# Deploying Flows to the Device Agent - Team and Enterprise tier only

Before you're able to deploy your flows to your device, you will have needed to have completed these steps:

Install the Device Agent on the Device - installs Node-RED and other requirements in order to communicate with FlowFuse.
Register the Device with FlowFuse - this step will have provided you with a device.yml file to move to your Device.
Run the Device Agent - starts the Device Agent on the Device.

# Deploying a Node-RED instance to the device

To deploy a Node-RED instance to the device:

Create a snapshot - a point-in-time backup of the Node-RED flows and configuration.
Mark that snapshot as the Device Target snapshot.

This model allows you to develop your flows in FlowFuse and only push it out to the registered devices when you're happy with what you've created.

# Starting Node-RED on the device without deploying a snapshot

A device can be assigned to an application without a snapshot being deployed to it.

In this mode, the device will start Node-RED with a default set of flows that can be edited on the device see Editing the Node-RED flows on a device that is assigned to an application below

# Editing the Node-RED flows on a device that is assigned to an instance

When running in the default of Fleet Mode, the device agent does not allow local access to the Node-RED editor. This ensures the device is running the deployed snapshot without modification.

When running on FlowFuse Cloud, or a premium licensed FlowFuse instance (with the MQTT broker enabled the device can be placed in Developer Mode that enables remote access to the editor.

This can then be used to develop the flows directly on the device and a new snapshot generated from the device that can be deployed to other devices in the application.

Whilst in Developer Mode the device will not receive new updates from the platform when new snapshots are deployed.

Accessing the Editor

Once developer mode is enabled, click the Enable button next to the 'Editor Access' option
When the editor is available, the Editor button in the header will become active and will take you to the device editor.

Creating a Device Snapshot

To create an instance snapshot from the device use the Create Snapshot button in the Developer Mode options panel.

You will be prompted to give the snapshot a name and description. See Snapshots for more information about working with snapshots.

# Editing the Node-RED flows on a device that is assigned to an application

The device agent does not allow local access to the Node-RED editor. Access to the editor is only available when:

The device is in Developer Mode
When running on FlowFuse Cloud, or a premium licensed FlowFuse instance (with the MQTT broker enabled the device can be placed in Developer Mode that enables remote access to the editor.

Whilst in Developer Mode the device will not receive new updates from the platform.

Enabling Developer Mode

Go to your teams's Devices page.
Select the device you want to edit by clicking its name.
Click the "Developer Mode" button to enable developer mode.
Once enabled, Developer Mode options are available under the tab labelled "Developer Mode" on the device page.

Accessing the Editor

Once developer mode is enabled, click the Enable button next to the 'Editor Access' option
When the editor is available, the Editor button in the header will become active and will take you to the device editor.

Creating a Device Snapshot

To create a snapshot from an application owned device use the Create Snapshot button in the Developer Mode options panel.

You will be prompted to give the snapshot a name and description. See Snapshots for more information about working with snapshots.

Auto Device Snapshots

For devices that are assigned to an application, the platform will automatically create a snapshot of the device when it detects flows modified. This snapshot will be created with the name "Auto Snapshot - yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm-ss". Only the last 10 auto snapshots are kept, others are deleted on a first in first out basis.

Custom Node Catalogues

For devices that want to make use of custom node catalogues, these can be configured under the device settings page on the Palette tab

.npmrc file

Likewise for devices that need to be provided with a custom .npmrc file to allow access to a custom npm registry or to provide an access token this can also be set on the device settings Palette tab

# Important Notes

Remote access to the editor requires Device Agent v0.8.0 or later.
The Web UI requires Device Agent v0.9.0 or later.
Assigning a device to an application requires Device Agent v1.11.0 and FlowFuse v1.11.0 or later.
Snapshots of devices assigned to an application are supported in FlowFuse V1.12.0 or later.
Deploying a snapshot from a different instance or device to an application owned device is supported in FlowFuse V1.13.0 or later.
When a device is assigned to an instance:
- It must first have a snapshot applied before editor access is possible.
- Disabling Developer Mode and returning to Fleet Mode will cause the device to check-in with the platform. If the device flows have changed, it will be reloaded with the current target snapshot assigned to that device, causing any changes made in Developer Mode to be overwritten. Therefore, it is recommended to create a snapshot of the changes before disabling Developer Mode.
When a device is assigned to an application:
- It will start with a set of default flows.
The device will not receive any updates from the platform while in Developer Mode.
The device must be online and connected to the platform to enable "Editor Access".
To minimise server and device resources, it is recommended to disable "Editor Access" when not actively developing flows on a device.
Auto snapshots were introduced in FlowFuse V2.1.
Auto snapshots are only supported for devices assigned to an application.
If an auto snapshot is set as the target snapshot for a device or assigned to a pipeline stage, it will not be auto cleaned up meaning it is possible to have more than 10 auto snapshots.