Skip to main content

NodeJS (Version 22) – Ubuntu 22.04

Overview​

Category: Frameworks
Supported OS: Ubuntu 22.04

NodeJS is a lightweight platform ideal for building fast, scalable network applications in JavaScript. Built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime, it is particularly suitable for data-intensive applications that operate across distributed devices. NodeJS offers an event-driven architecture similar to Ruby's Event Machine or Python's Twisted.

Software Included​

  • NodeJS: 22
  • NPM: 9.3.1
  • Nginx: 1.18.0
  • PM2: 5.2.2

Getting Started After Deployment​

1. Firewall Configuration​

Allow only SSH (port 22, rate limited), HTTP (port 80), and HTTPS (port 443) access for security and application access.

2. Deployment Message​

During deployment, you will be logged out and see the following message:

Please wait until the installation is completed.... Connection to $IPADDRESS closed.

Do not log in for at least 2 minutes after the instance is created to allow the setup to complete.

3. First Login Steps​

  • Log in as the ubuntu user, using your set password or SSH key.

  • Switch to the root user without a password:

    sudo su -

  • NodeJS shell user login credentials are stored under:

    /root/.shell_user_passwords

  • NodeJS home directory:

    /var/www/html/

  • NodeJS PM2 files are stored under:

    /home/nodejs/

4. Managing NodeJS Applications​

  • The default sample app is located at /var/www/html/hello.js. You can modify this script and see changes live using PM2, the process manager that schedules your code to run at boot time. Applications run as the nodejs user.

  • To restart the sample app after making changes:

    sudo -u nodejs pm2 restart hello

  • To deploy your own code, clone your repository or upload files to the instance. Change to the directory containing your NodeJS code and install dependencies:

    npm install

  • Launch your app with PM2:

    sudo -u nodejs pm2 start <your-file>

5. Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy​

  • Edit the Nginx configuration to map your NodeJS app's port to an HTTP URL:

    nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

  • Modify the entry exposing the sample app on port 3000 to your app’s port.

  • Restart Nginx to apply the changes:

    sudo systemctl restart nginx

6. Scheduling Applications to Run at Boot​

  • Save your current PM2 process list:

    sudo -u nodejs pm2 save

  • Repeat the above steps for any additional NodeJS apps that should run concurrently.

  • To remove the sample app and stop it from running at boot:

    sudo -u nodejs pm2 delete hello sudo -u nodejs pm2 save