Building a custom Node-RED image - node.js

Question

I would like to make my own Node-RED docker image so when I start it the flows are loaded and Node-RED is ready to go.
The flow I want to load is placed in a 'flows.json' file. And when I import it manually via the interface it works fine.
The Node-RED documentation for docker suggests the following line for starting Node-RED with a custom flow
$ docker run -it -p 1880:1880 -e FLOWS=my_flows.json nodered/node-red-docker
However when I try to do this the flow ends up empty.
I suspect this has to do something with the fact that the flow I'm trying to load is using the 'node-red-node-mongodb' plug-in, which is not installed by default.
How can I build a Node-RED image where the 'node-red-node-mongodb' is already installed?
If anymore information is required please ask.
UPDATE
I made the following Dockerfile:
FROM nodered/node-red-docker
RUN npm install node-red-node-mongodb
Then I build it with:
docker build -t testenvironment/nodered .
And started it with:
docker run -d -p 1880:1880 -e FLOWS=flows.json --name node-red testenvironment/nodered
But when I go to the Node-RED interface there is no flow. Also I don't see the MongoDB node in the sidebar.

Answer 1

The documentation on the Node-RED site includes instructions for how to customise a Docker image and add extra nodes. You can either do it by logging into the existing image using docker exec and installing the node by hand with npm
# Open a shell in the container
docker exec -it mynodered /bin/bash
# Once inside the container, npm install the nodes in /data
cd /data
npm install node-red-node-mongodb
exit
# Restart the container to load the new nodes
docker stop mynodered
docker start mynodered
Else you can extend the image by creating your own Docker file:
FROM nodered/node-red-docker
RUN npm install node-red-node-mongodb
And then build it with
docker build -t mynodered:<tag> .