# Where can I find (or enable) an "interactive" console in node-red?

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [19 May 2021 10:55 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905 "2021-05-19T10:55:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 10:55 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/1 "2021-05-19T10:55:45Z")

</div>

Disclaimer: Newbie Alert

Hi,

I am running Node-red (v1.2.9) on Raspbian (version 10 "buster"). I have connected an embedded device through USB-Serial (RS232) adapter that sends data on my USB port (/dev/ttyUSB0). After connecting the serial\_in node to debug node, I am able to observe the data in debug node logs (initial booting messages from the device, refer image below).

 ![console_in_NR_issue](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/4/5/4594a8f5e6a6ce6671f08acf78d8e2f63d4e5670.png)

However, I wish to send / type the login credentials (user ID and password) on the debug log but it doesn't allow me to do so. I have tried to enable publishing the data to the node red console but unfortunately, do not know where to find the it. The device that I have connected does not publish any further messages after booting, unless I log into it

I would like to interact with the node-red console much like a Linux terminal ; implying that I should be able to give commands and arguments to it and execute them. Coming back to my flow, I tried to inject the user\_id using a simple inject and serial\_out node combination (after I was saw that the logs have stopped and now I have to enter the login credentials), but it did not seem to work.

![console_in_NR_issue_2](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/1/5/15d938fc7e4d4224b2f2d0b500c7eeb16e2ccf35.png)

Any suggestions from the community are welcome.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 11:49 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/2 "2021-05-19T11:49:35Z")

</div>

UPDATE: I found that `node-red-log` shows info on the console but still it is not interactive i.e. I am unable to execute commands or pass login credentials to it. Looks like it only 'logs' info.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Simon01011](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Simon01011](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Simon01011)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 11:58 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/3 "2021-05-19T11:58:38Z")

</div>

> [@abhilash-ingale](#):
>
> Looks like it only 'logs' info.

I suppose that's why it is called "node-red-log" 😁

(Sorry, could not resist...)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 12:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/4 "2021-05-19T12:00:41Z")

</div>

@Simon01011 , yes I realized that (as well as my stupidity) 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Colin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/colin/32/17040_2.png) [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 14:09 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/5 "2021-05-19T14:09:36Z")

</div>

Can you describe exactly what you are trying to achieve please in a bit more detail.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dceejay](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/dceejay/32/38_2.png) [@dceejay](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dceejay)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 16:48 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/6 "2021-05-19T16:48:37Z")

</div>

There isn't an interactive console. I guess you could sort of build one using the Dashboard to take a text input - send to serial request node - get response and display back on dashboard.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 18:17 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/7 "2021-05-19T18:17:10Z")

</div>

@Colin Sure, I am trying to read serial data from an embedded device (machine for example) using a USB-RS232 converter on my RaspPi. I want to display this data on my Node-Red dashboard and allow the user to send some commands (interact with the embedded device) through a text-input box. For example, I want to give the user the freedom to choose to display data from "sensor1" using a hypothetical command "getData sensor1". Hope you've more clarity now 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 18:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/8 "2021-05-19T18:24:18Z")

</div>

@dceejay thanks. Could you share an approach of what you would do? My current approach is to read the node-red-log file, filter the data from all the info and display it on my dashboard. However, things get tricky when I have multiple devices,sensors,cameras **all** generating logs in the same log file. What do you suggest? A custom logger maybe?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Colin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/colin/32/17040_2.png) [@Colin](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Colin)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 18:54 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/9 "2021-05-19T18:54:40Z")

</div>

You said in the title that you wanted this in the editor, but now you are talking about the dashboard.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dceejay](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/dceejay/32/38_2.png) [@dceejay](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dceejay)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 21:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/10 "2021-05-19T21:00:37Z")

</div>

Well I'm talking about the dashboard - as I can't think of a way to do it in the editor.

