Node.js Deployment

Deploy and manage Node.js applications on your TinyBox VPS

1

Install Node.js and npm

Option A: Install from NodeSource Repository (Recommended)

# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install curl if not present
apt install curl -y

# Add NodeSource repository (Node.js 20.x)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -

# Install Node.js and npm
apt install nodejs -y

# Verify installation
node --version
npm --version

Option B: Install using Node Version Manager (NVM)

# Install NVM
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

# Reload shell configuration
source ~/.bashrc

# Install latest LTS Node.js
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

# Set default version
nvm alias default node

✓ Pro Tip

Use NVM if you need to manage multiple Node.js versions. Use NodeSource for production deployments with a single version.

2

Prepare Your Application

Upload Application Code

# Create application directory
mkdir -p /var/www/myapp
cd /var/www/myapp

# Upload your code using SCP or Git
# Example with Git:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-app.git .

# Set proper ownership
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/myapp
chmod -R 755 /var/www/myapp

Install Dependencies

# Navigate to app directory
cd /var/www/myapp

# Install production dependencies
npm install --production

# Or if using package-lock.json
npm ci --production

Configure Environment Variables

# Create environment file
nano /var/www/myapp/.env

# Example environment variables:
NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=your_db_user
DB_PASS=your_db_password
DB_NAME=your_database

# Set proper permissions for env file
chmod 600 /var/www/myapp/.env

Security Note

Never commit .env files to version control. Keep sensitive credentials secure and use proper file permissions (600).

3

Install and Configure PM2

Install PM2 Process Manager

# Install PM2 globally
npm install -g pm2

# Verify PM2 installation
pm2 --version

# Setup PM2 startup script
pm2 startup systemd

# Follow the instructions shown and run the generated command

Create PM2 Configuration

# Create PM2 ecosystem file
nano /var/www/myapp/ecosystem.config.js

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'myapp',
    script: './app.js', // or server.js, index.js
    cwd: '/var/www/myapp',
    instances: 'max', // Use all CPU cores
    exec_mode: 'cluster',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 3000
    },
    error_file: './logs/err.log',
    out_file: './logs/out.log',
    log_file: './logs/combined.log',
    time: true,
    max_restarts: 10,
    min_uptime: '10s',
    max_memory_restart: '1G',
    watch: false,
    ignore_watch: ['node_modules', 'logs']
  }]
};

Start Application with PM2

# Create logs directory
mkdir -p /var/www/myapp/logs

# Start application using ecosystem file
cd /var/www/myapp
pm2 start ecosystem.config.js

# Save PM2 process list
pm2 save

# Check application status
pm2 status
pm2 logs myapp

Useful PM2 Commands

pm2 list - Show all processes

pm2 restart myapp - Restart app

pm2 stop myapp - Stop app

pm2 logs myapp - View logs

pm2 monit - Monitor resources

pm2 reload myapp - Zero-downtime reload

4

Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

Install Nginx (if not already installed)

# Install Nginx
apt install nginx -y

# Start and enable Nginx
systemctl start nginx
systemctl enable nginx

Create Nginx Configuration

# Create site configuration
nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp.com

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name myapp.com www.myapp.com;
    
    # Security headers
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header Referrer-Policy "no-referrer-when-downgrade" always;
    
    # Gzip compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_min_length 1024;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;
    
    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_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        
        # Timeout settings
        proxy_connect_timeout 60s;
        proxy_send_timeout 60s;
        proxy_read_timeout 60s;
    }
    
    # Static files (if your app serves them)
    location /static {
        alias /var/www/myapp/public;
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
    
    # Health check endpoint
    location /health {
        access_log off;
        return 200 "healthy\n";
        add_header Content-Type text/plain;
    }
}

Enable Site and Test Configuration

# Enable the site
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Test Nginx configuration
nginx -t

# Reload Nginx
systemctl reload nginx

# Check if your app is accessible
curl -H "Host: myapp.com" http://localhost

5

Setup SSL Certificate

Install Certbot and Obtain SSL Certificate

# Install Certbot for Nginx
apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

# Obtain SSL certificate
certbot --nginx -d myapp.com -d www.myapp.com

# Test automatic renewal
certbot renew --dry-run

✓ SSL Configuration Complete

Certbot automatically updated your Nginx configuration to redirect HTTP to HTTPS and configured SSL certificates.

Monitoring and Logging

Application Logs

# View PM2 logs
pm2 logs myapp

# View specific log files
tail -f /var/www/myapp/logs/out.log
tail -f /var/www/myapp/logs/err.log

# View Nginx logs
tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

System Monitoring

# PM2 monitoring dashboard
pm2 monit

# System resource usage
htop
iotop

# Check application performance
pm2 show myapp

# Memory usage
free -h
df -h

Setup Log Rotation

# Install PM2 log rotation module
pm2 install pm2-logrotate

# Configure log rotation (keep 30 days, max 10MB per file)
pm2 set pm2-logrotate:max_size 10M
pm2 set pm2-logrotate:retain 30
pm2 set pm2-logrotate:compress true

Best Practices & Security

✓ Security Checklist

• Use environment variables for secrets
• Enable HTTPS with valid SSL certificates
• Keep Node.js and dependencies updated
• Use security headers in Nginx
• Implement rate limiting
• Regular security audits with `npm audit`

⚡ Performance Tips

• Use PM2 cluster mode for multi-core usage
• Enable Nginx gzip compression
• Implement proper caching strategies
• Optimize database queries
• Monitor memory usage and restart limits
• Use CDN for static assets

Automated Deployment Script

Create a deployment script for easy updates:

#!/bin/bash
# Create deployment script
nano /var/www/myapp/deploy.sh

#!/bin/bash
set -e

echo "🚀 Starting deployment..."

# Pull latest code
git pull origin main

# Install/update dependencies
npm ci --production

# Run database migrations (if applicable)
# npm run migrate

# Restart application with PM2
pm2 reload myapp

echo "✅ Deployment completed successfully!"

# Make script executable
chmod +x /var/www/myapp/deploy.sh

# Usage: ./deploy.sh

Common Issues & Solutions

Application won't start

Check PM2 logs and verify all dependencies are installed:

                            pm2 logs myapp --lines 50
npm ls --depth=0
                        

502 Bad Gateway Error

Check if Node.js app is running and port configuration:

                            pm2 status
netstat -tulpn | grep :3000
nginx -t
                        

High Memory Usage

Monitor memory usage and set restart limits:

                            pm2 monit
# Set memory limit in ecosystem.config.js:
max_memory_restart: '512M'
                        

SSL Certificate Issues

Verify certificate status and renewal:

                            certbot certificates
certbot renew --dry-run
systemctl status certbot.timer
                        

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