[image] Yes, this works. No, it is not what you think it is. I went on to make an asynchronous subflow, which in reality is a upgrade to the grouping system. Doing so I accidentally allowed myself to mimic existing nodes, but with more than 1 input (or output). I am not trying to spark a debate…

I think it's a very interesting proposal, suggesting a recursive ability for Node-red. Node-red is a visual programming environment. You can't tell exactly what this part of a flow does, but you can see how the data flows through it. [image] It gets harder to comprehend a flow as it gets bigger…

Hi, I agree with what you said. It was a challenge to define this local flow like thing. Will it be a group, a modified subflow? Its own actual flow but just represented in another flow? I ended up making it a reference to how group works, as you mentioned this is used to clear things up. One of …

I once wrote an article comparing the visual representation used in various visual programming settings. There are reasons for multiple versus single input nodes and these are very much valid. Adding multiple inputs might reduce visual clutter but it increases the semantic clutter of the underlying…

There have been many discussions historically around this type of thing. I'm wary of seeing a third way of doing things emerge, rather than looking at improving what's already there. It feels like you are reinventing subflows but with two differences: Subflows can only have one input Subflows are…

Hi, you are right. My original plan was to recreate a subflow that was not a single instance and with multiple entry points. Again to be clear, not for synchronous inputs, but for multiple gateways to a single subflow. The group part is a base where i started to easily select and convert a group o…

So visually, this is what you're talking about: [Screenshot 2026-07-15 at 11.41.57] Creating a group of nodes where the group construct has inputs which are routed to specific nodes within the group? So giving groups the ability to have inputs would be an alternative? EDIT: which then opens in…

[image] Robert0: This is what happens. Ok, well then it's a good idea. :-b but do it with groups instead of plugins! EDIT: using groups clearly indicates that multiple inputs are something non-node'ian, i.e. nodes don't implement multiple inputs but groups can.

Let me rewrite my message, as you added context to yours. So yes, nesting is possible. However as I mentioned in my to do. Nesting caused some naming issues and display issues. I am working on it. I needed to find a way to also avoid having the local flow being placed inside of itself, which crashe…

[image] Robert0: I went on to make an asynchronous subflow, which in reality is a upgrade to the grouping system. I think you should be aware that end users are going to be - potentially - confused between what you're doing, what already exists with subflows and how groups are used. It's grea…

(Async) multiple input for nodes*

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Robert0 15 July 2026 08:53 6

Hi,

Thank you for that article. I was aware of how exactly Node-RED works and why they have selected this approach. I am also familiar with many other frameworks, such as Vykon Niagara and Siemens AF. I wanted to avoid any discussions as enough has been said throughout this forum.

It is my mistake for not being clear on what side I am and what type of plugin I was making.

Apologies

EDIT: Some posts I tried to find back:

Topic		Replies	Views
Suggestion: A simple way to implement multiple input nodes Feature Requests	19	1376	21 October 2022
Basic drawing tools in NR editor Feature Requests	54	8116	3 April 2020
Is there a way to modify the editor UI or to provide an alternative one Feature Requests	27	1719	6 June 2021
:tada: Node-RED 3.0.0-beta.1 released News	73	8769	13 May 2022
Suggestions for Node Red 5.0 Feature Requests	26	736	31 January 2026

(Async) multiple input for nodes*

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