# [MQTT Explorer](https://mqtt-explorer.com)

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| [![screen_composite](https://mqtt-explorer.com/img/screen-composite_small.png)](https://mqtt-explorer.com/img/screen-composite.png) | [![screen2_small](https://mqtt-explorer.com/img/screen2_small.png)](https://mqtt-explorer.com/img/screen2.png) | [![screen3_small](https://mqtt-explorer.com/img/screen3_small.png)](https://mqtt-explorer.com/img/screen3.png) |

# The App has moved to [mqtt-explorer.com](https://mqtt-explorer.com)

MQTT Explorer is a comprehensive and easy-to-use MQTT Client.  
Downloads can be found at the link above.

This page is dedicated to its development.
Pull-Requests and error reports are welcome.

## Quick Start with GitHub Codespaces

The fastest way to start developing is with GitHub Codespaces:

1. Click the green "Code" button above
2. Select "Codespaces" tab
3. Click "Create codespace on [branch]"
4. Wait for the environment to set up (includes Node.js and MQTT broker)
5. Run `yarn dev:server` to start development

The devcontainer includes a pre-configured MQTT broker and all development tools. See [.devcontainer/README.md](.devcontainer/README.md) for details.

## Run from sources

### Desktop Application (Electron)

```bash
npm install -g yarn
yarn
yarn build
yarn start
```

### Browser Mode (Web Application)

MQTT Explorer can also run as a web application served by a Node.js server:

```bash
npm install -g yarn
yarn
yarn build:server
yarn start:server
```

Then open your browser to `http://localhost:3000`. For more details, see [BROWSER_MODE.md](BROWSER_MODE.md).

### Docker (Browser Mode)

[![Try in PWD](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/play-with-docker/stacks/master/assets/images/button.png)](https://labs.play-with-docker.com/?stack=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomasnordquist/MQTT-Explorer/master/docker-compose.yml)

Run MQTT Explorer in a Docker container:

```bash
docker run -d \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e MQTT_EXPLORER_USERNAME=admin \
  -e MQTT_EXPLORER_PASSWORD=your_secure_password \
  -v mqtt-explorer-data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/thomasnordquist/mqtt-explorer:latest
```

**Supports multiple platforms**: amd64, arm64 (Raspberry Pi 3/4/5), arm/v7 (Raspberry Pi 2/3).

**Enterprise integration**: Set `MQTT_EXPLORER_SKIP_AUTH=true` to disable built-in authentication when deploying behind a secure authentication proxy (e.g., OAuth2 Proxy, SSO).

For complete Docker documentation including authentication options, deployment examples, and security best practices, see [DOCKER.md](DOCKER.md).

## Develop

### Desktop Application

Launch Application

```bash
npm install -g yarn
yarn
yarn dev
```

### Browser Mode

Launch in development mode with hot reload:

```bash
npm install -g yarn
yarn
yarn dev:server
```

The `app` directory contains all the rendering logic, the `backend` directory currently contains the models, tests, connection management, `src` contains all the electron bindings. [mqttjs](https://github.com/mqttjs/MQTT.js) is used to facilitate communication to MQTT brokers.

For information on styling conventions and visual design patterns, see [STYLING.md](STYLING.md).

## Automated Tests

MQTT Explorer uses multiple test suites to ensure reliability and quality:

### Unit Tests

**App tests** - Frontend component and logic tests:
```bash
yarn test:app
```

**Backend tests** - Data model and business logic tests:
```bash
yarn test:backend
```

**Run all unit tests**:
```bash
yarn test
```

### Integration & UI Tests

**UI test suite** - Independent, deterministic browser tests:
```bash
yarn build
yarn test:ui
```

**Demo video generation** - UI test recording for documentation:
```bash
yarn build
yarn test:demo-video
```
Note: Requires Xvfb, mosquitto broker, tmux, and ffmpeg. For full video recording setup, use `./scripts/uiTests.sh`.

**MCP introspection tests** - Model Context Protocol validation:
```bash
yarn build
yarn test:mcp
```

**Run all tests** (unit tests + demo video):
```bash
yarn build
yarn test:all
```

### Run UI Test Suite

The UI test suite validates core functionality through automated browser tests. Each test is independent and deterministic.

```bash
# Run with automated setup (recommended)
./scripts/runUiTests.sh

# Or run directly (requires manual MQTT broker setup)
yarn build
yarn test:ui
```

See [docs/UI-TEST-SUITE.md](docs/UI-TEST-SUITE.md) for more details.

### Run Demo Video Generation

The demo video is used for documentation and showcases key features. It requires additional dependencies:

```bash
yarn build
yarn test:demo-video
```

**Requirements:**
- mosquitto MQTT broker
- Xvfb (virtual framebuffer)
- tmux (terminal multiplexer)
- ffmpeg (video encoding)

**For full video recording with post-processing:**
```bash
yarn build
./scripts/uiTests.sh
```

This script handles Xvfb setup, mosquitto startup, video recording, and cleanup.

## Create a release

Create a PR to `release` branch.
There needs to be a "feat: some new feature" or "fix: some bugfix" commit for a new release to be created

### macOS Notarization

macOS builds are automatically notarized during the release process. To set up notarization credentials, see [NOTARIZATION.md](NOTARIZATION.md).

## Create a beta release

Create a PR to `beta` branch. A "feat" or "fix" commit is necessary to create a new version.

## Write docs

```
git clone --single-branch -b gh-pages https://github.com/thomasnordquist/MQTT-Explorer.git mqtt-explorer-pages
cd mqtt-explorer-pages
bundle install
bundle exec jekyll serve --incremental
```

Readme file: `Readme.tpl.md`

Preview is available at
http://localhost:4000/Readme.tpl

## Update docs

```
npm install
./updateReadme.ts
```

The readme will be generated from the docs.

## License

![CC BY-SA 4.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-CC%20BY--SA%204.0-blue.svg)  
[CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Special requirement:** When distributing, the attribution and donation page may not be altered or made less accessible without explicit approval.

The license allows for anyone to adapt, share, and redistribute the material, as long as they give appropriate credit and distribute any derivative works under the same license.
