Routes Overview

What are Routes?

Routes define connections between your Coreflux MQTT broker and external systems. They enable broker-to-broker communication, database storage, industrial protocol integration, REST API connectivity, email notifications, AI integration, and media processing - all without writing custom middleware.

Routes extend your broker’s capabilities by creating managed connections to external systems - all configured through LoT syntax.

Route Categories

System Routes

Broker clustering and scalability configurations for high-availability deployments.

Data Pipeline Routes

MQTT bridges, email notifications, and MQTT-to-REST forwarding.

Data Storage Routes

Store MQTT data in PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, OpenSearch, Snowflake, and more.

REST API Routes

HTTP client/server for external API integration and webhook endpoints.

Industrial Routes

Connect to PLCs via Modbus, Siemens S7, OPC UA, ADS, Allen-Bradley, and FINS.

MCP Routes

Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration for AI assistants.

Media Routes

Barcode scanning and video streaming capabilities.

This page covers the fundamentals of route configuration. Choose a specific route category above for detailed syntax and examples.

Basic Syntax

DEFINE ROUTE <route_name> WITH TYPE <route_type>
    ADD <CONFIG_SECTION>
        WITH <parameter> "<value>"
    ADD MAPPING <mapping_name>
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "<source>"
        WITH DESTINATION_TOPIC "<destination>"

Components

route_name

string

required

Unique identifier for the route. Use descriptive names like CloudBridge, SensorDataIndexer, AlertEmailer.

route_type

type

required

The type of route (see Available Route Types below).

CONFIG_SECTION

block

Configuration blocks specific to the route type (e.g., MQTT_CONFIG, MONGODB_CONFIG, REST_API_CONFIG).

MAPPING

block

Defines topic mappings for data flow between source and destination.

Available Route Types

System
Data Pipeline
Data Storage
Industrial
Other

Route Type	Description
`MQTT_CLUSTER`	Broker clustering and scalability

Route Type	Description
`MQTT_BRIDGE`	Broker-to-broker communication
`EMAIL`	Send templated emails from MQTT messages
`MQTT_TO_REST`	Forward MQTT to REST endpoints

Route Type	Description
`POSTGRESQL`	PostgreSQL database storage
`MYSQL`	MySQL database storage
`MARIADB`	MariaDB database storage
`SQLSERVER`	SQL Server database storage
`MONGODB`	MongoDB document database
`OPENSEARCH`	OpenSearch indexing and search
`CRATEDB`	CrateDB time-series database
`SNOWFLAKE`	Snowflake cloud data warehouse
`FILE_STORAGE`	CSV/JSON file storage

Route Type	Description
`MODBUS_TCP`	Modbus TCP protocol
`MODBUS_SERIAL`	Modbus RTU over RS-232/485
`SIEMENS_S7`	Siemens S7 PLCs
`OPCUA`	OPC UA client
`ADS`	Beckhoff TwinCAT ADS
`ALLEN_BRADLEY`	Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLCs
`ETHERNETIP`	EtherNet/IP CIP protocol
`FINS`	Omron FINS protocol

Route Type	Description
`REST_API`	REST API client/server
`MCP`	Model Context Protocol for AI
`BARCODE`	Barcode encoding/decoding
`VIDEO_INPUT`	Video capture
`VIDEO_OUTPUT`	Video streaming

Quick Examples

Email Alerts
Modbus TCP
REST API
PostgreSQL Storage
MQTT Bridge

Send email notifications from MQTT events:

DEFINE ROUTE AlertEmail WITH TYPE EMAIL
    ADD SMTP_CONFIG
        WITH HOST "smtp.gmail.com"
        WITH PORT '587'
        WITH USERNAME "[email protected]"
        WITH PASSWORD "app-password"
        WITH USE_TLS "true"
    ADD EVENT criticalAlert
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "alerts/critical/+"
        WITH SUBJECT "Critical Alert: {value.json.type}"
        WITH RECIPIENT "[email protected]"

Read data from PLCs via Modbus:

DEFINE ROUTE PlcReader WITH TYPE MODBUS_TCP
    ADD MODBUS_CONFIG
        WITH HOST "192.168.1.100"
        WITH PORT '502'
        WITH SLAVE_ID '1'
    ADD MAPPING Sensors
        WITH EVERY 500 MILLISECONDS
        ADD TAG Temperature
            WITH ADDRESS "100"
            WITH ADDRESS_TYPE "HOLDING_REGISTER"
            WITH DATA_TYPE "FLOAT"
            WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "plc/temperature"

Connect to external REST APIs:

DEFINE ROUTE WeatherService WITH TYPE REST_API
    ADD REST_API_CONFIG
        WITH ENABLE_CLIENT "true"
        WITH BASE_ADDRESS "https://api.weather.com"
        WITH USE_SSL "true"
    ADD EVENT GetWeather
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "weather/request"
        WITH DESTINATION_TOPIC "weather/response"
        WITH METHOD "GET"
        WITH ENDPOINT "/v1/current?city={value.json.city}"

Store MQTT data in PostgreSQL:

DEFINE ROUTE SensorDB WITH TYPE POSTGRESQL
    ADD SQL_CONFIG
        WITH SERVER "postgres.example.com"
        WITH PORT '5432'
        WITH DATABASE "iot_data"
        WITH USERNAME "iot_user"
        WITH PASSWORD "secure_password"
    ADD EVENT StoreSensorReading
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "sensors/+/reading"
        WITH QUERY "INSERT INTO readings (ts, sensor, value) VALUES (NOW(), '{sensor_id}', '{value.json}')"

