Filter current flow not work?

I noticed that in N-R, the Debug window has a "current flow" filter option. I expected that after enabling this option, I would only receive messages from the Node in the current flow. However, despite enabling this filter, I still receive messages from all active flows. This is very disruptive to message analysis. What am I doing wrong?

It works for me.
What version of Node-red do you have, and what platform is it running on?

Hi.

I know it can be frustrating with annoying things happening.

Indulge me and make a new flow/tab and put an inject and debug node on it.

Put these in the top right of the screen - I'll explain why in a moment.

DEPLOY it, the the DEBUG view for current tab, press the inject node and leave it along.

When you get another message from another flow: take a screen shot and crop it to the top right of the screen.

(Only that we don't need to see all the other stuff.)

Just the inject and debug node and the debug output.
Oh, then post the screen shot.

Hope that helps in some way.

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Are you talking about messages from debug nodes or other messages? It only filters messages from debug nodes.

Node Red v4.0.9 Home Assistant

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  • Core2025.9.0

  • Supervisor2025.09.0

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  • Interfejs uĹĽytkownika20250903.2

This is what the screenshot looks like 1 second after launching deploy, then there are many more messages. This is the simplest flow and debug view to diagnose the problem that Trying_to_learn wrote about

Can you show us a flow with one of the debug nodes that are continuing to show?

I've been informed that only information from the Debug node is filtered, not from other nodes. I'm a beginner, and the sheer volume of messages makes it very difficult to analyze what's happening. An option that only displays messages from the current flow would be useful. Is there a place where I can submit a request to the Node-Red developers?

You can make a request for a new feature here in the forum, the developers do read and respond to posts. There is category "Feature Requests", if I remember correctly.

But before anyone changes the code they would need to understand where all these messages are coming from if not debug nodes.

If you show us an example where a message is sent to the debug panel we may be able to suggest a way to control it.

Here's another example flow that sends messages to the Debug window. These are generated by the Function and Main Logic nodes. There are a lot of them, and it's not always possible to disable a given flow. This causes dozens of messages to be generated in neighboring flows, making it difficult to identify the correct ones, those related to the flow in question. The Debug window is very helpful both for diagnosing new diagrams and for monitoring the performance of existing ones. It would be very helpful if messages related to the current flow could be presented using a filter.

In that example all the shown messages appear to be coming from the tab in question (all the node.warn() messages are coming from the function node "function 2").

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Here's an example: other messages (from all flows) also appear in the Debug window. I can imagine that for more complex projects, visibility across different (all) flows will be needed. However, it would be nice if it were possible to filter messages only within the current flow.

Indeed, every node.warn() call will be shown in the debug panel.
Edit: apparently this is not longer true.

I think it is bad coding style to leave a lot of node.warn() statements in my functions, so I either delete them or comment them out (with two slash characters).

// node.warn("This will not be displayed")
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I can't reproduce this with Node-RED 4.1.0

debug

It seems you are right, in 4.1.0 node.warn() messages are also filtered.

@januszwieja I suggest updating to node red 4.1.0.
However I would also recommend only using node.warn() when debugging a function node and then comment them out.

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I'm a beginner, not an IT expert. I'm not sure I understand these tips correctly – the idea is good, but I'm not able to implement it at this stage. Maybe I'll master it someday... I'll try.

For example, I don't know how to update Node Red – I was sure it updated with HA. However, the ability to disable messages from other flows would definitely make things easier for me and others.

If anyone reading this is knowledgeable, please implement this feature. Thanks a lot for taking this on.

Ok, I'll try to explain what I'm seeing (and believe is happening.)

I did ask for you to crop the picture, but ok, we'll work with what we've got.

It's been suggested that the messages are actually node.warn() messages and not debug.

Two things to understand.

1: The arrow points to the EXPAND function. This expands the message.
2: Is the name of the node from where the message came.

Go back to the problematic flow where the messages are appearing.

When you see one, click on the name of the node - as shown by the red underline. (number 2)

When it shows you the node, there should/would be an orange line around the node.

Zoom in - but not to the ridiculous level - so that node is CLEARLY visible on the screen.

Take a screen shot.
(And post)

I'm guessing (hoping) it will NOT be a debug node.
(Nothing against you)

But for now I need you to do this - please.

You will have to ask on an HA forum about when they will upgrade their node red plugin to the latest version of node-red. The core node-red team does not control the HA plugin.

Alternatively you can uninstall the node-red plugin from HA and install node red directly. Then you can install the HA nodes in node red which, I believe, will give you the same capabilities as using the HA plugin, but will give you full control of node-red.

There are so many of these messages, and they scroll so quickly, that finding one in the current flow is practically impossible. Out of a dozen attempts, I've only managed to get it twice. That's why they're useless to me. Indeed, if I disable the other flows and leave only the one I'm working on, it works just as you showed. Cool and helpful. Thanks. Unfortunately, I can't disable the other flows for longer periods of time—for obvious reasons. You're right—it's not a Debug node, but my reflexes are too slow to take a screenshot.

Thanks for the explanation – I dug around where you said and found a way to update Node Red. I'll do it a bit later, though – I don't fully trust the updates and have had some rather unpleasant experiences with them. I don't want to make two changes at once because I won't know what happened if something crashes. I need a few days to do this, and I need to figure out how to revert to the previous version of Node Red. Thanks.