node-red-contrib-traffic-flash 1.0.0

A lightweight visual indicator node for Node-RED that flashes when data passes through.

npm install node-red-contrib-traffic-flash

node-red-contrib-traffic-flash

A lightweight visual indicator node for Node-RED that blinks/flashes whenever data passes through it.

Drop it anywhere along a wire to verify message flow, check throughput, or debug timing without cluttering the debug sidebar or spamming logs.

Features

• Zero-Mutation Pass-Through: Forwards msg instantly and untouched.
• Visual Pulse: Lights up the node status indicator on every message.
• Configurable Pulse Duration: Set how long the indicator stays active (e.g. 100ms, 500ms, 1000ms).
• Status Text Options:
  • None: Just the blinking light.
  • Message Count: Displays cumulative messages received (e.g., 1 msg, 42 msgs).
  • Timestamp: Displays the time of the latest message (HH:MM:SS).
  • Payload Preview: Compact inline preview of msg.payload.
• Idle Modes:
  • Clear: Status indicator completely vanishes when idle.
  • Grey Ring: Dim grey outline indicating the line is armed and awaiting traffic.
  • Keep Last: Dim grey outline retaining the last counter or payload value.
• Reset Capability: Send msg.reset = true or msg.topic = 'reset' to zero out the counter and restore idle status.

Installation

Via Node-RED Editor (Recommended)

1. Open your Node-RED editor.
2. Go to the top right menu ☰ → Manage palette.
3. Select the Install tab.
4. Search for node-red-contrib-traffic-flash and click install.

Via Terminal / Command Line

Inside your Node-RED user directory (typically ~/.node-red):

cd ~/.node-red
npm install node-red-contrib-traffic-flash

Then restart Node-RED.

Configuration

Example Flow

Copy the following JSON and import it into Node-RED (☰ → Import → Clipboard):

[
  {
    "id": "inject_traffic",
    "type": "inject",
    "z": "tab1",
    "name": "Simulate Sensor Tick",
    "props": [{"p": "payload"}],
    "repeat": "1",
    "crontab": "",
    "once": true,
    "onceDelay": 0.1,
    "topic": "",
    "payload": "heartbeat",
    "payloadType": "str",
    "x": 160,
    "y": 120,
    "wires": [["traffic_flash_node"]]
  },
  {
    "id": "traffic_flash_node",
    "type": "traffic-flash",
    "z": "tab1",
    "name": "Traffic Tap",
    "flashDuration": 300,
    "flashColor": "green",
    "flashShape": "dot",
    "idleState": "grey",
    "displayText": "count",
    "x": 380,
    "y": 120,
    "wires": [["debug_out"]]
  },
  {
    "id": "debug_out",
    "type": "debug",
    "z": "tab1",
    "name": "Output",
    "active": false,
    "tosidebar": true,
    "console": false,
    "tostatus": false,
    "complete": "payload",
    "targetType": "msg",
    "statusVal": "",
    "statusType": "auto",
    "x": 560,
    "y": 120,
    "wires": []
  }
]

License

MIT © Greg Clauson