# Calling an API that uses a WCF channel
**URL:** https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659
**Category:** General
**Created:** [13 November 2025 03:33 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659 "2025-11-13T03:33:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chrisoutdoor](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chrisoutdoor)
#### Post date: [13 November 2025 03:33 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659/1 "2025-11-13T03:33:01Z")
Hello
I am using Node-RED 4.1.1, Node.js v24.00.0, and Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB version 1607.
I am working to connect a device that can only be accessed through a remoteAPI via a WCF channel. The way we are doing it is to produce an external piece of code that can make it function as a basic REST API, then we connect it to Node-RED:
Is there anything that can handle this using only Node-RED?
---
### Author:  [@marcus-j-davies](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/marcus-j-davies)
#### Post date: [13 November 2025 07:01 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659/2 "2025-11-13T07:01:30Z")
Welcome to the forums @Chrisoutdoor,
Not many Windows developers here 😁
Do you have access to the WSDL endpoint?
I ask as there is a soap package for Node JS : [https://www.npmjs.com/package/soap](https://www.npmjs.com/package/soap)
Quick example from AI (so may not be correct)
```auto
const soap = require('soap');
const url = 'http://example.com/Service.svc?wsdl';
soap.createClient(url, function(err, client) {
if (err) return console.error('SOAP client error:', err);
client.MyOperation({ param1: 'value' }, function(err, result) {
if (err) return console.error('Service call error:', err);
console.log('Result:', result);
});
});
```
it should work for the HTTP Bindings, but not sure about Socket Bindings
I used (developed) WCF API's a lot many years ago in work, but we have since moved our API's over to more traditional technologies.
You may be able to use this Node JS module in a `function` node, or build a complete custom Node RED Node around it.
**EDIT**
* * *
There is also this Node (unverified - but uses that Same Module I mentioned): [node-red-contrib-webservices (node) - Node-RED](https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-contrib-webservices)
Search : [Library - Node-RED](https://flows.nodered.org/search?term=soap)
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [13 November 2025 11:52 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659/3 "2025-11-13T11:52:01Z")
> [@Chrisoutdoor](#):
>
> WCF channel
If nothing else, there is a Node.js package called **`wcf.js`** that enables working with WCF services by providing a WCF-compatible SOAP client. It supports various WCF bindings such as `BasicHttpBinding` , `WSHttpBinding` , and `CustomBinding` , and includes features like MTOM encoding, WS-Addressing, transport and message security, and username or certificate-based authentication. [https://www.npmjs.com/package/wcf](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wcf)
You may be able to use that with a function node?
---
### Author:  [@marcus-j-davies](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/marcus-j-davies)
#### Post date: [13 November 2025 12:04 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659/4 "2025-11-13T12:04:44Z")
I think it’s
[https://www.npmjs.com/package/wcf.js](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wcf.js) 🙂
/wcf is for webpack - for a minute I thought I was going mad 🤪
---
### Author:  [@Chrisoutdoor](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Chrisoutdoor)
#### Post date: [27 November 2025 03:17 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659/5 "2025-11-27T03:17:16Z")
hello @marcus-j-davies
Thanks for your response. A few things changed since i posted. I learnt that the API is custom, then my work was delayed for personal reasons, so the boss went back to a previous plan. Oh well.
Just for completeness, here is the basics from a chat-GPT attempt at making it work direct from Node-RED:
TL:DR, It is a custom API so can't do it.
## 1. Extracted info from `RemoteAPITestClient.exe.config`
From the config you pasted:
### 1.1 WCF bindings
Two **custom bindings** are defined:
```auto
```
So:
- **longSendNamedPipeBinding**
- Protocol: **net.pipe** (Named Pipes, local-only)
- Encoding: **binaryMessageEncoding** (WCF-specific binary)
- Timeouts: long send/receive, huge message sizes
- **longSendTcpBinding**
- Protocol: **net.tcp** (TCP, not HTTP)
- Encoding: **binaryMessageEncoding** (WCF-specific binary)
- Port sharing enabled
- Again, this is **WCF’s own binary framing** , not raw JSON/XML.
### 1.2 The actual Nova Remote API endpoints 🎯
This is the gold:
```auto
```
So we now know:
- **Service contract** :
`FOSS.Nova.CoreServer.RemoteAPI.Client.Contract.INovaRemoteAPI`
(this is the WCF interface your .NET proxy uses)
- **Local endpoint** (on same PC only):
`LocalNovaConnection` →
`net.pipe://localhost/Infratec/remoteAPI`
Binding: `customBinding/longSendNamedPipeBinding`
- **Remote endpoint** (TCP, potentially from another machine):
`RemoteNovaConnection` →
`net.tcp://localhost:8899/Nova/remoteAPI`
Binding: `customBinding/longSendTcpBinding`
If another PC connects over the LAN, its address would look like:
```auto
net.tcp://:8899/Nova/remoteAPI
```
### 1.3 No HTTP / SOAP endpoint
Important: there is **no** `basicHttpBinding`, `wsHttpBinding`, `.svc` URL, or `http://...` endpoint defined here.
Everything is:
- `net.pipe://...` (Named Pipes, local only)
- `net.tcp://...` with WCF **customBinding** (binary)
That matches the Remote API manual: they expect clients to use their **.NET proxy** and WCF, not generic HTTP/SOAP.
* * *
## 2. What this means for Node-RED (hard truth + good workaround)
You originally asked for:
> “code that i can use in Node-RED using either HTTP, Websocket, TCP, or UDP, to connect to WCF”.
Given what we now know:
- The Nova Remote API uses **net.tcp + customBinding + binaryMessageEncoding**.
- Node-RED’s `tcp` node can only send/receive **raw bytes** ; it does **not** understand WCF’s binary framing, channel handshakes, message headers, duplex callbacks, etc.
- There is **no HTTP/SOAP endpoint** we can just point a SOAP node at.
- WebSocket and UDP are not used for the actual Remote API calls (UDP is only used for discovery in the .NET library).
So:
### ❌ Direct Node-RED → Nova Remote API is not feasible
You **cannot** realistically point Node-RED straight at:
```auto
net.tcp://localhost:8899/Nova/remoteAPI
```
and expect it to work. You’d have to re-implement the WCF protocol in JavaScript, including duplex callbacks, addressing headers, etc. That’s _insane-level_ work and very brittle.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [25 February 2026 03:17 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/calling-an-api-that-uses-a-wcf-channel/99659/6 "2026-02-25T03:17:38Z")
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