I would go `[ui-text-input node] -> [serial request node] -> [ui-text node]` as a basic proof of concept

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 22:06 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/11 "2021-05-19T22:06:47Z")

</div>

@Colin Maybe I was not clear about it in the beginning, apologies for that. I want to interact with the console from a dashboard, as I won't be interested to really see the editor every time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [19 May 2021 22:07 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/12 "2021-05-19T22:07:29Z")

</div>

@dceejay Ok, let me try something on these lines. Will get back to you with further updates.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [26 May 2021 12:15 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/13 "2021-05-26T12:15:12Z")

</div>

UPDATE: Based on the suggestion by @dceejay, I was able to get the shell data on my dashboard.

 ![reformat](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/a/9/a94186e1c2e249ce1ff7c64c6bd81a83eb06bc63.png)

However, it is badly formatted and I want it to look like a clean shell output like this (taken from PuTTY) -

```auto
GNU bash, version 4.4.12(1)-release (aarch64-poky-linux-gnu)
These shell commands are defined internally. Type `help' to see this list.
Type `help name' to find out more about the function `name'.
Use `info bash' to find out more about the shell in general.
Use `man -k' or `info' to find out more about commands not in this list.

A star (*) next to a name means that the command is disabled.

 job_spec [&] history [-c] [-d offset] [n] or hist>
 (( expression )) if COMMANDS; then COMMANDS; [ elif C>
 . filename [arguments] jobs [-lnprs] [jobspec ...] or jobs >
 : kill [-s sigspec | -n signum | -sigs>
 [arg...] let arg [arg ...]
 [[expression]] local [option] name[=value] ...
 alias [-p] [name[=value] ... ] logout [n]
 bg [job_spec ...] mapfile [-d delim] [-n count] [-O or>
 bind [-lpsvPSVX] [-m keymap] [-f file> popd [-n] [+N | -N]
 break [n] printf [-v var] format [arguments]
 builtin [shell-builtin [arg ...]] pushd [-n] [+N | -N | dir]
 caller [expr] pwd [-LP]
 case WORD in [PATTERN [| PATTERN]...)> read [-ers] [-a array] [-d delim] [->
 cd [-L|[-P [-e]] [-@]] [dir] readarray [-n count] [-O origin] [-s>
 command [-pVv] command [arg ...] readonly [-aAf] [name[=value] ...] o>
 compgen [-abcdefgjksuv] [-o option] [> return [n]
 complete [-abcdefgjksuv] [-pr] [-DE] > select NAME [in WORDS ... ;] do COMM>
 compopt [-o|+o option] [-DE] [name ..> set [-abefhkmnptuvxBCHP] [-o option->
 continue [n] shift [n]
 coproc [NAME] command [redirections] shopt [-pqsu] [-o] [optname ...]
 declare [-aAfFgilnrtux] [-p] [name[=v> source filename [arguments]
 dirs [-clpv] [+N] [-N] suspend [-f]
 disown [-h] [-ar] [jobspec ... | pid > test [expr]
 echo [-neE] [arg ...] time [-p] pipeline
 enable [-a] [-dnps] [-f filename] [na> times
 eval [arg ...] trap [-lp] [[arg] signal_spec ...]
 exec [-cl] [-a name] [command [argume> true
 exit [n] type [-afptP] name [name ...]
 export [-fn] [name[=value] ...] or ex> typeset [-aAfFgilnrtux] [-p] name[=v>
 false ulimit [-SHabcdefiklmnpqrstuvxPT] [l>
 fc [-e ename] [-lnr] [first] [last] o> umask [-p] [-S] [mode]
 fg [job_spec] unalias [-a] name [name ...]
 for NAME [in WORDS ...] ; do COMMAND> unset [-f] [-v] [-n] [name ...]
 for (( exp1; exp2; exp3 )); do COMMAN> until COMMANDS; do COMMANDS; done
 function name { COMMANDS ; } or name > variables - Names and meanings of so>
 getopts optstring name [arg] wait [-n] [id ...]
 hash [-lr] [-p pathname] [-dt] [name > while COMMANDS; do COMMANDS; done
 help [-dms] [pattern ...] { COMMANDS ; }

```

Till now, I have tried to use the built-in settings of the `serial-out` node (refer screenshot below), split them into lines with a "\n" and join them together using "\r". Could anyone please point out where I am going wrong?

