Deploy Node.js on VPS with PM2, NGINX & Free SSL

1. Connect to Your VPS

Open your terminal (or PuTTY on Windows) and use your SSH credentials:

Copyssh root@your_server_ip

2. Update Server

Copysudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

3. Install Node.js & npm

Install the latest LTS version from NodeSource:

Copycurl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Check versions:

Copynode -v
npm -v

4. Install PM2

PM2 is a process manager for Node.js apps:

Copysudo npm install pm2@latest -g

5. Upload Your Node.js App

Clone from GitHub:

Copygit clone https://github.com/your/repo.git
cd repo

Or upload via SFTP (FileZilla, WinSCP). Then install dependencies:

Copynpm install

6. Start Your App with PM2

Copypm2 start app.js --name "myapp"
pm2 save
pm2 startup

7. Install NGINX

Copysudo apt install nginx -y

Check status:

Copysudo systemctl status nginx

8. Configure NGINX as Reverse Proxy

Create a config file:

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

Add:

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

    location / {
      proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000; # Your Node.js app port
      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;
  }
}

Enable site & reload NGINX:

Copysudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

9. Point Domain to VPS

In your domain registrar DNS settings:

• A Record → your_server_ip

Wait 5–30 minutes for DNS propagation.

10. Install Let’s Encrypt SSL

Copysudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Run:

Copysudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

11. Auto-Renew SSL

Copysudo systemctl enable certbot.timer
sudo systemctl start certbot.timer

Test renewal:

Copysudo certbot renew --dry-run