Why can't Node-RED parse the VCAP_SERVICES environment in Bluemix?

Question

I am using Node-RED and want to parse in Bluemix VCAP_SERVICES but I am getting an error. My code is:

var services = context.global.VCAP_SERVICES;
var env_cloudint = services['CloudIntegration'][0].credentials;

but I get this error :

TypeError: Cannot read property 'CloudIntegration' of undefined

I do have CloudIntegration in my VCAP_SERVICES . Do I need anything extra in my code to exploit VCAP_SERVICES ?

Answer 1

By default, environment variables are not added to the Function global context object. To access the Bluemix VCAP_SERVICES environment variable from a Node-RED flow, you will need to add it to the Function node's global context.

Edit bluemix-settings.js and add an entry to the functionGlobalContext property:

functionGlobalContext: { VCAP_SERVICES: JSON.parse(process.env.VCAP_SERVICES)}

Then redeploy your app. When redeployed, you can then access VCAP_SERVICES in a Function node as the context.global.VCAP_SERVICES variable.