 ![flow-diag](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/d/c/dc55d91eb27f788ff517b26ae6714f1867d6cde1.png)

 ![split-join](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/6/a/6ae6d2e2d2139cb62bb65423a769b6776a95460c.png)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [2 June 2021 08:06 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/14 "2021-06-02T08:06:14Z")

</div>

Update: With some help from my colleague, I was able to arrange the output as single lines using a function block between the receive and output nodes with the following code.

```auto
var array = msg.payload.split('\n');
msg.payload = "";
for(var i = 0; i < array.length -1; i++){
    array[i] = "<p>" + array[i] + "</p>";
}
for(var x = 0 ; x < array.length -1; x++){
    msg.payload += array[x];
}
return msg

```

The problem was that the `ui_text` node needs html-style `<p>` `</p>` tags to specify new-lines (or paragraphs). My flow now looks like this -

```auto
[{"id":"2d9b9629.24ecea","type":"tab","label":"Console","disabled":false,"info":""},{"id":"3a8f8c11.6246cc","type":"serial in","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","name":"Receive_msgs","serial":"beea37d3.019258","x":120,"y":260,"wires":[["8cc7f013.6c51d8"]]},{"id":"9a2ef1b2.9dc9b","type":"serial out","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","name":"Publish_msgs","serial":"beea37d3.019258","x":380,"y":400,"wires":[]},{"id":"599afb4c.4665f4","type":"comment","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","name":"Sending commands as text","info":"","x":150,"y":340,"wires":[]},{"id":"50df12b2.e0a49c","type":"ui_text_input","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","name":"","label":"Input","tooltip":"","group":"e03c1e2.433b56","order":1,"width":0,"height":0,"passthru":true,"mode":"text","delay":"0","topic":"topic","topicType":"msg","x":90,"y":400,"wires":[["9a2ef1b2.9dc9b"]]},{"id":"98d1924b.8bdeb8","type":"comment","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","name":"Receive and display commands","info":"","x":170,"y":200,"wires":[]},{"id":"8cc7f013.6c51d8","type":"function","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","name":"String Splitter","func":"var array = msg.payload.split('\\n');\nmsg.payload = \"\";\nfor(var i = 0; i < array.length -1; i++){\n array[i] = \"<p>\" + array[i] + \"</p>\";\n}\nfor(var x = 0 ; x < array.length -1; x++){\n msg.payload += array[x];\n}\nreturn msg;\n\n","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","x":340,"y":260,"wires":[["d150de7b.f62918"]]},{"id":"d150de7b.f62918","type":"ui_text","z":"2d9b9629.24ecea","group":"d8596899.c56458","order":2,"width":"30","height":"10","name":"","label":"OUT","format":"{{msg.payload}}","layout":"col-center","x":550,"y":260,"wires":[]},{"id":"beea37d3.019258","type":"serial-port","serialport":"/dev/ttyUSB0","serialbaud":"115200","databits":"8","parity":"none","stopbits":"1","waitfor":"","dtr":"none","rts":"none","cts":"none","dsr":"none","newline":"250","bin":"false","out":"interbyte","addchar":"\\r","responsetimeout":"250"},{"id":"e03c1e2.433b56","type":"ui_group","name":"Console","tab":"5ba48494.46db94","order":1,"disp":true,"width":"30","collapse":false},{"id":"d8596899.c56458","type":"ui_group","name":"Default","tab":"ae47cffa.963c78","order":1,"disp":true,"width":"6","collapse":false},{"id":"5ba48494.46db94","type":"ui_tab","name":"Console","icon":"dashboard","order":4,"disabled":false,"hidden":false},{"id":"ae47cffa.963c78","type":"ui_tab","name":"Home","icon":"dashboard"}]

```

Here's an output from my dashboard -

 ![output_explosion](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/8/8/883f5aa698decf5309094bf22eecf7a42879a2a7.png)

I would now like to implement a scrolling text-box feature to show the most recent messages and scroll-down on the older ones. Have already started following [this thread](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/scrolling-text-box-on-dashboard/2788) but I would appreciate any better leads, if available.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Steve-Mcl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/steve-mcl/32/4826_2.png) [@Steve-Mcl](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Steve-Mcl)\
**Post date:** [2 June 2021 09:15 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/15 "2021-06-02T09:15:02Z")

</div>

You could achieve this with a simple `pre` & `code` block. You can even have syntax highlighting and a MAX LENGTH buffer for scroll back.

example...

