Add node installation from other than public site

[BartButenaers]

Hi folks,

Since Node-RED version 1.1.0 this pull request should be live:

I have version 1.1.2 installed, but I don't know how it works:

Even when remove the tarball postfix or the github prefix, I don't get it working...

Does anybody know how I can use this feature to install my node directly from my Github repository?

Thanks!

Bart

[dceejay]

You don't. The PR let's you point to your own library site, not an individual node.

[ristomatti]

Check the design note: https://github.com/node-red/designs/blob/master/designs/node-installation/README.md

[knolleary]

To spell it out, the feature you link to does not provide any new options in the editor.

It modifies the /nodes admin http endpoint to support a url parameter that can be used to provide a installation source url for a node. Within the editor, the catalog format has also been updated so entries in the catalog can include such a url.

However - this doesn't mean you can now just pass a URL to the /nodes api by itself - you still need to provide the module name that will be installed from that URL.

Coincidentally, I opened a design PR yesterday to consider adding the ability to upload a node's tgz file directly via the /nodes api - as well as the UI changes to the palette manager so it can be done fro the editor - https://github.com/node-red/designs/pull/35

Whilst writing that, it became obvious that we lacked the ability to do what you're asking here - provide a way for the user to provide a url directly in the UI. That may get rolled into the above design as well.

As an aside, the /nodes docs haven't been updated to reflect the support for url - I need to make sure PRs that modify the admin API also drive issues to be raised against the docs so things like this don't get overlooked.

[BartButenaers]

@knolleary

UI changes to the palette manager so it can be done fro the editor

The reason for my question is that - from time to time - I ask users to install and test a new fix/feature directly from my github repo. And some of them continiously fail to do that, so then I have to publish the test version on npm (which I don't like ...).
Not urgent, but nice to know that it will be available in the future!

[dceejay]

They can always do it from the command line if you tell them what to cut/paste.

[BartButenaers]

@dceejay

if you tell them what to cut/paste.

That is how I do it currently. But then the response is often: "I still have the old version without your new feature..."