### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [15 November 2025 13:06 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/3 "2025-11-15T13:06:13Z")
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> A **HUGE** thing that I am starting to do when writing code is to add a _Header_ with the date/time when it was written.
This is a good discipline for sure. But while you are at it, if you think you will need to explain to yourself, or some future person, what it is about, expand that header with who wrote it and WHY.
Have a look at [https://jsdoc.app](https://jsdoc.app) for some ideas around standardising JavaScript self-documentation.
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> I know it can be hard to see/understand all this - and believe me, I am still coming to terms with it - it really can/does help.
One thing I would add is not to forget that Node-RED is great at prototyping. I will often start by using the standard (and a few custom) nodes but then when I understand how I want the flow to actually work, if it has a _lot_ of nodes in it and I've more to do, I may choose to condense those nodes into a function node now that I know how the processing should go. This is sometimes much easier than puzzling over JavaScript code logic. But sometimes I will go the other way. And sometimes I will start and finish either way!
That's kind of the point really, there isn't a right and wrong way to do things. Well, there kind of is, if it works well enough, that is probably the right way, at least for now. ๐
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> Because now and then your finger may not clear the `` key quick enough and you don't see the _wrong_ name.
I guess this is a case of how experienced you are writing JavaScript and other languages. To me, I always (in JavaScript) use `camelCase` for variables and properties, just because I've become so used to it and I do it without thinking. For class names, I use `PascalCase`.
The key thing is to be consistent always. If you are working with others, then you all need to work to the same consistency (and in that case, you need to document it as well).
When you work on code in something like VSCode, one of the nice things is being able to define your standard "linting" to help maintain consistency. _I REALLY wish we could use `eslint` in function nodes._ Another advantage to working in VSCode is the ability to integrate AI and provide a `copilot-instructions.md` file which describes to the AI how you want it to behave. These can be quite long and also become useful guides for humans as well.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts to the community, these ideas are always welcome.
---
### Author:  [@gregorius](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/gregorius)
#### Post date: [15 November 2025 15:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/4 "2025-11-15T15:00:59Z")
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> BTW, I am NO past experience with GIT backups and the like. All too new for me.
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> A **HUGE** thing that I am starting to do when writing code is to add a _Header_ with the date/time when it was written.
Learn git and you won't do such things. It's like doing version control by creating files with dates, i.e. `code-version-1.js` then `code-version-2.js` - great and the perfect solution if you don't know how to use git (or any other versioning software - svn, cvs, rcs, mercurial,...). But once you do, you can easily get the dates of your changes by doing `git log` - no more extra stuff in source code files. (even cooler `git whatchanged` to see what changed a file and when for its entire lifetime).
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> Yes, my flows are _littered_ with _backups_ of `function` nodes as I am developing them.
> So what? It isn't illegal.
Exactly! NR is great for copy & paste - create a function node, write some code. Want to change that code? Copy and paste the node and make the changes. Keep each function node as you copy and paste and you have your version control - visually ๐ Create a group to put all the old versions (i.e. function node) and e'Voila, you're doing it right! I say this in all seriousness because that's very much doable in NR, I would never do this using textual programming but copying nodes and keeping them around is super simple in NR.
But because I come from git and proper versioning, I created [flowhub.org](http://flowhub.org) to do exactly that - visually version control my visual flow code. I don't want collection of old code cluttering my flows, so my old code is versioned off into a git repository via a button inside NR - done.
> [@TotallyInformation](#):
>
> One thing I would add is not to forget that Node-RED is great at prototyping. I will often start by using the standard (and a few custom) nodes but then when I understand how I want the flow to actually work, if it has a _lot_ of nodes in it and I've more to do, I may choose to condense those nodes into a function node now that I know how the processing should go
I would go the opposite direction - I would _create_ my own node for specific functionality.
Or perhaps one step on from what you're saying: from those function nodes, I would definitely go to creating my own nodes to cover the functionality. Hence my [nodedev](https://flows.nodered.org/node/@gregoriusrippenstein/node-red-contrib-nodedev) collection of nodes so that I can create those nodes inside of NR. The difficult (or rather the hurdle) is the overhead of creating the boiler-plate code for new nodes. So it's simpler to stick with the function nodes. This I find a mistake.
