Which it hardly ever does.
We all want to improve that. But we have to work with the technology we have. Node-RED is built on node.js which itself has certain limitations. Until we can all move up to v12+ of node.js where a lot more introspection options become available, there is a limit to what can be done unless some clever, knowledgeable people manage to come up with something workable.
At the end of the day, we are all using Node-RED - which is free. That uses node.js and ExpressJS, D3, jQuery, ... - all of which are also completely free of charge.
We want to continue to push the boundaries but we also need to recognise the limitations. Just because something sounds easy, doesn't mean it is.
I think it has been made clear that this isn't easy to implement.
Also, there is a method that generally makes recovery easy - at least in many cases. That is the --safe startup option that has also been mentioned.
The number of serious issues we find with Node-RED are actually few and far between - certainly a lot less than I would expect from freeware tools of this level of complexity.
- Incorrect use of SUDO
- Problems with virtualised installations
- A badly written or buggy contributed node - or more likely a problem with a dependent package.
- Compilation issues with C/C++ dependencies in packages after a node.js upgrade
My live Node-RED home automation server has at current count 924 node.js packages (including node-red itself). That includes 72 node types (1023 deployed node instances). It is absolutely rock solid.
Maintenance is absolutely minimal, an occasional npm update and once in a while, generally when node.js changes major version, I delete the node_modules folder to force a full rebuild though you can do it without deleting if you can remember the right npm command.
It has been running solidly now for several years. All I've paid for is the hardware!
I should also point out that Node-RED is virtually unique. There are a few other flow-based tools out there but they either cost money (lots!) or are nowhere near as easy to use.
I say all of this, not to be defensive, but simply to remind all of us (myself most of all) how much has gone into the development of Node-RED.
Please absolutely do keep raising issues like this and trying to help find solutions but let us also remember the art of the possible. I don't know how many people are currently working full time on Node-RED core development (2?) but it certainly isn't many. It is a massive toolset already and continuing to grow at pace thanks to those who contribute to core.
