node-red-contrib-aws-sqs-variable

A production-ready Node-RED node for AWS SQS operations that sends and receives messages with flexible credential handling.

Features

• 📬 Send messages to AWS SQS
• 📥 Receive messages from AWS SQS
• 🏗️ Flexible credential configuration (IAM roles, direct credentials, context variables)
• 🎯 TypedInput support for dynamic Queue URL and payload
• 🔄 FIFO support with Message Group and Deduplication IDs
• 🧾 Optional JSON parsing for received messages
• ⏱️ Built-in polling mode with status indicator
• 🛡️ Production-ready with comprehensive error handling

Installation

Run the following command in your Node-RED user directory (typically ~/.node-red):

npm install node-red-contrib-aws-sqs-variable

After installation, restart Node-RED to load the new nodes.

Configuration

AWS Configuration Node

The module uses a configuration node that supports multiple authentication methods:

IAM Role Authentication (Recommended)

• ✅ Use when running on EC2 instances with IAM roles
• ✅ No credentials needed in Node-RED
• ✅ Automatic credential rotation

Access Key Authentication

Supports multiple credential sources:

• String: Stored securely in Node-RED credentials (encrypted)
• Flow Context: Retrieved from flow context variables
• Global Context: Retrieved from global context variables
• Environment Variables: Retrieved from environment variables

Usage

Basic Usage

1. Create AWS Configuration

   • Add an "aws-sqs-config" node
   • Configure your AWS region and credentials

2. Add AWS SQS Node

   • Drag "aws-sqs" node to your flow
   • Select your AWS configuration
   • Choose operation: Send or Receive

Send Messages

Configure:

• Queue URL (string, msg, flow, global, env)
• Message Body (string, msg, flow, global, env)

Optional for FIFO:

• Message Group ID (required for FIFO)
• Deduplication ID (optional if content-based deduplication is enabled)

Receive Messages

Configure:

• Queue URL
• Max Messages (1-10)
• Wait Time (s) (0-20, long polling)
• Visibility Timeout (s)
• Delete After Receive
• Parse JSON Body (optional)

Polling:

• Enable Polling to receive messages on a schedule
• Set Poll Interval (s)

Input

Message Properties

• msg.queueUrl (optional): Queue URL if not configured in node
• msg.messageGroupId (optional): FIFO Message Group ID
• msg.messageDeduplicationId (optional): FIFO Deduplication ID

Example Input

msg = {
  queueUrl: "https://sqs.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue",
  payload: { message: "Hello!" }
}

Output

Send Success Response

msg = {
  payload: {
    messageId: "abcd-1234",
    md5OfMessageBody: "e99a18c428cb38d5f260853678922e03"
  }
}

Receive Success Response

msg = {
  payload: [
    {
      MessageId: "...",
      ReceiptHandle: "...",
      Body: "raw string or parsed JSON when enabled"
    }
  ]
}

Error Response

msg = {
  payload: {
    error: "Error message"
  }
}

FIFO Notes

• Message Group ID is required for FIFO queues
• Deduplication ID must be unique within a 5-minute window
• Ordering is guaranteed only within the same Message Group

Security Best Practices

• ✅ Use IAM roles when possible (recommended for EC2 instances)
• ✅ Store credentials in context variables rather than hardcoding
• ✅ Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
• ✅ Rotate access keys regularly
• ✅ Follow the principle of least privilege
• ✅ Enable AWS CloudTrail for audit logging

Error Handling

The node provides comprehensive error handling:

• Configuration errors: Missing or invalid AWS configuration
• Authentication errors: Invalid credentials or permissions
• Queue errors: Invalid Queue URL or insufficient permissions
• Network errors: Connection issues with AWS

All errors are logged and sent in the message payload for downstream processing.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 12.0.0
• Node-RED >= 2.0.0
• AWS account with SQS access
• Appropriate IAM permissions

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue in the project repository.