The nodedev nodes are designed to generate the boiler plate and allows me to focus on pushing functionality into my own nodes. It's taking the subflow approach to the logical conclusion of generating node packages inside NR.
Anyway, it's good that folks are thinking about these things and how to program in an organised manner but always remember: you're not the first - there are a bunch of learnings from others who came before us. That's why there tools for source versioning, that's why there are style guides for how code should be formatted, that's why projects have certain directory structures, that's why makefiles exist ... etc
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [15 November 2025 17:19 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/5 "2025-11-15T17:19:51Z")
> [@gregorius](#):
>
> Learn git and you won't do such things
I don't really see how that can help when using vanilla function nodes and editing in the Editor. For more complex code, you probably don't want to just rely on git control of the flow file, too many variables. AFAIK, there is currently no way to apply git to a function node - something to think about for the future.
> [@gregorius](#):
>
> I would go the opposite direction - I would _create_ my own node for specific functionality.
Of course, that is another option. However, one that is not open to everyone and even I wouldn't quickly decide to do that given time constraints.
> [@gregorius](#):
>
> The difficult (or rather the hurdle) is the overhead of creating the boiler-plate code for new nodes. So it's simpler to stick with the function nodes. This I find a mistake.
Indeed. I have some templates for new nodes but it is still quite a bit of effort. I really should create a generator - another future project. ๐คจ
---
### Author:  [@gregorius](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/gregorius)
#### Post date: [15 November 2025 17:50 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/6 "2025-11-15T17:50:52Z")
> [@TotallyInformation](#):
>
> I don't really see how that can help when using vanilla function nodes and editing in the Editor.
Neither is ten finger typing, one can do it just as well with two. But once one has learnt to type with ten fingers, one doesn't go back to two. So it is when one learns a new skill. Git is a skill. You learn, you understand, and you might use the principles (managing change) in another context.
My point was to learn different skills so that you can make use of those skills. I learnt to do structure version management using tools, I would not go back to putting dates into source codes because I have tools that do that for me. I can still do that if it is necessary, and perhaps NR is a case in point where it is necessary to go back to putting dates into source code.
But then the question becomes how can I improve my workflow so that I don't have manage dates and instead its done automatically:
```auto
RED.events.on("nodes:change", (node) => {
var dtStamp = (new Date()).toISOString();
if (node._def && node._def.defaults) {
if (node._def.defaults.hasOwnProperty("createdAt") && node.createdAt === undefined) {
node.createdAt = dtStamp;
}
if (node._def.defaults.hasOwnProperty("updatedAt") && (node.changed || node.updatedAt === undefined)) {
node.updatedAt = dtStamp;
}
}
});
```
I added that bit of code to update dates on my nodes (that have createdAt and/or updatedAt) to maintain information about when I change things. (Aside: one of the first thing we were taught about CVS was to use [$Id$](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/384108/moving-from-cvs-to-git-id-equivalent) at the top of files, that would be replaced with the current version. Some my emacs templates for new files still has that ๐ - If I used that today ...)
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [15 November 2025 18:02 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/7 "2025-11-15T18:02:47Z")
Most of my function nodes are far too simplistic to require more formal documentation though they do often have lots of explanatory comments. I generally don't bother with date stamps though (1). For actual nodes, those are, of course semantically versioned for the most part, though a few modules may have date strings for versioning since they may change a lot more rapidly than the package - mostly things like my CSS files. Of course, git and GitHub do maintain the formal commits but version strings can still be useful - especially if you want/need runtime version checks.
And yes, I do have some automated created/updated strings - mostly in individual documentation (markdown) files, if nothing else, these are also used to generate runtime visible copywrite statements. Mostly I use a custom shortcut in VScode. It probably wouldn't be hard to create an Editor plugin though that could automatically create headers with author and created/updated dates. Not something I would use enough to make it worth creating myself but I can see that in more commercial settings, that might be a really good time-saver.
