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    Deploy Node-RED on a VPS

    Self-host Node-RED, a flow-based programming tool for wiring together APIs, hardware, and services, on a RamNode VPS with Docker, admin auth, and Nginx TLS.

    Node-RED is a lightweight flow-based programming tool for wiring together APIs, hardware, and services. This guide runs it in Docker with persistent storage and a secured, TLS-fronted web UI.

    Target environment: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM is enough for most flows; bump to 2 GB if you'll run heavier function nodes or dashboards.

    1. Initial server prep

    shell
    apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y curl ufw

adduser deploy
usermod -aG sudo deploy

ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

    Re-login as deploy for the remaining steps.

    2. Install Docker

    shell
    curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

    3. Set up persistent storage and Compose file

    shell
    mkdir -p ~/node-red/data
cd ~/node-red
    shell
    nano docker-compose.yml
    shell
    services:
  node-red:
    image: nodered/node-red:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - TZ=America/New_York
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:1880:1880"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    user: "1000"

    Set TZ to your VPS's actual timezone (matters for scheduled flows). Bind to 127.0.0.1 only — Nginx will handle the public-facing side.

    shell
    docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f

    Ctrl+C once you see "Server now running at http://127.0.0.1:1880/".

    4. Secure the editor and admin API

    By default Node-RED's editor is wide open to anyone who can reach port 1880. Since we're about to expose it via a reverse proxy, lock it down first.

    Generate a password hash:

    shell
    docker run -it --rm nodered/node-red:latest node-red admin hash-pw

    Enter a strong password when prompted; copy the resulting $2b$... hash.

    Create a settings override:

    shell
    nano ~/node-red/data/settings.js

    If the file doesn't already exist with defaults, copy the stock settings.js out of the container first:

    shell
    docker cp $(docker compose ps -q node-red):/data/settings.js ~/node-red/data/settings.js

    Then edit it to add (uncomment) the adminAuth block:

    shell
    adminAuth: {
    type: "credentials",
    users: [{
        username: "admin",
        password: "PASTE_YOUR_HASH_HERE",
        permissions: "*"
    }]
},

    Restart to apply:

    shell
    docker compose restart

    5. Put Nginx + TLS in front of it

    shell
    sudo apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/node-red
    shell
    server {
    listen 80;
    server_name nodered.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:1880;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

    The Upgrade/Connection headers are required — Node-RED's editor relies on WebSockets for live updates.

    shell
    sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/node-red /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d nodered.yourdomain.com

    6. First login

    Visit https://nodered.yourdomain.com, log in with the admin credentials you set, and confirm you can create and deploy a trivial flow (e.g., an inject node wired to a debug node).

    7. Installing additional nodes

    Use the "Manage palette" menu in the editor UI, or install directly:

    shell
    docker compose exec node-red npm install node-red-contrib-<package-name>
docker compose restart

    8. Backups

    Everything that matters lives in ~/node-red/data — flows, credentials, installed nodes, and settings:

    shell
    tar -czf node-red-backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C ~/node-red data

    Node-RED also has built-in flow export (Menu → Export) for quick flow-only backups you can store separately in version control.

    9. Updating

    shell
    cd ~/node-red
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
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