Quick Start Guide: Device Agent

This guide will walk you through the process of adding a device to FlowFuse, connecting it to the platform, and deploying your Node-RED flows remotely. FlowFuse's Device Agent helps unlock the power of your devices by allowing you to manage and deploy Node-RED flows running on those devices securely and remotely.

FlowFuse Device Agent Workflow Workflow to onboard new Remote Instances through the FlowFuse Platform and Device Agent

Video Walkthrough

This video will walk you through every step from creating a remote instance, installing the Device Agent, and connecting the two. It is focused on the Free tier, but applies to all users.

Setup & Installation

Step 1: Register a Remote Instance (On FlowFuse Platform)

  1. Open your web browser and go to your FlowFuse application page.

  2. Navigate to the Remote Instances section.

  3. Click Add Remote Instance.

  4. Fill in the Name & Type and select an Application

    Screenshot of the dialog form to fill out when registering a Device Screenshot of the dialog form to fill out when registering a Device

  5. Click Add

  6. You will be presented with a Device Configuration that you will need in the next step. (Do not close this window just yet.)

    Screenshot of the dialog shown to a user when a Device is registered Screenshot of the dialog shown to a user when a Device is registered

  7. Copy the installation command. You will need it in next step.

Step 2. Install and Configure the Device Agent (On Device)

  1. Open a Terminal/Windows Command Prompt (run elevated[1]) on the Device.

  2. Paste the command you copied from the previous step and execute it.

  3. Answer prompts as needed.

  4. Installer will set up the runtime and configure the Device Agent, and summarize on successful completion.

    Example output in a Terminal showing a device agent successfully installed Example output in a Terminal showing a device agent successfully installed

Your device is now connected to FlowFuse and ready to be used.

Deploy Flows to Remote Instances

There are two approaches to deploying flows to your Remote Instances.

  • Developer Mode: This mode allows you to edit and deploy flows directly from the FlowFuse platform.
  • DevOps Pipelines: FlowFuse provides DevOps Pipelines as a way of pushing flows from one Hosted Instance/Remote Instance to another (or several in the case of Device Groups). This is the recommended approach if you're pushing from development environments (e.g. remote test instances) out to remote production instances.

Developer Mode

  1. Navigate to Applications and select the application your device was added to.

  2. Go to the Remote Instances tab within the application.

  3. Locate your newly added device and click on your Remote Instance.

  4. Then Click Developer Mode toggle button on upper right.

    The "Developer Mode" toggle button available on the Device screen The "Developer Mode" toggle button available on the Device screen

  5. This will enable editor access for your device.

    The "Device Editor" button available on the Device screen The "Device Editor" button available on the Device screen

  6. Clicking Device Editor will launch the editor.

    Screenshot of a Node-RED Editor for a Device Screenshot of a Node-RED Editor for a Device

DevOps Pipelines

Screenshot showing the user interface for creating and running DevOps Pipelines in FlowFuse Screenshot showing the user interface for creating and running DevOps Pipelines in FlowFuse

To work with Pipelines, you need at least one other Hosted Instance or Remote Device to push from/to. You can follow the instructions on setting up a Pipeline and deploying your flows between Hosted Instances/Remote Instances DevOps Pipelines.

Next Steps

Now you have a device connected to the platform, there are many features you can use to manage and monitor your Remote Instances. Here are a few to get you started:

  1. Run powershell -Command "Start-Process 'cmd' -Verb runAs to launching an elevated command prompt window (e.g. as an admin user) ↩︎