Trigger a flow whenever Node-RED starts

Problem

You want to trigger a flow whenever Node-RED starts.

This could be used to initialise context variables, or to send a notification that Node-RED has been restarted.

Solution

Use an Inject node configured to fire once on start. Double click the inject node to open it - scroll down and tick the checkbox

✅ Inject once after [0.1] seconds, then

Click Done to save the change.

Example

[{"id":"e60b12c1.93bb3","type":"inject","z":"535331d8.55c1f","name":"","topic":"","payload":"Started!","payloadType":"str","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":true,"x":140,"y":540,"wires":[["9b1d7727.56d0f8"]]},{"id":"9b1d7727.56d0f8","type":"debug","z":"535331d8.55c1f","name":"","active":true,"console":"false","complete":"false","x":410,"y":540,"wires":[]}]

Discussion

When configured to fire on start, the Inject node will be automatically triggered a few hundred milliseconds after it is deployed. This delay is used to help ensure the rest of the flows have been created and Started by this point.

The node will trigger whenever it is deployed.