# Sharing flows requiring contrib nodes

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446>\
**Category:** General\
**Tags:** docker\
**Created:** [29 October 2023 14:04 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446 "2023-10-29T14:04:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![greengolfer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/greengolfer/32/28276_2.png) [@greengolfer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/greengolfer)\
**Post date:** [29 October 2023 14:04 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446/1 "2023-10-29T14:04:23Z")

</div>

Hello,  
A similar question has been asked in the past... Just want to check if there are some recent changes I may have missed.  
I would like to share flows that require contrib nodes to work.  
Importing the flows in a docker installation requires very limited knowledge of NodeRed.  
Start the container, import flows, deploy. Easy.  
Things become a bit more complex when contrib nodes are required.  
There might be similar ones (eg. for influxdb two contrib nodes with similar names). And the "importer" (the person importing the flows) has to use the right ones.  
I wonder if there is a way to make the life of the "importer" easier.  
After importing the flows, an easy way to update the palette.  
Thanks.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DiverRich](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/diverrich/32/64523_2.png) [@DiverRich](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/DiverRich)\
**Post date:** [30 October 2023 17:38 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446/2 "2023-10-30T17:38:12Z")

</div>

I don't know how everyone else feels about it, but when I share a flow I always try to list the contrib nodes I used to make life easier for whomever is importing it. Unfortunately, not everyone does that.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![greengolfer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/greengolfer/32/28276_2.png) [@greengolfer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/greengolfer)\
**Post date:** [30 October 2023 17:45 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446/3 "2023-10-30T17:45:49Z")

</div>

This is what I do in the help I am providing.  
However, saying install eg. node-red-contrib-influxdb is not as simple as having an equivalent of the "import" for flows.  
Ideally, I'd like to be able to "import" X contrib nodes easily.  
The project feature allows that. But, AFAIK, the simple sharing mechanism doesn't.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DiverRich](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/diverrich/32/64523_2.png) [@DiverRich](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/DiverRich)\
**Post date:** [3 November 2023 09:32 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446/4 "2023-11-03T09:32:12Z")

</div>

Oh I completely agree that would be quite helpful. When I first got into Node-Red I learned a lot from importing other people's flows. But the lack of information about the contrib nodes made it extremely confusing in the beginning. Now it's more annoying. That would indeed be a cool feature.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![knolleary](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/knolleary/32/3_2.png) [@knolleary](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/knolleary)\
**Post date:** [3 November 2023 11:22 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446/5 "2023-11-03T11:22:06Z")

</div>

This topic is definitely on my radar and one we want to address in the near future. Don't have anything more concrete to share right now, but we'll get there.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/1X/d073cd938eafa2e558d7c2cd59003b3ef4963033.png) [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [2 January 2024 11:22 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/sharing-flows-requiring-contrib-nodes/82446/6 "2024-01-02T11:22:35Z")

</div>

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.