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Browser Mode Documentation

MQTT Explorer now supports running as a web application served by a Node.js server, in addition to the existing Electron desktop app.

Running in Browser Mode

Quick Start

  1. Build the application for browser mode:

    yarn build:server

  2. Start the server:

    yarn start:server

  3. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000

  4. You'll be prompted to log in with credentials that were generated on server startup.

Development Mode

To run in development mode with hot reload:

yarn dev:server

This starts both the webpack dev server and the backend server.

Authentication

Environment Variables

You can set custom authentication credentials using environment variables:

export MQTT_EXPLORER_USERNAME=admin
export MQTT_EXPLORER_PASSWORD=secretpassword
yarn start:server

Generated Credentials

If no environment variables are set, the server will generate credentials on first startup and save them to data/credentials.json. The generated credentials will be printed to the console:

============================================================
Generated new credentials:
Username: user-abc123
Password: 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000
============================================================
Please save these credentials. They will be persisted to:
/path/to/data/credentials.json
============================================================

Features

Certificate Upload

In browser mode, certificate files are uploaded directly through the browser using the HTML5 File API. The certificates are:

  • Read client-side as base64
  • Stored in the connection configuration
  • Used when establishing MQTT connections

Data Storage

In browser mode, all data is stored on the server:

  • Credentials: data/credentials.json
  • Uploaded certificates: data/certificates/
  • File uploads: data/uploads/

Port Configuration

The default port is 3000. You can change it using the PORT environment variable:

PORT=8080 yarn start:server

Architecture

Client-Server Communication

  • Electron Mode: Uses Electron IPC for communication between renderer and main process
  • Browser Mode: Uses Socket.io WebSockets for real-time communication between browser and server

The application automatically detects the environment and uses the appropriate transport layer.

Event Bus Abstraction

Both Electron IPC and Socket.io implement the same EventBusInterface, allowing the application code to work seamlessly in both modes without modification.

Differences from Electron Mode

Browser Mode Limitations

  1. File System Access: Limited to server-side operations
  2. Native Dialogs: File selection uses browser file input instead of native dialogs
  3. Auto-Updates: Not available in browser mode
  4. Tray Icon: Not available in browser mode

Browser Mode Advantages

  1. No Installation: Access from any browser
  2. Cross-Platform: Works on any device with a modern browser
  3. Remote Access: Can be deployed on a server for remote access
  4. Multi-User: Can support authentication for multiple users

Security Considerations

  1. HTTPS: For production, always use HTTPS to encrypt credentials and MQTT data
  2. Authentication: Keep credentials secure and rotate them regularly
  3. Network: Ensure the server is on a trusted network or behind a firewall
  4. Environment Variables: Use environment variables for production credentials, not the generated ones

Deployment

For production deployment:

  1. Build the application:

    yarn build:server

  2. Set environment variables:

    export MQTT_EXPLORER_USERNAME=your_username
export MQTT_EXPLORER_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
export PORT=3000

  3. Start the server:

    yarn start:server

  4. Use a reverse proxy (nginx, Apache) to add HTTPS and additional security features

Troubleshooting

Debugging

Enable detailed Socket.IO connection and lifecycle debugging:

DEBUG=mqtt-explorer:socketio* yarn start:server

Available debug namespaces:

  • mqtt-explorer:socketio - General Socket.IO events and metrics
  • mqtt-explorer:socketio:connect - Client connection events
  • mqtt-explorer:socketio:disconnect - Client disconnection and cleanup
  • mqtt-explorer:socketio:subscriptions - Subscription lifecycle tracking
  • mqtt-explorer:socketio:connections - MQTT connection ownership

This will log:

  • Client connect/disconnect events
  • Subscription counts per socket
  • MQTT connection ownership tracking
  • Memory leak detection metrics (subscriptions, handlers, connections)

Example output:

mqtt-explorer:socketio:connect Client connected: abc123de
mqtt-explorer:socketio [connect] clients=1 subscriptions=8 mqttConns=0 | socket[abc123de]: subs=8 conns=0
mqtt-explorer:socketio:connections Connection my-mqtt owned by socket abc123de (total: 1)
mqtt-explorer:socketio:disconnect Client disconnected: abc123de
mqtt-explorer:socketio:subscriptions Removed 8 subscriptions for socket abc123de
mqtt-explorer:socketio [disconnect] clients=0 subscriptions=0 mqttConns=0 | socket[abc123de]: subs=0 conns=0

Authentication Fails

  1. Check the console output for the generated credentials
  2. Clear browser session storage: sessionStorage.clear() in browser console
  3. Restart the server to regenerate credentials

Connection Issues

  1. Check that the server is running: http://localhost:3000
  2. Check browser console for Socket.io connection errors
  3. Verify firewall rules allow the port

Certificate Upload Issues

In browser mode, certificates are handled differently:

  • Use the file upload button to select certificate files
  • Files are read and encoded client-side
  • Large certificate files (>16KB) will be rejected