making it easier for you to understand and manage your flows.

Stay tuned; this is just a taste of what is to come.

Flows Explainer

Screenshot of the FlowFuse Assistant Flow Explainer

Updating the Assistant

If you are running Node-RED v4.x, head over to the Palette Manager, update the plugin and restart your instance.

Screenshot of Updating assistant on Node-RED 4

If you are still running Node-RED v3.x we strogly recommend you update your stack to use Node-RED v4.x but you can still manually update the plugin by adding @flowfuse/nr-assistant to the instance settings then restart it.

Screenshot of Updating assistant on Node-RED 3

We’ve given the top navigation in FlowFuse a visual refresh as part of our effort to constantly improve and modernise the user experience of FlowFuse.

Menus now use a clean white background, with updated colors, spacing, and transitions across the user menu, team switcher, and notification buttons. Mobile menus have also been cleaned up for better usability.

This is the first step in a broader UI modernization effort based on community feedback.

Screenshot of the re-designed top navigation