Node-Red is running on my PC. How to I access my dashboard on my phone?
Is the PC on your own network? Is your phone on the same network?
It can be, but I was hoping for a remote access thing. I played around with adafruit IO and you could access it from your phone. You just needed the web address. It used mqtt as well, but the OS was really slow and the adafruit IO dashboard was way too restrictive.
It is possible to access node red across the internet. However you might want to do a search on the forum first and then standby. There are a lot of strong feelings against doing what you propose. Me, I'm not going to wade in. But, it IS possible.
I did a search, several actually, but I came up with nothing. I am interested in IOT at very low cost. Using a cell phone to replace most of the hardware is VERY attractive to me. Why would anyone object? Security?
Yep, a very big attack vector
I would Recommend you use a VPN. then use ssh port forwarding to access the node red.
I do no recomend exposing ssh port simply because of bots. a VPN is less likely to be bothered based on my router dashboard.
And there is a very simple way of setting a vpn up
https://www.pivpn.io/
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It isn't that we object - what you do with your own systems and data is up to you. What we will do though, as a public community, is to warn you and everyone else who might read this thread, of the dangers/risks in what you are wanting to do.
Using Dashboard on your phone over a local network is easy enough, it is just a web page after all (though older and low-cost phones often struggle to cope with the weight of Dashboard 1 with its AngularJS v1 and other overheads, the new Dashboard 2 should be better hopefully).
But when you expose ANYTHING to the Internet, you are playing in global shark infested waters and things become more dangerous. At this point, there are a number of things you need to do (akin to locking your doors and windows when you leave the house).
Firstly, you need to make sure that only YOU (and anyone else you want to give access to) can access the page and that the data exchanged between you and the Dashboard is encrypted.
There are lots of ways to achieve this. But all of them have a learning curve.
Probably the easiest way is to use NGROK. This is a small app you run on your Node-RED server that creates a connection to a trusted 3rd-party server on the Internet. Once set up, you connect to the 3rd-party server from your phone rather than directly to your own server.
There are other, similar and more comprehensive solutions such as ZeroTier and Cloudflare Zero Trust, but they are generally a bit more complex to set up. All have free tiers though which should be more than enough for your use.
Note that such tools are MUCH better than a VPN for this kind of use - for reasons I can go into if people want me to but otherwise, I will leave unsaid for now.
Just make sure that you meet 2 requirements when using these tools:
- ALWAYS have an encrypted connection. That means that your browser should show a valid
httpsconnection. - ALWAYS have a login with a strong passcode. Even if you only have 1 that you share with people.
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It's very simple to access your Node-red from the internet; all you need is a DDNS service to associate a domain name with your home IP address and port forwarding on your router to allow access.
Unfortunately this will definitely attract automated attacks and the first thing you will know about it is when they have guessed your password and compromised your computers.
I have used PiVPN as suggested by @lost-rob0t but now I use Zerotier, no need for port forwarding on the router.
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I have a secure website that I use for e-commerce. I can set up a username and password to get at a page. Is that enough security? What more would be needed? Totally new to this.
What are the mechanics of actually getting the webpage to post there?
This thread already contains everything you need to deliver an IOT Dashboard. I've already explained what you need to do as a minimum.
If you are now saying that you will use it for e-commerce, that is a VERY different beast. Because you would be LEGALLY responsible for quite a few things. Exactly what depends somewhat on what countries to intend to operate in. Also, how much YOU would need to take responsibility for and how much you might be able to hand off to a dedicated e-commerce 3rd party (e.g. for processing credit card payments) obviously we cannot guess as we don't know any details.
If all you want is to get Node-RED to access the e-commerce site and you control it via Dashboard, then what we've already shared will be sufficient.
Research, install and configure NGROK (or one of the similar tools) securely and allow access to your dashboard (using http://localhost:1880/ui as the INTERNAL page link. NGROK will give you an EXTERNAL page link that will include https://.... - the exact URL will depend on how you configure NGROK. User ID's and Passwords should be provided by and managed in NGROK, not Node-RED.
Got it downloaded, thanks! Now to figure it out!
No, I did not say I would use it for e-commerce, but the site has space I can put a secure page on for my own use.
One small reminder - our responses here in the forum are given in good faith but do not represent anything legally binding! Use at your own risk. 
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