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layout docs-getting-started
toc toc-user-guide.html
title Running on Raspberry Pi
slug raspberry pi
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Installing and Upgrading Node-RED

We provide a script to install Node.js, npm and Node-RED onto a Raspberry Pi, and other platforms running a Debian based OS. The script can also be used to upgrade an existing install when a new release is available.

Running the following command will download and run the script. If you want to review the contents of the script first, you can view it on Github.

bash <(curl -sL https://github.com/node-red/linux-installers/releases/latest/download/install-update-nodered-deb)

There are extra parameters you can pass to the script. Add --help to the end of the above command to see them.

This script will work on any Debian-based operating system, including Ubuntu and Diet-Pi. You may need to run sudo apt install build-essential git curl first to ensure npm is able to fetch and build any binary modules it needs to install.

This script will:

  • remove the existing version of Node-RED if present.
  • if it detects Node.js is already installed, it will ensure it is at least v20. If nothing is found it will install the Node.js v22 LTS release using the NodeSource package.
  • install the latest version of Node-RED using npm.
  • optionally install a collection of useful Pi-specific nodes.
  • setup Node-RED to run as a service and provide a set of commands to work with the service.
**Note**: As of Node v24 there are NO 32 bit builds available - so armv6 based Pi devices will no longer be supported.

Running locally

As with running Node-RED locally, you can use the node-red command to run Node-RED in a terminal. It can then be stopped by pressing Ctrl-C or by closing the terminal window.

Due to the limited memory of the Raspberry Pi, you may need to start Node-RED with an additional argument to tell the underlying Node.js process to free up unused memory sooner than it would otherwise.

To do this, you should use the alternative node-red-pi command and pass in the max-old-space-size argument.

node-red-pi --max-old-space-size=256

Running as a service

The install script also sets it up to run as a service. This means it can run in the background and be enabled to automatically start on boot.

The following commands are provided to work with the service:

  • node-red-start - this starts the Node-RED service and displays its log output. Pressing Ctrl-C or closing the window does not stop the service; it keeps running in the background. Use node-red-log to re-attach and view the log.
  • node-red-stop - this stops the Node-RED service
  • node-red-restart - this restarts the Node-RED service
  • node-red-reload - this stops then starts the Node-RED service
  • node-red-log - this displays the log output of the service

You can also start the Node-RED service on the Raspberry Pi OS Desktop by selecting the Menu -> Programming -> Node-RED menu option.

Autostart on boot

If you want Node-RED to run when the device is turned on, or re-booted, you can enable the service to autostart by running the command:

sudo systemctl enable nodered.service

To disable the service, run the command:

sudo systemctl disable nodered.service

Opening the editor

Once Node-RED is running you can access the editor in a browser.

If you are using the browser on the Pi desktop, you can open the address: http://localhost:1880.

We recommend using a browser outside of the Pi and pointing it at Node-RED running on the Pi. However you can use the built in browser and if so we recommend Chromium or Firefox.

When browsing from another machine you should use the hostname or IP-address of the Pi: http://<hostname>:1880. You can find the IP address by running hostname -I on the Pi.

Next steps