Step 1 - Download And Install Node.js

Download Node.js From NodeSource

Let's download nodejs from Nodesource. NodeSource is a company which 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 -

Install Node.js From Debian Repository

Let's install nodejs now:

sudo apt-get install nodejs -y

Check The Version Of Node.js

node --version

Check The Version Of NPM

npm --version

Step 2 (Optional) - Create A Sample Node.js Project

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

# Vim
vim app.js
# Nano
nano app.js

// app.js
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}`);
});

Lets 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 your-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-get install nginx

Let's create a conf file for our Nodejs app using the command below

# Vim
sudo vim /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp
# Nano
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp

Copy the following content to this file, Replace your-server-ip with your server ip

server{
  server_name your-server-ip;
      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/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

Visit your-server-ip and your application should work fine.