{"id":1747,"date":"2026-09-04T11:17:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T05:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpanelfree.com\/blog\/how-to-deploy-nodejs-express-app-linux-vps-nginx-pm2\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T11:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T05:51:42","slug":"how-to-deploy-nodejs-express-app-linux-vps-nginx-pm2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpanelfree.com\/blog\/how-to-deploy-nodejs-express-app-linux-vps-nginx-pm2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deploy a Node.js Express App on a Linux VPS with Nginx & PM2"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Quick Answer:<\/strong> To deploy a production Node.js Express app on a Linux VPS: 1)<\/strong> Install Node.js LTS via NodeSource repository, 2)<\/strong> Use PM2<\/strong> (pm2 start server.js -i max --name app<\/code>) for background daemon management and automatic restarts, 3)<\/strong> Configure Nginx<\/strong> as a reverse proxy passing traffic from port 80\/443 to http:\/\/127.0.0.1:3000<\/code>, and 4)<\/strong> Secure the domain with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate using Certbot.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Step 1: Install Node.js LTS on Ubuntu 24.04<\/h2>\n
# Install Node.js v20\/v22 LTS\ncurl -fsSL https:\/\/deb.nodesource.com\/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -\nsudo apt install -y nodejs build-essential\nnode -v && npm -v<\/pre>\n
Step 2: Deploy App and Configure PM2 Process Manager<\/h2>\n
# Install PM2 globally\nsudo npm install -g pm2\n\n# Clone and launch application in Cluster Mode\ncd \/var\/www\/my-node-app\nnpm install --production\npm2 start server.js -i max --name \"node-app\"\n\n# Enable automatic startup on system boot\npm2 startup systemd\npm2 save<\/pre>\n
Step 3: Configure Nginx as Reverse Proxy<\/h2>\n
Create a new Nginx server block at \/etc\/nginx\/sites-available\/yourdomain.com<\/code>:<\/p>\n
server {\n    listen 80;\n    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;\n\n    location \/ {\n        proxy_pass http:\/\/127.0.0.1:3000;\n        proxy_http_version 1.1;\n        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;\n        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';\n        proxy_set_header Host $host;\n        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;\n        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;\n        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;\n        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;\n    }\n}<\/pre>\n
# Test and reload Nginx\nsudo ln -s \/etc\/nginx\/sites-available\/yourdomain.com \/etc\/nginx\/sites-enabled\/\nsudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx<\/pre>\n
Step 4: Issue Free SSL Certificate with Certbot<\/h2>\n
sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx\nsudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com<\/pre>\n
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