* * *
1. I should point out that I very rarely ever go back to earlier versions so this isn't really an issue for me. I may, however, sometimes leave commented out code in place until I'm sure that the new code works. ๐
---
### Author:  [@ThingsTinkerer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/ThingsTinkerer)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 00:05 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/8 "2025-11-18T00:05:22Z")
Where to start? Start simple with what you enjoy the most. I started with simple coding similar to what you do in function nodes. Much later I learned git the hard way. However my background is from university when I studied programming and a decade worth of professional experience. I still remember how beginner unfriendly git was, I had already learned subversion(svn), but git is now universal. The thing about function nodes I enjoy is the freedom and "universal" way of coding. You don't need to know much about node red to understand the contents of a function node if you already know js. And if you already know js, your literal understanding reaches far outside node red. It is widespread, while arbitrary no-code node red nodes are not. To each their own. Enjoy the freedom to choose ๐
But if you want to go further, and take the steps of the pros, then you'd look into things like git (version control). Ideally there would be more support for test environment too, perhaps in the future.
That manual parsing of keys you added... I feel your pain, but your solution doesn't scale well. You'd need to repeat that everywhere? Perhaps typescript function node can help. That's the built-in way to ensure correct variable names. Unfortunately there's no other ts options or support in node red. It is a lifesaver for typos like that.
---
### Author:  [@gregorius](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/gregorius)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 06:51 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/9 "2025-11-18T06:51:50Z")
> [@ThingsTinkerer](#):
>
> beginner unfriendly git was
> [@ThingsTinkerer](#):
>
> but git is now universal.
Replace git with Node-RED and only one of those statements is true. It's strange how git has taken over version control - it's just shows how well Linus Torvalds knew his target audience. (But he did model git very heavily on Mercurial - so he had a good starting point.)
It's incredible how one forgets that git has a greater market audience than NR - so which is harder to understand and use? Or are the problems that NR solve not relevant? And here I mean that NR isn't being used by the broader developer community to create simple prototypes to test stuff. It is completely capable of doing that (with function node, NR is Turing complete) yet it's not been done broadly.
That might well be changing. The argument that visual programming isn't for everyone no longer counts with n8n just doing a X-million seed round. So that excuse no longer counts.
My point here is that if you understand how to use NR than obviously a certain level of complexity isn't a problem, so why would git be a problem? But saying something is or isn't hard is also related to oneself - I find dancing hard, so I don't it. But I wouldn't tell you to not go dancing just because _I_ find it hard.
P.S. Please don't use my arguments to present MS Word as the best word processing software and something that should be learnt!
---
### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 08:13 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/10 "2025-11-18T08:13:00Z")
`keys`?
Do you mean variable names?
Yeah, but _Way back when_ I did them one way.
As I progressed, it changed. (don't know if for the better or worse. But change they did)
As it is _OLD CODE_ and I haven't touched it since it was written, the exact names used gets lost.
(Ok, no excuse. I wrote the code, etc etc etc.)
But sometimes subtle things catch me.
I'm sharing the stuff through which I've been hoping someone may find it helpful.
---
### Author:  [@ThingsTinkerer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/ThingsTinkerer)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 08:39 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/11 "2025-11-18T08:39:30Z")
> [@ThingsTinkerer](#):
>
> keys
Even better argument for typescript. It never forgets the variable names, even for old code ๐
---
### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 08:40 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/12 "2025-11-18T08:40:34Z")
I'll need to look into it.
But I'm not sure of the cost/benefit ratio.
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 12:28 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/13 "2025-11-18T12:28:02Z")
> [@Trying\_to\_learn](#):
>
> But I'm not sure of the cost/benefit ratio.
Like a compiled language, TS has benefits for large-scale development with large teams doing complex things. Typically, that is not what Node-RED is being used for. The benefit of staying with native JavaScript is that you don't have to learn a language variant (personally, I find all the extra _stuff_ crammed into the code to be far more a distraction than a help) and you don't have to do a build-step every time you change something.
I guess Node-RED's deploy process could take care of a build but it would certainly add yet more complexity to the already very complex Node-RED platform.
TS is not the only way to deal with variable/property name and type consistency. Monaco is perfectly capable of remembering and helping and can be further steered using JSDoc notations where needed.
Adding the ability to add Monaco extensions would be a massive help since you could then add things like eslint which is massively helpful as your code gets more complex.
But lets not forget that, for most people using Node-RED, this is a bit of a non-issue I suspect, because they are mostly using visual coding and not JavaScript. And even those of us using JavaScript in Node-RED, for the most part, we are writing relatively short, sharp bits of code that, with the help of some simple in-line documentation, is easily followed without the need for other tools.
