FBPX Runtime

FBPX Runtime

FBPX Runtime

The runtime package, @fbpx/runtime, executes FBPX flows and exposes them over the FBP protocol — the wire protocol used by FlowHub and other FBP tooling. It ships the fbpx-server binary, supports fbp-protocol, and stays compatible with noflo-nodejs.

There are two ways to run a flow:

  • In process — fbpx run executes a .fbp file directly. This is the everyday path for running a graph from the CLI.
  • As a server — fbpx-server starts a runtime process that connects to a UI over websockets and accepts FBP protocol commands to load, start, and stop graphs.

Running a flow programmatically

The same runtime is a library. You create a flow from a definition, load its nodes through a provider, and run it:

const {Flow} = require('@fbpx/flow')
const {FSLoader} = require('@fbpx/loader-fs')

const loader = new FSLoader({cache: false})
await loader.load(flowDefinition)

const flow = await Flow.create('my-flow', flowDefinition, loader)
await flow.run()

The loader pre-resolves the node definitions so Flow.create can wire them; for local files the provider line in the .fbp file tells the loader where to look. The API section covers the runtime structures in detail.

The server

fbpx-server exposes one or more graphs over the FBP protocol. Installation and tests:

npm install
npm test

Usage:

 Usage: fbpx-server [options] <file ...>

  Options:

    -h, --help                  output usage information
    -V, --version               output the version number
    -t, --type [name]           Runtime type fbpx, noflo-nodejs (default: fbpx-nodejs)
    -c, --cache                 cache components
    -x, --compat                stay compatible with noflo format
    -p, --proxy                 expose /proxy to proxy requests to e.g. a browser
    -r, --proxy-server [url]    proxy nodejs runtime
    -s, --secure                secure wss or ws
    -S, --secret                secret to be send with each request to the runtime
    -n, --start                 start graph immediately (now)
    -u, --uppercase             force ports uppercase
    -h, --host [name]           hostname
    -p, --port [name]           port
    -I, --no-ids                do not use uuids
    -b, --bail                  bail on errors
    -i, --interface [name]      choose a webserver interface
    -l, --loader [loader]       loader `remote` or `npm` (default: npm)
    -L, --loglevel [level]      Log level
    -f, --flowhub               ping flowhub
    -v, --verbose               verbose output
    -C, --create-cert           Create SSL certificate for websocket host.

The same runtime executes a graph in a browser or a server, and the FBP protocol is how a UI drives it. For how flows themselves are written — nodes, links, streams, and control — see the language section.

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