How to deploy a Node.js application in production

In this post, we will see how to run and deploy NodeJS apps in production. Follow the steps below:

Step 1 - Install Nodejs

Let's download Node.js from NodeSource. NodeSource is a company that provides enterprise-grade Node support and maintains a repository containing the latest versions of Node.js.

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_14.x | sudo -E bash -

Let's install Node.js now:

sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Check the installation of Node and npm using the following commands:

node --version && npm --version

You will see the versions of Node.js and npm.

Step 2 - Creating a sample Node.js file

Let's create a sample app and paste some basic code into it.

sudo vi app.js

Paste the following code inside it:

const express = require('express')
const app = express()
const port = 3000
 
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello World!')
})
 
app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Example app listening at http://localhost:${port}`)
})

Let's now install Express so that we can run this app server:

npm install express

Run the application:

node app.js

You should now be able to see the hello world page when you visit http://server-ip:3000.

Step 3 - Using pm2 as a process manager

Let's install and use pm2 as a process manager. Install pm2 using the commands below:

sudo npm i pm2 -g

Start the application using the following command:

pm2 start app.js

Step 4 - Configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy

Now let's configure Nginx as a reverse proxy. This will help us get the security features from Nginx. Also, we can serve static content using Nginx.

Let's install Nginx using the following command:

sudo apt install nginx

Let's create a conf file for our Node.js app using the command below:

sudo vi /etc/nginx/sites-available/nodeApp

Copy the following content to this file:

server {
  server_name 165.232.177.116;
 
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
  }
}

Activate this configuration using the command below:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/nodeApp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

Visit http://your-ip/ and your application should work fine. Happy coding!