If you do need something complex, I would strongly recommend not using a function node anyway, you would be far better off writing a node.js module that exports the required functions and that you include either by using `mycode: require('./mymodule.js'),` in the globals section of settings.js or that you include using the Setup tab in your function node. That lets you use the full power of node.js and an IDE such as VSCode with all of its powerful extensions.
---
### Author:  [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 19:16 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/14 "2025-11-18T19:16:45Z")
> [@TotallyInformation](#):
>
> Adding the ability to add Monaco extensions would be a massive help since you could then add things like eslint which is massively helpful as your code gets more complex.
Could you elaborate on doing this then please?
It sounds like the better way to go (IMO)
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 20:48 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/15 "2025-11-18T20:48:03Z")
Unfortunately, I think it may need some changes to core. Unless someone else has worked it out like @Steve-Mcl or @GogoVega ?
---
### Author:  [@ThingsTinkerer](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/ThingsTinkerer)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 22:02 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/16 "2025-11-18T22:02:44Z")
Never noticed the build step in practice (or "transpiling" or whatever). The process of translating ts to js. Of course it is there, but when you work on web for example, it's as easy as Ctrl+S and you see the result in browser immediately. Haven't tried ts function node in node red much, but I imagine it is as fast or faster than normal function node. Whether you like it or not is matter of personal taste. I imagine most people with backend experience of the classic strongly typed OOP languages would feel much faster at home with ts than js. At least I did.
The problem I have of making modules is it is more repos, more things to set up, and development is suddenly moved out of node red. I enjoy working in node red, it's easy ๐ So ideally, for the more complicates or reusable bits, I would love to have a custom javascript library in node red, exactly like for example Thingsboard has. Another downside is I guess you need to restart node red to pick up changes from external modules? I have grown to enjoy updates during runtime.
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [18 November 2025 22:19 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/17 "2025-11-18T22:19:36Z")
> [@ThingsTinkerer](#):
>
> I would love to have a custom javascript library in node red
I have several. ๐ They are not hard to do and there are several options. I have multiple modules and plugins in UIBUILDER for example. This gives me all sorts of useful shared code, data and styling. For the Editor, runtime and even in function nodes. You just need to be a little careful about naming conventions so you don't clash with anything.
> [@ThingsTinkerer](#):
>
> I guess you need to restart node red to pick up changes from external modules?
Yes, and plugins. However, not too hard to set up a watcher that will auto-restart for you. Probably not such a good idea for production use though!
Also, if you use a published package to host your modules, you can potentially have that as a node-red package. Some of those can now be upgraded in the Editor without a restart.
Another approach would be to have compute and/or data handling modules in either a separate instance of Node-RED or in a simple node.js microservice acting as an API server. That way, you don't have to restart your production node-red, only an external service.
* * *
Oh, a further thought. It is, in fact, possible to live reload a node.js module. So one idea might be a custom node that manages external modules and has a reload function built in. That would be a fun little project.
---
### Author:  [@GogoVega](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/GogoVega)
#### Post date: [19 November 2025 08:14 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/18 "2025-11-19T08:14:55Z")
Sorry, I've kind of lost track. What is the purpose of this discussion?
---
### Author:  [@gregorius](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/gregorius)
#### Post date: [19 November 2025 11:44 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/19 "2025-11-19T11:44:36Z")
> [@ThingsTinkerer](#):
>
> Never noticed the build step in practice (or "transpiling" or whatever).
> **[Transpiler, a meaningless word | Rachit Nigam](https://people.csail.mit.edu/rachit/post/transpiler/)**
is a good article that describes transpiling.
---
### Author:  [@TotallyInformation](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/TotallyInformation)
#### Post date: [19 November 2025 14:35 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687/20 "2025-11-19T14:35:25Z")
> [@GogoVega](#):
>
> What is the purpose of this discussion?
It _might_ have drifted slightly over time! Not like us, I know! ๐
The bit you responded to was about how to enable Monaco extensions for use in Node-RED. In particular, the use of ESLINT to help people who want to do more complex JavaScript in a function node.
Some research suggests that the ESLINT vscode extension will not work directly in Monaco. However, it should be possible to achieve something similar using a browser-based web worker - or at least so Leo AI tells me. ๐
But then I started to think about some alternative approaches to providing more complex custom compute functions to Node-RED.
Interested in your thoughts on the matter.
[Next page](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/some-thoughts-for-people-who-like-function-nodes-and-coding/99687.md?page=2)