Building Futures

🚀 Deploy Node.js App to AWS EC2 (PM2 + Nginx + SSL)

This guide walks you through deploying a Node.js backend on an AWS EC2 Ubuntu server, managing it with PM2, exposing it via Nginx, and securing it with free SSL using Let’s Encrypt.

✅ Prerequisites

AWS EC2 instance (Ubuntu)
A domain/subdomain pointing to your EC2 public IP
Node.js project (with index.js or equivalent entry file)
SSH access to the server

1️⃣ Update Server Packages

sudo apt update

2️⃣ Install NVM (Node Version Manager)

Install NVM to manage Node.js versions safely.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash

Load NVM into the current shell (or reopen terminal):

. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"

3️⃣ Install Node.js (v24.13.0)

nvm install 24.13.0
nvm use 24.13.0

Verify installation:

node -v
npm -v

4️⃣ Clone Your Project

git clone <your-repo-link>
cd <project-folder>

Install dependencies:

npm install

5️⃣ Install PM2 (Process Manager)

PM2 keeps your Node.js app alive and restarts it on crashes.

npm install pm2 -g
pm2 --version

Start your app:

pm2 start index.js

6️⃣ Common PM2 Commands

Command	Description
`pm2 start <script>`	Start the application
`pm2 list`	List running applications
`pm2 stop <id/name>`	Stop an application
`pm2 restart <id/name>`	Restart an application
`pm2 reload <name>`	Reload with zero downtime
`pm2 delete <id/name>`	Delete an application
`pm2 logs <id/name>`	View logs
`pm2 monit`	Live monitoring dashboard

In cluster mode, multiple processes share the same name. Use id to control a single instance.

7️⃣ Install & Configure Nginx (Reverse Proxy)

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx -y

Edit the Nginx configuration:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Example Nginx Configuration: (Assuming your app runs on port 8080)

events {
    # Event directives...
}

http {
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name api-brainly.suryakant.run.place;

        location / {
            proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
            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;
        }
    }
}

Test and reload Nginx:

sudo nginx -t
sudo nginx -s reload

✅ At this point, your app should be live at: http://api-brainly.suryakant.run.place

8️⃣ Add Free SSL (Let’s Encrypt)

Install Certbot:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Generate SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx

Test auto-renewal:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

🎉 Done! Your API is now secured with HTTPS.