🚀 Node.js Deployment on AWS EC2 with Nginx & PM2

A production-style deployment of a Node.js backend on an AWS EC2 instance — configured with Nginx as a reverse proxy and PM2 for process management.

This documents a real hands-on lab I completed: provisioning a cloud server from scratch, configuring networking, and deploying a running Node.js API accessible via a public IP.

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🏗️ Architecture

Internet (Port 80)
        │
        ▼
   [ AWS EC2 ]
   Ubuntu 24.04
        │
        ▼
   [ Nginx ]  ← Reverse Proxy (Port 80 → 3000)
        │
        ▼
  [ Node.js App ]  ← Managed by PM2 (Port 3000)

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⚙️ Tech Stack

Layer	Tool
Cloud Provider	AWS EC2 (Asia Pacific — Mumbai)
OS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Runtime	Node.js v18.19.1 / npm v9.2.0
Web Server	Nginx v1.24.0 (reverse proxy)
Process Manager	PM2
Region	ap-south-1 (Mumbai)

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📋 What I Did — Step by Step

1. AWS Setup

• Launched an EC2 t2.micro instance with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in the Mumbai region
• Configured Security Group to allow inbound traffic on Port 22 (SSH) and Port 80 (HTTP)
• Generated a .pem key pair for SSH access

2. SSH Into the Server

ssh -i ED25519_Kuha_aws.pem ubuntu@<your-ec2-public-ip>

3. Install Node.js & npm

sudo apt update
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
node --version   # v18.19.1
npm --version    # 9.2.0

4. Install Nginx

sudo apt install nginx -y
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
nginx -v   # nginx/1.24.0

At this point, visiting http://<your-ec2-ip> in the browser shows the Welcome to nginx! page — server is live.

5. Create the Node.js App

mkdir node-test && cd node-test
npm init -y

index.js:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.json({
    success: true,
    service: 'node-backend',
    port: 3000
  });
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server running on port 3000');
});

npm install express

6. Configure Nginx as Reverse Proxy

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

Replace the default location / block with:

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_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
}

Test and reload Nginx:

sudo nginx -t          # Test config for errors
sudo systemctl reload nginx

7. Run App with PM2

sudo npm install -g pm2
pm2 start index.js --name app
pm2 status             # Check it's online
pm2 startup            # Auto-start on server reboot
pm2 save

8. Verify

Visit http://<your-ec2-ip> in the browser:

{
  "success": true,
  "service": "node-backend",
  "port": 3000
}

Nginx is receiving traffic on port 80 and proxying it to Node.js on port 3000 — working end to end. ✅

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📸 Screenshots

EC2 SSH Connection

Node.js & Nginx Versions Verified

Nginx Default Page (Server Live)

PM2 Status — App Running

Node.js API Response via Public IP

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💡 Key Concepts Learned

Why not run Node.js on port 80 directly? Port 80 requires root privileges to bind. Instead, Nginx runs as the public-facing server on port 80 and forwards traffic internally to Node.js on port 3000 — safer and more scalable.

Why PM2? If the Node.js process crashes, PM2 automatically restarts it. It also persists across server reboots with pm2 startup, which a plain node index.js won't do.

Why IAM user instead of root? AWS best practice — root account should never be used for day-to-day tasks. IAM users have scoped permissions, reducing the blast radius of any credential leak.

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🔜 What's Next

• Add a custom domain with Namecheap + DNS A record
• Configure SSL/HTTPS with Let's Encrypt (Certbot)
• Set up GitHub Actions CI/CD to auto-deploy on push
• Containerize the app with Docker

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📎 Related Projects

• Weather App — Live frontend project deployed on Vercel
• A2Z DSA Solutions — C++ DSA practice

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👤 Author

Harsh Thakur LinkedIn · GitHub · Email