# RED.stop is not a function
**URL:** https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079
**Category:** General
**Tags:** docker
**Created:** [15 May 2025 11:46 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079 "2025-05-15T11:46:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@malee](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/malee)
#### Post date: [15 May 2025 11:46 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/1 "2025-05-15T11:46:21Z")
I am working on a way of gracefully stopping a node-RED instance from running to simply the task of bench marking with clinic.js and auto cannon. To allow for this to happen I initially tried using a call to `RED.stop()` in a function node.
When doing so I received a Type error: RED.stop is not a function.
I then tried installing a simple node that just registers an endpoint, the HTML file is just a script tag:
```auto
module.exports = function(RED) {
try {
const shutdownEndpointPath = '/my-secret-shutdown-trigger';
RED.httpAdmin.get(shutdownEndpointPath, function(req, res) {
RED.log.info(`Custom shutdown endpoint (${shutdownEndpointPath}) called. Initiating Node-RED shutdown`);
res.status(200).json({message: "Node-RED shutdown sequence initiated"});
setTimeout(() => {
RED.stop();
}, 100);
});
RED.log.info(`Custom shutdown endpoint registered. Access it at [Your Node-RED Admin Root URL]${shutdownEndpointPath}`);
} catch(err) {
RED.log.error("Failed to register custom shutdown endpoint in settings.js " + err.toString());
}
}
```
Again same Type error.
I am running v4.0.9 of Node-RED on LInux 22.04 with Node v22.15.0 in a docker container.
---
### Author:  [@knolleary](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/knolleary)
#### Post date: [15 May 2025 12:08 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/2 "2025-05-15T12:08:24Z")
Hi @malee
Nodes don't have access to the runtime lifecycle apis; they can't stop the runtime directly.
You'd need to go down the embedded route ([docs](https://nodered.org/docs/user-guide/runtime/embedding)) as that will give you access to the top level `RED` api and control over the full lifecycle.
---
### Author:  [@malee](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/malee)
#### Post date: [15 May 2025 16:45 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/3 "2025-05-15T16:45:55Z")
Hi @knolleary,
Managed to get a result using `autocannon` with the clinic Heap Profiler.
It seems that when `autocannon` completes the exit process is graceful enough to allow for the data to be collected and formatted for analysis.
thanks
Matt
---
### Author:  [@AllanOricil](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/AllanOricil)
#### Post date: [15 May 2025 17:58 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/4 "2025-05-15T17:58:06Z")
Could you share your setup with the community?
---
### Author:  [@malee](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/malee)
#### Post date: [16 May 2025 09:38 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/5 "2025-05-16T09:38:55Z")
Sure no problem, this is the WIP
```auto
const http = require("http");
const express = require("express");
const RED = require("node-red");
const app = express();
const server = http.createServer(app);
const settings = {
httpAdminRoot: "/",
httpNodeRoot: "/api",
userDir: "./.node-red-data/",
flowFile: "flows.json",
functionGlobalContext: {},
logging: {
console: {
level: "info",
metrics: false,
audit: false,
},
},
};
RED.init(server, settings);
if (settings.httpAdminRoot) {
app.use(settings.httpAdminRoot, RED.httpAdmin);
}
if (settings.httpNodeRoot) {
app.use(settings.httpNodeRoot, RED.httpNode);
}
const SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT_MS = 30000;
let shutdownTimer;
function gracefulShutdown() {
console.log("Initiating Node-RED shutdown...");
RED.stop()
.then(() => {
console.log("Node-RED runtime stopped.");
server.close(() => {
console.log("HTTP server closed.");
process.exit(0);
});
})
.catch((err) => {
console.error("Error stopping Node-RED:", err);
process.exit(1);
});
}
const controlApp = express();
const controlServer = http.createServer(controlApp);
const CONTROL_PORT = 8099;
controlApp.get("/shutdown-nodered", (req, res) => {
console.log("Received /shutdown-nodered request.");
res.send("Shutdown signal received. Node-RED will attempt to stop.");
if (shutdownTimer) clearTimeout(shutdownTimer);
gracefulShutdown();
});
controlServer.listen(CONTROL_PORT, () => {
console.log(`Control server listening on http://localhost:${CONTROL_PORT}`);
console.log(
`Call http://localhost:${CONTROL_PORT}/shutdown-nodered to stop Node-RED`
);
});
RED.start()
.then(() => {
const PORT = settings.uiPort || process.env.PORT || 1880;
server.listen(PORT, () => {
console.log(
`Node-RED embedded and running on http://localhost:${PORT}${
settings.httpAdminRoot || "/"
}`
);
RED.log.info(`Node-RED version ${RED.version()} started`);
});
})
.catch((err) => {
console.error("Failed to start Node-RED:", err);
process.exit(1);
});
process.on("SIGINT", () => {
console.log("SIGINT received. Shutting down...");
if (shutdownTimer) clearTimeout(shutdownTimer);
gracefulShutdown();
});
```
There is no need to use the shutdown server with the clinic Heap Profiler and `autocannon` as it shuts down gracefully itself. I have also just found that if I comment out `process.exit(0)` and shutdown the Heap Profiler with a `SIGINT` via `CTRL+C` after calling the `shutdown-nodered` endpoint thr Heap Profiler compiles data for visualization after being initialized without `autocannon`
---
### Author:  [@malee](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/malee)
#### Post date: [16 May 2025 11:14 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/6 "2025-05-16T11:14:17Z")
I have made some adjustments to the initial script and it now works 🙂
I found that if you kill the process with the process `PID` after node-RED has been stopped then clinic.JS completes its tasks as gracefully as you would want.
Solution appears to be replacing the `gracefulShutdown` function with this one:
```auto
function gracefulShutdown() {
console.log("Initiating Node-RED shutdown...");
RED.stop()
.then(() => {
console.log("Node-RED runtime stopped.");
server.close(() => {
console.log("HTTP server closed.");
process.kill(process.pid, 'SIGINT');
});
})
.catch((err) => {
console.error("Error stopping Node-RED:", err);
process.exit(1);
});
}
```
and remove the following:
```auto
process.on("SIGINT", () => {
console.log("SIGINT received. Shutting down...");
if (shutdownTimer) clearTimeout(shutdownTimer);
gracefulShutdown();
});
```
Result!
When for example you run
```auto
clinic heapprofiler -- node start-node-red.js
```
and call the following endpoint to end the process.
```auto
curl http://localhost:8099/shutdown-nodered
```
If for example you run `autocannon` then shutdown is automatic
```auto
clinic heapprofiler --autocannon [http://localhost:8080/api/folderlisting -m POST -d 60] -- node start-node-red.js
```
---
### Author:  [@AllanOricil](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/AllanOricil)
#### Post date: [16 May 2025 12:55 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/7 "2025-05-16T12:55:04Z")
Really interesting.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [30 May 2025 12:55 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/red-stop-is-not-a-function/97079/8 "2025-05-30T12:55:19Z")
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