Deploying a Node.js application on a VPS in India

Node.js applications cannot run on standard shared cPanel hosting — they need a persistent process. A VPS is the right home for Node.js. Here is the full deployment stack, from server setup to HTTPS.

What you need

• A Linux VPS (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS recommended)
• A domain name pointed at your VPS IP
• SSH access to the server

Step 1: Install Node.js via nvm

Never install Node.js from Ubuntu's default package manager — it is always outdated. Use nvm (Node Version Manager) instead:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc

nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts
node --version  # should show v20.x or later

Step 2: Upload your application

Clone from Git (recommended):

cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/youruser/your-app.git
cd your-app
npm install --production

Or upload via SFTP (FileZilla, Transmit) if you are not using Git.

Step 3: Configure environment variables

Create a .env file in your project root:

nano ~/your-app/.env

NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000
DATABASE_URL=mysql://user:password@localhost/dbname
SESSION_SECRET=your-long-random-secret

Never commit .env to Git. Add it to .gitignore.

Step 4: Test your application runs

cd ~/your-app
node server.js  # or whatever your entry point is

Visit http://your-server-ip:3000 to confirm. Then press Ctrl+C — you will run it properly via PM2 next.

Step 5: Install PM2 as the process manager

PM2 keeps your Node.js application running after you close SSH, restarts it on crashes, and starts it on server reboot.

npm install -g pm2

# Start your app
pm2 start ~/your-app/server.js --name "myapp"

# Save so it restarts on reboot
pm2 save
pm2 startup  # run the command it outputs to enable auto-start

Useful PM2 commands:

pm2 status          # see all running processes
pm2 logs myapp      # stream application logs
pm2 restart myapp   # restart after code changes
pm2 stop myapp      # stop the app
pm2 monit           # real-time CPU/memory dashboard

Step 6: Install NGINX as a reverse proxy

Your Node.js app listens on port 3000. NGINX sits in front, accepting traffic on port 80/443 and forwarding it to Node.js.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

Create an NGINX site config:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    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;
    }
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t  # test config
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 7: Get a free SSL certificate

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Certbot modifies your NGINX config to add HTTPS and redirects. It also sets up auto-renewal.

Verify auto-renewal works:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Step 8: Configure UFW firewall

sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

Do not expose port 3000 directly — all traffic should go through NGINX.

Deploying updates

After pushing new code to your repository:

cd ~/your-app
git pull
npm install --production
pm2 restart myapp

For zero-downtime deploys (if your app can handle graceful shutdown):

pm2 reload myapp  # rolling restart, keeps old instance alive until new one is ready

Setting up a deploy script

Create ~/deploy.sh:

#!/bin/bash
set -e
cd ~/your-app
git pull origin main
npm install --production
pm2 reload myapp --update-env
echo "Deployed at $(date)"

chmod +x ~/deploy.sh

Then deploy from your local machine:

ssh user@yourserver "~/deploy.sh"

Running a Next.js application

Next.js has a built-in server. The setup is nearly identical:

cd ~/your-nextjs-app
npm run build
pm2 start npm --name "nextapp" -- start

The npm start command runs next start which defaults to port 3000.

Running multiple Node.js apps on one VPS

NGINX can host multiple apps on different domains or paths:

# App 1 on port 3000
server {
    server_name app1.com;
    location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:3000; }
}

# App 2 on port 3001
server {
    server_name app2.com;
    location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:3001; }
}

Start each app on a different port with PM2 and set PORT=3001 in the second app's .env.

Monitoring and logs

# View PM2 logs (last 100 lines)
pm2 logs myapp --lines 100

# View NGINX access log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log

# View NGINX error log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Set up a monitoring tool like PM2 Plus or a simple UptimeRobot ping to get alerted when your app goes down.