Question

How can I get the id of the selected node in a jsTree?

function createNewNode() {
  alert('test');
  var tree = $.tree.reference("#basic_html");
  selectedNodeId = xxxxxxxxx; //insert instruction to get id here
  tree.create({ data : "New Node Name" }, selectedNodeId);
}

Answer 1

Nodes in jsTree are essentially wrapped list items. This will get you a reference to the first one.

var n = $.tree.focused().get_node('li:eq(0)')

You can replace $.tree.focused() if you have a reference to the tree.

To get the id, take the first matched element

if (n.length)
    id = n[0].id

or you can use the jQuery attr function, which works on the first element in the set

id = n.attr('id');