Developers often use their local system (Windows or Linux) to install and create a Node.js application. However, when it comes to moving a Node.js application in the production environment then it will be very difficult for any developer who doesn’t know about hosting.
In order to host a Node.js application in the production, you will need to perform several things including, Purchase a VPS hosting, Domain name, Bind a domain name to VPS, Install and Create Node.js to VPS, Create a service to manage the Node.js application, Configure Nginx to host a Node.js application, Install SSL on your Domain, etc. In this post, I will try my best to explain step by step procedure to host a Node.js application in the production environment.
You will learn the following:
- Install Node.js
- Create a Node.js Application
- Create a Service File for Node.js Application
- Configure Nginx to Host Node.js Application
- Secure Node.js Application with Let’s Encrypt Free SSL
- Verify Node.js Application
Prerequisites
- A server running Ubuntu 20.04.
- A valid domain name pointed with your server
- A root password is configured on your server.
If you want to host Node.js application on Cloud or VPS and don’t know how to choose the best Cloud and VPS hosting provider. You can read my guide on 13 Best “Cheap VPS Hosting” and “Cloud Hosting” Providers – 2021.
Step 1 – Install Node.js
Before installing Node.js, you will need to install the required dependencies to your system. Run the following command to install all dependencies:
apt-get install curl gnupg2 build-essential wget -y
Next, add the Node Source repository with the following command:
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_14.x | bash -
Once the repository is added, install the Node.js by running the following command:
apt-get install node.js -y
After installing Node.js, verify the Node.js version with the following command:
node -v
You should see the Node.js version in the following output:
v14.16.0
Step 2 – Create a Node.js Application
In this section, we will create a simple Node.js application named myapp.js. Create a new myapp.js file inside /opt directory:
nano /opt/myapp.js
Add the following code:
const http = require('http');
const hostname = 'localhost';
const port = 3000;
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
res.statusCode = 200;
res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
res.end('This is My First Node.js Application!\n');
});
server.listen(port, hostname, () => {
console.log(`Server running at http://${hostname}:${port}/`);
});
Save and close the file once you are finished. Next, run the application with the following command:
cd /opt node myapp.js
If all is well, you should get the following output:
Server running at http://localhost:3000/
Now, press CTRL+C to stop the application. We will configure a systemd service file to manage the Node.js application.
Step 3 – Create a Service File for Node.js Application
It is recommended to create a systemd service file to manage and control the Node.js application. This way, you don’t need to start your application every time after the system reboot. Create a systemd service file for Node.js application with the following command:
nano /lib/systemd/system/nodeapp.service
Add the following content:
[Unit] Description=Node.js Application After=syslog.target network.target [Service] Type=simple User=root WorkingDirectory=/opt/ Environment=NODE_ENV=production ExecStart=/usr/bin/node myapp.js Restart=always [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Save and close the file then reload the systemd daemon with the following command:
systemctl daemon-reload
Next, start the Node.js service and enable it to start at system reboot:
systemctl start nodeapp systemctl enable nodeapp
To verify the Node.js service, run the following command:
systemctl status nodeapp
Output:
● nodeapp.service - Node.js Application
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nodeapp.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Fri 2021-03-26 13:45:53 UTC; 6s ago
Main PID: 9973 (node)
Tasks: 11 (limit: 2353)
Memory: 7.7M
CGroup: /system.slice/nodeapp.service
└─9973 /usr/bin/node myapp.js
Mar 26 13:45:53 ubuntu2004 systemd[1]: Started Node.js Application.
Mar 26 13:45:53 ubuntu2004 node[9973]: Server running at http://localhost:3000/
Step 4 – Configure Nginx to Host Node.js Application
In this section, we will install Nginx and configure it as a reverse proxy to access the Node.js application on port 80. First, install the Nginx package using the following command:
apt-get install nginx -y
After installing Nginx, create an Nginx configuration file for the Node.js application:
nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/nodeapp.conf
Add the following content:
upstream nodebackend {
server localhost:3000;
keepalive 32;
}
server {
listen 80;
server_name nodeapp.linuxbuz.com;
location / {
client_max_body_size 50M;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_pass http://nodebackend;
}
}
Save and close the file then verify the Nginx for any syntax error: Note: Replace nodeapp.linuxbuz.com with your own domain name.
nginx -t
Output:
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
Finally, restart the Nginx service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart nginx
Step 5 – Secure Node.js Application with Let’s Encrypt Free SSL
It is also a good idea to secure your Node.js website with Let’s Encrypt Free SSL. You will need to install the Certbot client package to install and manage the Let’s Encrypt SSL. Run the following command to install the Certbot package:
apt-get install python3-certbot-nginx -y
After installing the Certbot client, run the following command to download Let’s Encrypt SSL and configure Nginx to use the downloaded SSL.
certbot --nginx -d nodeapp.linuxbuz.com
You will be asked to provide your valid email address and accept the term of service as shown below:
Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log Plugins selected: Authenticator nginx, Installer nginx Enter email address (used for urgent renewal and security notices) (Enter 'c' to cancel): [email protected] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Please read the Terms of Service at https://letsencrypt.org/documents/LE-SA-v1.2-November-15-2017.pdf. You must agree in order to register with the ACME server at https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (A)gree/(C)ancel: A - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Would you be willing to share your email address with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a founding partner of the Let's Encrypt project and the non-profit organization that develops Certbot? We'd like to send you email about our work encrypting the web, EFF news, campaigns, and ways to support digital freedom. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (Y)es/(N)o: Y Obtaining a new certificate Performing the following challenges: http-01 challenge for nodeapp.linuxbuz.com Waiting for verification... Cleaning up challenges Deploying Certificate to VirtualHost /etc/nginx/conf.d/nodeapp.conf
Next, you will need to choose whether or not to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1: No redirect - Make no further changes to the webserver configuration. 2: Redirect - Make all requests redirect to secure HTTPS access. Choose this for new sites, or if you're confident your site works on HTTPS. You can undo this change by editing your web server's configuration. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Select the appropriate number [1-2] then [enter] (press 'c' to cancel): 2
Type 2 and hit Enter to start the installation. Once the installation has been completed, you should see the following output:
Redirecting all traffic on port 80 to ssl in /etc/nginx/conf.d/nodeapp.conf - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Congratulations! You have successfully enabled https://nodeapp.linuxbuz.com You should test your configuration at: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=nodeapp.linuxbuz.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IMPORTANT NOTES: - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/nodeapp.linuxbuz.com/fullchain.pem Your key file has been saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/nodeapp.linuxbuz.com/privkey.pem Your cert will expire on 2020-10-30. To obtain a new or tweaked version of this certificate in the future, simply run certbot again with the "certonly" option. To non-interactively renew *all* of your certificates, run "certbot renew" - Your account credentials have been saved in your Certbot configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Certbot so making regular backups of this folder is ideal. - If you like Certbot, please consider supporting our work by: Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt: https://letsencrypt.org/donate Donating to EFF: https://eff.org/donate-le - We were unable to subscribe you the EFF mailing list because your e-mail address appears to be invalid. You can try again later by visiting https://act.eff.org.
Step 6 – Verify Node.js Application
Now, your Node.js application is hosted with an Nginx web server and secured with Let’s Encrypt SSL. You can access it using the URL https://nodeapp.linuxbuz.com. You should see your Node.js application page in the following screen:
