# Using AI tools (Cursor, Claude Code etc) for Node-RED development & testing – experiences?

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/using-ai-tools-cursor-claude-code-etc-for-node-red-development-testing-experiences/98663>\
**Category:** General\
**Tags:** docker, ai\
**Created:** [14 August 2025 13:27 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/using-ai-tools-cursor-claude-code-etc-for-node-red-development-testing-experiences/98663 "2025-08-14T13:27:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![flipzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bb73d2/32.png) [@flipzz](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/flipzz)\
**Post date:** [14 August 2025 13:27 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/using-ai-tools-cursor-claude-code-etc-for-node-red-development-testing-experiences/98663/1 "2025-08-14T13:27:04Z")

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Hi all,

We run Node-RED in a multi-instance setup with:

- We manage everything with Git directly in the Node-RED user folder (we don’t use the Node-RED’s project feature).

- Flows and custom nodes are in GitHub (source control).

- GitHub Actions build Docker images.

- Deployment to multiple Node-RED instances (dev/stage/prod).

We’re now looking to use AI tools/agents like Cursor, Claude Code, and GitHub Copilot more in our way of working in general. But we are not sure how to do this in Node-RED in a good way. For example to help write Function nodes, develop flow structures, generate tests, and refactor flows.

One of the challenges we’re facing is the **Node-RED file structure** :

- Everything sits in one large `flows.json` file.

- To merge pull requests of the `.json` can often be tricky.

- Diffs in PRs are hard to review — small logic changes get buried in layout/ID noise.

- Would like to see more examples of how others structure their flows to make them AI-friendly and diff-friendly.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has good experience with handling this kind of scenarios. I know about that it is possible to get one .json-flow per flow-tab using external modules but I am not sure that that would solve this.

If you have **examples, repo structures, or tips** that work in practice, it would be great to see them.

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![omrid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@omrid](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/omrid)\
**Post date:** [14 August 2025 13:58 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/using-ai-tools-cursor-claude-code-etc-for-node-red-development-testing-experiences/98663/2 "2025-08-14T13:58:22Z")

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I painfully recognize the one-flow-file challenge, and in fact, this was my main improvement request on the last Node-red survey.

I am running 10's of concurrent Node-red environments (dev, test, stage, prod, you name it), across many versions. For now, the only way I found to make the flow more maintainable, is to modularize it into loosely-coupled blocks, across multiple tabs.  
I disciplined my team that a tab is the lowest granularity. Tabs are always locked, and you import & export whole tabs only, never just part of a tab. Reusable blocks should be set in separate tabs, and called via link-call (by **named target** only).

Once you have this structure (assuming your team is disciplined) you can automate check-in & check-out operations, either by scripting or simple RPA.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/1X/d073cd938eafa2e558d7c2cd59003b3ef4963033.png) [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [12 November 2025 13:58 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/using-ai-tools-cursor-claude-code-etc-for-node-red-development-testing-experiences/98663/3 "2025-11-12T13:58:45Z")

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