@smartrsolutions/node-red-andon 1.0.0
Send values from Node-RED to the Andon app for iPhone: end-to-end encrypted tiles, fed by msg.topic.
Andon for Node-RED
Send values from Node-RED to Andon, the iPhone app that shows your data as tiles and widgets. Everything is end-to-end encrypted: the content key stays in your Node-RED, and only the devices you paired can read what you send.
[MQTT oee] ──┐
[S7 count] ──┼──► [andon out] ──► iPhone
[SQL order] ─┘
Two nodes:
- andon-view (configuration): one view. Its tiles come from a template you
design in the Andon configurator; its keys come
from the
.envthe configurator gives you. - andon out: takes values.
msg.topicis the tile ID,msg.payloadthe value. It collects, checks, encrypts and uploads them.
Getting started
- Design your tiles in the configurator and
create the view there. Download the
.envand the template. - Pair your iPhone: scan the configurator's QR code with the Andon app.
- Install this package: Manage palette → Install, search for
andon. - Import the example: Import → Examples → @smartrsolutions/node-red-andon → Andon basics.
- Open the view
Getting started, click Import .env and Import template, then deploy. The node turns green, and the tiles appear on your iPhone.
Then replace the simulator in the example with your own sources.
Messages
msg.topic is the ID of a tile, as the view lists it. What msg.payload does
depends on the tile:
| Tile | msg.payload |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
| label | number or text | replaces the value |
| gauge, progress, donut | number | replaces the value |
| line, bar over time | number | appended to the series (msg.timestamp, msg.series optional) |
| bar with categories, pie, donut | array of numbers | replaces the values, one per category |
| table | array of rows (a row is an array of cells) | replaces the rows |
| timeline | state ID | starts a new segment (msg.lane optional) |
| any tile | object, e.g. {"value": 79.3, "status": "warning"} |
sets the named fields; null removes one |
Numbers may arrive as text ("79.3"), as MQTT and most PLC nodes deliver them.
Without msg.topic:
msg.payload = { t_oee: 79.3, t_shift: 580 }; // several tiles at once
msg.payload = { id: "…", tiles: [ … ] }; // a whole view document, replaces the state
A value that does not fit its tile is refused with an error a Catch node receives. The view stays as it was, so one bad value never blocks the others.
The first real value of a series or timeline lane replaces the points the template came with: those are the configurator's start values, not measurements.
When it uploads
- A change goes out at most once per interval (30 s by default, 10 s at least). The first change after a quiet spell goes out at once.
- While values keep arriving, even unchanged ones, a heartbeat goes out after half the stale time, so the view stays fresh.
- When no value arrives, nothing is sent: the app then shows the view as stale, which is what it should show when your source has stopped.
- Devices are woken only when a tile's status changes (configurable). Every wake-up costs battery on every paired device.
Status
The status of a tile (ok, warning, critical, stale) is your judgement: the
app does not compute it from the value. Send it with the value, or tick
status from bands for a tile in the view to have it derived from its bands.
Security
- Write secret and content key are Node-RED credentials: stored encrypted in
flows_cred.jsonand never part of an exported flow. SetcredentialSecretin yoursettings.js. - The content key never leaves Node-RED. The write secret is sent only in the
Authorizationheader of the upload. - The output of
andon outis a summary (sizes, status code,notify), never the envelope or a secret. - The
.envfrom the configurator also holds the invite secret. This package drops it on import: a data source does not pair devices.
Requirements
Node-RED 3.0 or newer, Node.js 18 or newer.
License
Copyright 2026 SMARTR.solutions. Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0;
the text is in the file LICENSE of this package.
