# Searching for used subflows - help!
**URL:** https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224
**Category:** General
**Created:** [23 January 2026 06:51 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224 "2026-01-23T06:51:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 06:51 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/1 "2026-01-23T06:51:05Z")
(Yeah, I'm a `subflow` person)
I have a few machines and am pathetic at keeping the subflows up to date on all machines.
I know I have been here before, but this wasn't resolved and I've been _bitten_ agin by the same problem.
> [@Sub flows..... Dumb question](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sub-flows-dumb-question/12847):
>
> I have started using sub-flows and it is great. My understanding is that I have a flow and because parts of it are repeated, rather than have the same nodes repeated, I can use a sub-flow and it acts like a "sub-routine" (from basic). Yeah, as many of you may know: I'm not the best coder, and I have changed a couple of things in the sub-flow as I have found problems with their working/s. To edit them I understand I can either double click on the icon and then "edit sub-flow" or double click o…
_Problem_ I just found:
One of the machines has a better documented version of the subflow.
(No big deal)
I decided to _move/copy_ it to the other machine.
`Exported` it.
`Imported` it.
No `check existing` and so I have two versions. 😢
Not to be put off, I rename the OLD one and thought I would be able to search for the OLD version (on all tabs) and put the new version there.
Ain't happening.
When I search for the name, all I get/see is the subflow listing.
Sorry, but how can I do what I want to do?
Thanks in advance.
---
### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 08:21 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/2 "2026-01-23T08:21:17Z")
Well, I PAINFULLY went through and found all the OLD instances and replaced them with the new one.
All - now - good.
But the twist that really (now) also annoys me:
I didn't give the instances _Names_ - they were just left empty.
Did a search and all the instances were shown.
😿
Not worth worrying about any more, but it is annoying.
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### Author:  [@knolleary](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/knolleary)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 09:16 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/3 "2026-01-23T09:16:01Z")
Hi @Trying_to_learn
For future reference, in the Info sidebar there's a Subflows section. Alongside each subflow is a number telling you how many instances of the subflow exist.
If you hover your mouse over it, you can click and it will open up the search dialog listing the instances.
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### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 09:20 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/4 "2026-01-23T09:20:26Z")
Thanks.
(Just saying)
To me that is not _intuitive_ to get the `search` thing happening.
But I'll try to remember it for next time it happens to me.
(Your help is appreciated though.)
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### Author:  [@omrid](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/omrid)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 11:05 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/5 "2026-01-23T11:05:36Z")
IMHO people should not use subflows at all, but rather use reusable singleton groups, called via `link-calls`.
1. subflows are actually MACROs. So if you have a subflow containing 50 nodes, each instance creates a new node-set replica (i.e. 10 subflow instances create 500 nodes, growing exponentially and impacting performace, memory consumption & load/save time).
2. subflows are tricky & confusing WRT memory contexts, especially when you nest subflows within subflows, and need to figure out your level in the hierarchy ($parent.$parent...)
3. link-calls can be called using dynamic named targets, so you don't need to care where they are located and have to wire them
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### Author:  [@ThingsTinkerer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/ThingsTinkerer)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 20:43 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/6 "2026-01-23T20:43:29Z")
link-calls are too limited and have none of the flexibilities of subflows. It would be impossible for me to replace them by the simple fact that they have multiple outputs alone. Or else I would need to duplicate a function node splitter after every link call? Further, each subflow can have individial configuration as env variables.
Keeping track of subflows is a huge problem. So much so I'm currently making a script to pull from a separate repo to get updated subflows, then scan and jsons for subflows only, comparing if they changed (using versioning numbers you can put in as meta), then replace those subflows in flows.json. And finally restart node red. Planning to put this in crontab as a nightly schedule!
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### Author:  [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 21:01 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/7 "2026-01-23T21:01:15Z")
> [@omrid](#):
>
> 10 subflow instances create 500 nodes, growing exponentially
To be pedantic, it is growing linearly.
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### Author:  [@ThingsTinkerer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/ThingsTinkerer)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 21:03 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/8 "2026-01-23T21:03:45Z")
I may have have problem... I put subflows in subflows... in subflows 😅
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### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [23 January 2026 21:04 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/9 "2026-01-23T21:04:02Z")
This is kinda getting way off topic.
Just saying.
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### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [6 February 2026 21:04 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/searching-for-used-subflows-help/100224/10 "2026-02-06T21:04:40Z")
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