hello, I'm finding that in my project I am configuring a lot of nodes that I might want to use in multiple places, etc. is there a way to save these someplace for easy access in the future from within the node red interface?
Hi @Hyperlooper - welcome to the forums
You can indeed.
what you can do, is wrap them in a subflow
subflows are re-usable flows, that you can drag onto your main flow at will, and this subflow, is presented as a single node, that you can drag in as many times as you need
see:
https://nodered.org/docs/user-guide/editor/workspace/subflows
As Marcus says, sub-flows are a great way to create reusable bits of flow.
The other tool available though is the Library. You can Export a single configured node or a flow to the local library and then import it again as many times as you like.
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Hi Hyperlooper and welcome.
You can also save flows/nodes/ and function code to the local library using the export menu and in function node editor. Using The Node-Red Library
I was going to post that, expecting to find Export to Library somewhere. I thought it was a sub selection of Export, but it isn't there on my systems. In fact I see it referenced in Using The Node-Red Library but the submenu does not exist for me.
I don't see where it says to export to the library.
I often forget about the library approach, I suppose a footnote to it maybe, is updating the instance(s)?
Would updating a library export retrospectively update all copies instantiated in the flow? - I don't actually know, as I have not (yet) in my time used the library features.
I like creating subflows due to this behaviour in that it will update all copies currently deployed.
The library is "just" a collection of JSON files. You can add to it manually too if you like. And, of course, custom nodes can provide entries simply by including json files in an /examples/ folder.
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Yup I do that - got burned by the scorecard for not doing so! 
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Oh yes, I thought the Local there meant the local clipboard. Not exactly obvious that Export to library is under Local.
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The library seems useful - does this show up in the sidebar alongside other available nodes, or do you need to import each time?
No, you have to import from the library.
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