How to deploy a Node.js app with PM2 and Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04

1. Install Node.js

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs
node -v

2. Deploy your app

adduser --system --group --home /srv/app app
sudo -u app git clone https://github.com/you/yourapp /srv/app/current
cd /srv/app/current && sudo -u app npm ci --omit=dev

3. Run it with PM2

npm install -g pm2
sudo -u app pm2 start /srv/app/current/index.js --name app -i max   # cluster mode, one worker per vCPU
sudo -u app pm2 save
pm2 startup systemd -u app --hp /srv/app    # run the printed command

Your app should listen on 127.0.0.1:3000 (or another local port), never on 0.0.0.0.

4. Nginx reverse proxy

apt install -y nginx
cat > /etc/nginx/sites-available/app <<'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        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-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
EOF
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/app /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

5. HTTPS

apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
certbot --nginx -d example.com

6. Firewall and updates

ufw allow OpenSSH && ufw allow 'Nginx Full' && ufw enable

Deploy a new version with git pull && npm ci --omit=dev && pm2 reload app — zero-downtime in cluster mode. Logs: pm2 logs app. Take a snapshot before major upgrades, and put the Joy CDN in front for static assets.