![xSa2xxlzm7](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/e/0/e06467c7ec83d41a047d61e8bbdc226b8cc7cfd3.gif)

Demo flow...

```auto
[{"id":"ca8f65c0.635a58","type":"ui_template","z":"553814a2.1248ec","group":"6d01ec93.b1d374","name":"","order":7,"width":"12","height":"8","format":"\n<!--<pre><code id=\"shell\" class=\"language-bash bash\" ng-bind=\"msg.payload\"></code></pre>-->\n<pre><code id=\"shell\" class=\"language-bash bash\"></code></pre>\n\n<script>\n $(document).ready(function() {\n $('#shell').each(function(i, e) {hljs.highlightElement(e)});\n }); \n</script>\n\n\n<script>\n(function(scope) {\n scope.$watch('msg', function(msg) {\n if (msg) {\n debugger\n $(\"#shell\").text(msg.payload);\n $('#shell').each(function(i, e) {hljs.highlightElement(e)});\n //$(\"#shell\").scrollTop(function() { return this.scrollHeight; });\n $(\"#shell\").closest(\".nr-dashboard-template\").scrollTop(function() { return this.scrollHeight; });\n }\n });\n})(scope);\n</script>","storeOutMessages":true,"fwdInMessages":true,"resendOnRefresh":true,"templateScope":"local","x":960,"y":1540,"wires":[[]]},{"id":"72d6a0f1.8fba2","type":"exec","z":"553814a2.1248ec","command":"","addpay":"payload","append":"","useSpawn":"false","timer":"","oldrc":false,"name":"","x":750,"y":1560,"wires":[["bad9531a.ac42d"],[],[]]},{"id":"d42cac7d.f026a","type":"ui_template","z":"553814a2.1248ec","group":"dce9e7a2.d20c78","name":"highlighter","order":7,"width":0,"height":0,"format":"<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@11.0.0/build/styles/default.min.css\">\n<script src=\"https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@11.0.0/build/highlight.min.js\"></script>\n<!-- and it's easy to individually load additional languages -->\n<script src=\"https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/highlightjs/cdn-release@11.0.0/build/languages/shell.min.js\"></script>","storeOutMessages":true,"fwdInMessages":true,"resendOnRefresh":true,"templateScope":"global","x":970,"y":1500,"wires":[[]]},{"id":"c0cb8d83.a207b","type":"ui_button","z":"553814a2.1248ec","name":"","group":"6d01ec93.b1d374","order":3,"width":"3","height":"1","passthru":false,"label":"time /T","tooltip":"","color":"","bgcolor":"","icon":"","payload":"time /T","payloadType":"str","topic":"topic","topicType":"msg","x":450,"y":1500,"wires":[["72d6a0f1.8fba2","bad9531a.ac42d"]]},{"id":"bad9531a.ac42d","type":"function","z":"553814a2.1248ec","name":"","func":"if(!msg.payload) return;\n\nconst MAXLINES = 200;\nlet data = context.get(\"data\") || [];\nif(msg.topic==\"clear\") {\n data = [];\n} else {\n const lines = msg.payload.split(\"\\n\");\n data.push(...lines);\n data = data.slice(-MAXLINES);\n}\ncontext.set(\"data\", data);\nmsg.payload = data.join(\"\\n\");\nreturn msg;","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","libs":[],"x":800,"y":1500,"wires":[["ca8f65c0.635a58"]]},{"id":"9f411e65.0e5dd","type":"ui_button","z":"553814a2.1248ec","name":"","group":"6d01ec93.b1d374","order":3,"width":"3","height":"1","passthru":false,"label":"where node","tooltip":"","color":"","bgcolor":"","icon":"","payload":"where node","payloadType":"str","topic":"topic","topicType":"msg","x":470,"y":1540,"wires":[["72d6a0f1.8fba2","bad9531a.ac42d"]]},{"id":"e1e64aad.590368","type":"ui_button","z":"553814a2.1248ec","name":"","group":"6d01ec93.b1d374","order":3,"width":"3","height":"1","passthru":false,"label":"where cmd","tooltip":"","color":"","bgcolor":"","icon":"","payload":"where cmd","payloadType":"str","topic":"topic","topicType":"msg","x":470,"y":1580,"wires":[["72d6a0f1.8fba2","bad9531a.ac42d"]]},{"id":"6750853f.a3036c","type":"ui_button","z":"553814a2.1248ec","name":"","group":"6d01ec93.b1d374","order":3,"width":"3","height":"1","passthru":false,"label":"clear","tooltip":"","color":"","bgcolor":"","icon":"","payload":"","payloadType":"str","topic":"clear","topicType":"str","x":450,"y":1620,"wires":[["bad9531a.ac42d"]]},{"id":"6d01ec93.b1d374","type":"ui_group","name":"UserEntry","tab":"5132060d.4cde48","order":2,"disp":true,"width":"12","collapse":false},{"id":"dce9e7a2.d20c78","type":"ui_group","name":"Object detection","tab":"5132060d.4cde48","order":1,"disp":true,"width":"7","collapse":false},{"id":"5132060d.4cde48","type":"ui_tab","name":"Home","icon":"dashboard","disabled":false,"hidden":false}]

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [2 June 2021 09:48 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/16 "2021-06-02T09:48:21Z")

</div>

@Steve-Mcl , thanks for the flow. I just changed the exec node to serial nodes and it works really well! I really appreciate the work on html formatting.

Update - I thought it be useful if I share my flow. I have further implemented text input and reset on the flow shared by @Steve-Mcl .

