MQTT Explorer

The App has moved to 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 for details.

Run from sources

Desktop Application (Electron)

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:

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.

Docker (Browser Mode)

Run MQTT Explorer in a Docker container:

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.

Develop

Desktop Application

Launch Application

npm install -g yarn
yarn
yarn dev

Browser Mode

Launch in development mode with hot reload:

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 is used to facilitate communication to MQTT brokers.

For information on styling conventions and visual design patterns, see STYLING.md.

Automated Tests

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

Unit Tests

App tests - Frontend component and logic tests:

yarn test:app

Backend tests - Data model and business logic tests:

yarn test:backend

Run all unit tests:

yarn test

LLM Testing

The AI Assistant feature includes comprehensive tests to validate proposal quality and LLM integration.

Offline tests (default - no API key needed):

yarn test:app

Live LLM integration tests (requires API key):

# Set your API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
# Or use Gemini
export GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here

# Opt-in to live tests
export RUN_LLM_TESTS=true

# Run tests
yarn test:app

For detailed LLM testing documentation, see app/src/services/spec/README.md.

Integration & UI Tests

UI test suite - Independent, deterministic browser tests:

yarn build
yarn test:ui

Demo video generation - UI test recording for documentation:

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:

yarn build
yarn test:mcp

Run all tests (unit tests + demo video):

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.

# 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 for more details.

Run Demo Video Generation

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

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:

yarn build
./scripts/uiTests.sh

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

Mobile Demo Video

A mobile-focused demo video showcases MQTT Explorer in a mobile viewport (Pixel 6: 412x915px):

yarn build
yarn test:demo-video:mobile

Or with full recording setup:

yarn build
./scripts/uiTestsMobile.sh

This demonstrates the mobile compatibility features and responsive design improvements. See MOBILE_COMPATIBILITY.md for the mobile strategy and implementation details.

Mobile Compatibility

MQTT Explorer supports mobile devices through its browser mode with responsive design enhancements:

• Target Device: Google Pixel 6 (412x915px viewport)
• Touch-Friendly UI: Minimum 44px tap targets for better mobile UX
• Responsive Layout: Sidebar and panels adapt to mobile viewports
• Browser Mode: Access via mobile browser or install as PWA

For the complete mobile compatibility concept, implementation phases, and future roadmap, see MOBILE_COMPATIBILITY.md.

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.

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

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.