Taking baby steps in Node-RED

README.md

@@ -25,10 +25,12 @@ mosquitto_pub -h localhost -p 1883 -t '/' -m $(date --utc +%s)
 
 You can login to Grafana: http://localhost:3000/login (admin:admin)
 
-### NodeRed
+### Node-RED
 
 NodeRed is running here: http://localhost:1880/
 
+A simple introduction to Node-RED can be found in [this repository](./software/flow/README.md). 
+
 ## Hardware
 
 We are using HelTec Automation Wirelsess Sticks ESP32 Dev-Boards.

software/flow/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Node-RED
+
+If you boot up our tech stack using `docker-compose` you already have a Node-RED instance running on[your local machine](http://localhost:1880/).
+
+## first steps
+
+For debuging shell into your Docker container and install the Node-RED Dashboard (we will switch to Grafana, soon):
+
+```sh
+npm install node-red-dashboard
+```
+
+Then the dashboard should be visible on the righmost menu item in Node-RED.
+
+![Dashboard item](./docs/images/dashboard.png)
+
+Then you can add a MQQT node to receive values from the power monitor, hook it up to a gauge and display it in a dasboard.
+
+![Overview](./docs/images/1-overview.png)
+![MQTT Node](./docs/images/2-mqtt-node.png) ![Gauge NOde](./docs/images/3-gauge-node.png) ![Dashboard Settings](./docs/images/4-dashboard-node.png)
+
+The dashboard looks like that.
+
+![Mobile view](./docs/images/5-dashboard.png)