Connect two brokers and sync topics:

DEFINE ROUTE CloudBridge WITH TYPE MQTT_BRIDGE
    ADD SOURCE_CONFIG
        WITH BROKER SELF
    ADD DESTINATION_CONFIG
        WITH BROKER_ADDRESS "cloud.example.com"
        WITH BROKER_PORT '8883'
        WITH CLIENT_ID "EdgeBridge"
        WITH USE_TLS "true"
    ADD MAPPING sensorSync
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "sensors/+/data"
        WITH DESTINATION_TOPIC "edge/sensors/+/data"
        WITH DIRECTION "out"

Common Configuration Patterns

MQTT Configuration

Most routes include an MQTT configuration section. Use the shorthand for the local broker:

ADD MQTT_CONFIG
    WITH BROKER SELF

Or specify connection details explicitly:

ADD MQTT_CONFIG
    WITH BROKER_ADDRESS "127.0.0.1"
    WITH BROKER_PORT '1883'
    WITH CLIENT_ID "MyRouteClient"
    WITH USERNAME "user"
    WITH PASSWORD "password"

Topic Mappings

Define how topics map between source and destination. Wildcards are supported in topic patterns:

ADD MAPPING <mapping_name>
    WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "sensors/+/temperature"
    WITH DESTINATION_TOPIC "processed/+/temperature"
    WITH DIRECTION "<out|in|both>"

Direction Options:

out - Source to destination only
in - Destination to source only
both - Bidirectional sync

Use Cases

Edge-to-Cloud Sync
Industrial Integration
Real-Time Analytics
Alert Notifications

Bridge local edge data to cloud brokers:

DEFINE ROUTE EdgeToCloud WITH TYPE MQTT_BRIDGE
    ADD SOURCE_CONFIG
        WITH BROKER SELF
    ADD DESTINATION_CONFIG
        WITH BROKER_ADDRESS "iot.cloud-provider.com"
        WITH BROKER_PORT '8883'
        WITH USE_TLS "true"
    ADD MAPPING allSensors
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "local/sensors/#"
        WITH DESTINATION_TOPIC "edge-01/sensors/#"
        WITH DIRECTION "out"

Read data from PLCs via multiple protocols:

DEFINE ROUTE SiemensPLC WITH TYPE SIEMENS_S7
    ADD S7_CONFIG
        WITH IP "192.168.1.100"
        WITH CPU_TYPE "S71500"
        WITH RACK '0'
        WITH SLOT '1'
    ADD MAPPING ProcessData
        WITH EVERY 500 MILLISECONDS
        ADD TAG Temperature
            WITH ADDRESS "DB1.DBD0"
            WITH DATA_TYPE "REAL"
            WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "plc/temperature"

Store sensor data for analysis:

DEFINE ROUTE AnalyticsStore WITH TYPE OPENSEARCH
    ADD OPENSEARCH_CONFIG
        WITH BASE_URL "https://analytics.example.com:9200"
        WITH USERNAME "admin"
        WITH PASSWORD "password"
        WITH USE_SSL "true"
    ADD EVENT IndexReading
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "sensors/#"
        WITH QUERY "CLEAN:{index: sensor-data, body: {timestamp: {timestamp}, value: {value.json}}}"

Email stakeholders when critical events occur:

DEFINE ROUTE CriticalAlerts WITH TYPE EMAIL
    ADD SMTP_CONFIG
        WITH HOST "smtp.office365.com"
        WITH PORT '587'
        WITH USE_TLS "true"
        WITH USERNAME "[email protected]"
        WITH PASSWORD "password"
    ADD EVENT notify
        WITH SOURCE_TOPIC "alarms/critical/+"
        WITH SUBJECT "CRITICAL: {value.json.alarm_type}"
        WITH RECIPIENT "[email protected]"

Next Steps

Industrial Routes

Connect to PLCs and industrial equipment.

Data Storage

Store MQTT data in databases.

REST API Routes

HTTP client and server configuration.

Route Examples

See complete route configuration examples.

Quick Start

MQTT Broker

LoT Language

LoT Notebooks

Actions

Routes

Models

Rules

What are Routes?

Route Categories

System Routes

Data Pipeline Routes

Data Storage Routes

REST API Routes

Industrial Routes

MCP Routes

Media Routes

Basic Syntax

Components

Available Route Types

Quick Examples

Common Configuration Patterns

MQTT Configuration

Topic Mappings

Use Cases

Next Steps

Industrial Routes

Data Storage

REST API Routes

Route Examples

Quick Start

MQTT Broker

LoT Language

LoT Notebooks

Actions

Routes

Models

Rules

​What are Routes?

​Route Categories

System Routes

Data Pipeline Routes

Data Storage Routes

REST API Routes

Industrial Routes

MCP Routes

Media Routes

​Basic Syntax

​Components

​Available Route Types

​Quick Examples

​Common Configuration Patterns

​MQTT Configuration

​Topic Mappings

​Use Cases

​Next Steps

Industrial Routes

Data Storage

REST API Routes

Route Examples

What are Routes?

Route Categories

Basic Syntax

Components

Available Route Types

Quick Examples

Common Configuration Patterns

MQTT Configuration

Topic Mappings

Use Cases

Next Steps