As @JasonJoel says watch the videos and follow the examples. That's what I did..
The concept is actually very simple so you might be over thinking things..that was what happened to me at first. NR is just a simple messaging system - a node (a blob of code represented visually) creates a message (a JSON object) and if the node is connected to another node the message gets passed to it for something else fun to happen. Messages can get transformed, split etc etc all depending upon the type of node.
Even though it says "little or no programming needed" I kinda disagree - programming concepts / logic are definitely in play here. That might also trip some people up at first.
What I found is that many of the basic automations in Hubitat work very well and cover say 80% of most events. The other 20% I did in rule machine for room management and setting control flags.
I think some of the misunderstanding of Hubitat is that you have to dive in deep to get what you need out of it and the message the developers have been saying is look at the native apps before using rule machine. But you know many of use here have been in the automation marketplace for a long time started in the deep end with all sorts of code to get things done and can't break that habit even when there is a simpler solution. I was one of those when I got my first Hubitat and was a WebCore fan on SmartThings at the time.
6 months ago setup a node red container to test it out and found that I didn't want to add any more complexity to the environments and clients I support, I use minimal external services (Thermostat API's, Alexa, Google) and everything else is self contained in the platforms I deploy (HomeSeer, StarGate, Vera, SmartThings, and Hubitat). There are some wild integrations you aren't going to get with the native platforms and I usually steer my clients away from devices that force jumping though complexity to integrate.
I will keep tinkering with Node Red but that is because I find it interesting and like to keep up on technology.
@Shaneb good lord man, don't come to me for NR help HAHAHAHA, but if ya wanna join me down the NR rabbit hole, then maybe @april.brandt and all the others on the HE community forum will be kind enough to slide us a red pill every once in a while.. yes i mixed my acid trips... (Alice in Wonderland and The Matrix, for those that didn't know ). Either way, i'm gonna try to get it installed today and start fiddling over the weekend.
I have a residential client I am installing an HE setup now and have decided to go the NR / RPi 4 route... with the extra device i now have the ability to automatically backup not only NR but also HE locally. I also have a separate usb drive attached that backs up the entire RPi partition in case of drive failure. There are also a ton of other possibilities I can now offer like a personal VPN, local "cloud" storage drive (nextCloud), remote access for support etc..
edit: pm me if you want to chat about it further. Love to discuss pros/pitfalls etc. always good to get different perspectives!!
Consider this a warning from one person with OCD to another. Node-Red can be very bad for your OCD. Making sure all the nodes are lined up just right and lines are straight and you can fully read the status text underneath... I've probably spent as much time lining up my nodes and making them "pretty" as I have actually putting them together LOL
@MRobi You clearly are OCD, as I totally get what you're saying!! and yes, i will, promise, if I forget or you happen to see a crazy post from me about it, just remind me of this post
Lots of issues early on but it's great now. Personally I think it is quicker than RM but I did have some complex rules with RM.
Horses for courses and I currently don't feel the need for anything else.
For those that liked stringify, have you ever looked at Blockly? There are online demo/sandboxes to play with it here:
It is not the same as stringify - actually much closer to Scratch - but it can provide some graphical block oriented programming capability. And can be used in node-red as well.
My kids use it, and like it a lot. Once you get the hang of how to place the blocks, it can be (somewhat) user friendly for non-programmers.
Might be of interest, might not.
I don't use it as I can get 99%+ of what I need done in Node-RED using nodes with no coding at all, but everyone does things differently so I thought I would mention it.
My only issue is organization of all the flows. I also find there is a lot of research that needs to go into it to figure out how to use each node and configure them. I think once you know the basics it becomes easier. Also the function of copy and pasting a full flow is awesome too.
In the end, NR should automate and process things much faster then rule machine.
I’ve used it myself but I was one of the few that threw cash at Homeseer. That’s where all my logic sits, and I’m happy at the moment with this setup.
This delivers a list of other automation abilities which you can’t get from Hubitat. Plus the speed increases I’m after.
I bought into Xiaomi, this was my big mistake! But I really do like their kit, just not the hassle that connections bring with them. That said, I'm now using deCONZ for those devices (which are working great!) and they're tied together with my other HE devices via NR.
The tricky part was having to have Virtual devices in HE for most things, so I can still operate the Dashboards, and also keep them in sync. So no matter if I use deCONZ, a Dash or HE itself, the switch state is shown throughout. and in sync. NR has allowed me to do this
I'm slowly moving over automation's from HE where possible and (again sorry to swear) webCoRE. Up to now, its faster, even with having virtual devices to update, where needed. The extra bits I can get via Hue make my lighting so much smoother, and dare I say, sexy transitions up/down, colourloops etc, I'm having a whale of a time!!
Whoa.. Stargate, I still have one that I just disconnected and switched to NR w the HE Mochad nodes, ported from ST. Running on a RPI 4 and CM15. Works great....
). Either way, i'm gonna try to get it installed today and start fiddling over the weekend.
transitions up/down, colourloops etc, I'm having a whale of a time!! 
