# Lighter browser just to show the Node-Red DASHBOARD in localhost on Raspi 4

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372>\
**Category:** Dashboard\
**Created:** [9 July 2024 12:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372 "2024-07-09T12:24:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 12\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lumanga](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/lumanga/32/58334_2.png) [@lumanga](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/lumanga)\
**Post date:** [9 July 2024 12:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/1 "2024-07-09T12:24:02Z")

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Dear All,  
I have a raspberry Pi 4 with 8Gbyte ram and latest raspian OS, Node-red version4 and all the palette upgraded.

I just need to make a "kiosk" with browser started into raspberry, that point lo LocalHost Node-Red installed into raspi to show a dahboard with gauge and graph that each second receive a new value.

the issue is that the "Pi web browser Chrome" is lagging and require too much processor power; see the HTOP with just Node-red and chrome started.

**I'm asking if exist a lighter browser web just to show the Node-Red DASHBOARD.**  
Does anyone have experiane with a better browser just to do this? I don't need to navigate inside Internet...

 ![immagine](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/d/9/d9c78ff94e2c0bb7fe84ca0143312ba57238b061.jpeg)

Thanks in advance!

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**Author:** ![jbudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@jbudd](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/jbudd)\
**Post date:** [9 July 2024 12:45 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/2 "2024-07-09T12:45:32Z")

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Have you tried any of these?

[https://windowsreport.com/lightweight-browsers-raspberry-pi/](https://windowsreport.com/lightweight-browsers-raspberry-pi/)

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**Author:** ![Colin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/colin/32/17040_2.png) [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)\
**Post date:** [9 July 2024 15:51 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/3 "2024-07-09T15:51:35Z")

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Are you viewing the browser locally or via VNC?

Have you tried Chrome?

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**Author:** ![TotallyInformation](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/totallyinformation/32/31_2.png) [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)\
**Post date:** [9 July 2024 19:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/4 "2024-07-09T19:00:40Z")

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Also, what desktop are you running on the Pi? Maybe switching to a lighter-weight one would be better?

And Chrome itself is a known hog.

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**Author:** ![lumanga](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/lumanga/32/58334_2.png) [@lumanga](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/lumanga)\
**Post date:** [9 July 2024 19:22 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/5 "2024-07-09T19:22:59Z")

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Dear All,  
Im using the browser "locally", I have the monitor connected via HDMI to raspberry and I use the **Chromium** _Version 125.0.6422.133_ calling the address: **[http://localhost:1880/ui/](http://localhost:1880/ui/)**

My system is as follow:Here the info of my system:

```auto
OS= Raspbian 11 bullseye debian v. 11.9
DE= LXDE-pi
Server grafic = x11
Kernel= armv7l Linux 6.1.21-v7+
Shell= bash 5.1.4
WM= OpenBox.

```

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**Author:** ![AndrewBeasley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@AndrewBeasley](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/AndrewBeasley)\
**Post date:** [10 July 2024 21:14 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/6 "2024-07-10T21:14:00Z")

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Try Firefox (ESR) lighter and solid so far. Bookworm comes with Firefox pre-installed.

It will still use a fair amount of CPU (esp on complex dashboards) but I find it lighter than Chromium as it drops out of activity quickly and uses less memory.

Back in Stretch / Buster days I used Midori a fair amount but that was against a very simple dashboard.

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**Author:** ![craigcurtin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@craigcurtin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/craigcurtin)\
**Post date:** [10 July 2024 23:52 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/7 "2024-07-10T23:52:34Z")

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> [@lumanga](#):
>
> I just need to make a "kiosk" with browser started into raspberry, that point lo LocalHost Node-Red installed into raspi to show a dahboard with gauge and graph that each second receive a new value.

I think (depending on how many values you are keeping on the screen) - this will be the ultimate limit as it requires a lot of Horsepower to update something like this - what timeframe have you set on the graph ?

I have an IPad mini that i use mainly for Kindle reading (its about 5 years old) and i notice the pause on it rendering on my graphs on pages is much more noticeable than my Samsung S24 - which has no lag changing menu tabs etc - similar to my Intel desktop/Laptop.

Craig

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**Author:** ![lumanga](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/lumanga/32/58334_2.png) [@lumanga](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/lumanga)\
**Post date:** [11 July 2024 10:10 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/8 "2024-07-11T10:10:39Z")

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Thank you.

In terms of speed of system / Firefox, with the raspberry pi4 with 4gbyte RAM is better to install the 32 or 64 bit version of raspbian "Bookworm" (Debian 12?)

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**Author:** ![AndrewBeasley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@AndrewBeasley](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/AndrewBeasley)\
**Post date:** [11 July 2024 10:38 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/9 "2024-07-11T10:38:55Z")

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Except for the old Pi Zero boards here I use the 64Bit version for everything as it gets rid of the weird 64Bit kernel and 32Bit user space structure and longer term I feel 64 bit will be more supported (e.g. Unifi only provide a 64Bit codebase for their WiFi controller).

You may not see any real memory difference on a 4GB (as the 32 bit was compiled to allow threads to access 3GB of memory if needed) but I find it seems to run smoother. I do not push my processors very hard so speed differences are not noticeable for me (see the [Phoronix review here](https://www.phoronix.com/review/raspberrypi-32bit-64bit/4) for artificial benchmarks).

The other thing to note is that 64Bit is the preferred OS in the Pi Imager (v.1.8.5 Mac) for the Pi 4 - _maybe_ a subtle hint by the trading group this is their long term target. _Total speculation on my part._

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**Author:** ![Colin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/colin/32/17040_2.png) [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)\
**Post date:** [13 July 2024 10:22 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/10 "2024-07-13T10:22:32Z")

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> [@lumanga](#):
>
> Im using the browser "locally",

In that case, I am surprised to see vncserver using such a large amount of processor. I would expect it to be trivial if no client is connected.

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**Author:** ![AndrewBeasley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@AndrewBeasley](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/AndrewBeasley)\
**Post date:** [13 July 2024 14:12 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/11 "2024-07-13T14:12:00Z")

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Wonder if the OP is using VNC to connect to the Pi and then browse to Node-Red locally?

I've done that when there is no remote access to the Pi due to CG-NAT or a firewall that cannot have a port open (cr\*p ISP router) using the RealVNC cloud connect function.

Now I've moved to a Cloudflare tunnel and reverse proxy direct to the dashboard - way easier as I do not need the client on devices.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/1X/d073cd938eafa2e558d7c2cd59003b3ef4963033.png) [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [12 August 2024 14:12 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/lighter-browser-just-to-show-the-node-red-dashboard-in-localhost-on-raspi-4/89372/12 "2024-08-12T14:12:15Z")

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