```auto
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```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [4 June 2021 10:38 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/17 "2021-06-04T10:38:35Z")

</div>

@Steve-Mcl , So I noticed some unusual chars spread across my dashboard output after I run simple commands like `ls` (highlighted with black box)

 ![issue_3](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/2/f/2f832f4a3880a8c2d864424c798183d5fa8caf54.png)

To investigate the issue further, I accessed the serial-device using PuTTY on my laptop and came to a conclusion that colored text (blue) from the shell was not interpreted properly.

![PuTTY snap](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/e/a/eafdf145a8391b202ef50946b169aa52e43d4807.png)

I suspect that the colorization would be indicating some special properties/rights for the folder (but not completely sure). Do you have any suggestions?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Simon01011](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Simon01011](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Simon01011)\
**Post date:** [4 June 2021 10:56 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/18 "2021-06-04T10:56:15Z")

</div>

I think you can disable colored output for ls. Look into the file .bashrc in your home directory. There should be a section called "enable color support for ls" or so.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![abhilash-ingale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/abhilash-ingale/32/41401_2.png) [@abhilash-ingale](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/abhilash-ingale)\
**Post date:** [4 June 2021 11:07 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/19 "2021-06-04T11:07:01Z")

</div>

@Simon01011 I found a great [discussion](https://askubuntu.com/questions/17299/what-do-the-different-colors-mean-in-ls) on StackOverflow about what the symbols imply. In my case, it simply means that "diags" is a directory.

I would surely try to disable the colors as per your suggestion, but it would be great to know if it is possible to incorporate **some** color coding to differentiate between files and directories using the html code shared by Steve.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Steve-Mcl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/steve-mcl/32/4826_2.png) [@Steve-Mcl](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Steve-Mcl)\
**Post date:** [4 June 2021 11:09 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905/20 "2021-06-04T11:09:21Z")

</div>

The issue is the ANSI codes returned by the terminal are not recognised by HTML. There are libs on NPM to convert them to HTML but will take some work to get going.

For now, I would look to disabling ANSI color codes on the terminal.

[Next page](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/where-can-i-find-or-enable-an-interactive-console-in-node-red/45905.md?page=2)