Deploying DevTinder to Production AWS, Nginx, and PM2 Setup Guide

Deploying DevTinder to Production

Deploying DevTinder involves setting up an AWS EC2 instance, configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy, using PM2 for Node.js process management, and securing the app with environment variables and SSL.

Step 1: Launch an AWS EC2 Instance

1. Go to AWS Console → EC2 → Launch Instance
2. Choose Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS
3. Select t2.micro (free tier) or larger for production
4. Configure security group:
   • SSH (port 22) your IP
   • HTTP (port 80) anywhere
   • HTTPS (port 443) anywhere
   • Custom TCP (port 3000) your IP (for direct API access during testing)
5. Launch and download the key pair (.pem file)

Step 2: Connect to the Instance

ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@your-ec2-public-ip

Step 3: Install Node.js and Required Software

# Update packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js 20
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Install PM2 globally
sudo npm install -g pm2

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install -y nginx

# Install Git
sudo apt install -y git

Step 4: Clone and Set Up the Backend

cd /home/ubuntu
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/devtinder-backend.git
cd devtinder-backend
npm install

Create the production .env file:

cp .env.example .env
nano .env

PORT=3000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://your-atlas-connection-string
JWT_SECRET=your_production_secret
NODE_ENV=production
CLIENT_URL=https://yourdomain.com

Step 5: Start the App with PM2

pm2 start src/server.js --name devtinder-api
pm2 save
pm2 startup

PM2 keeps the Node.js process running, restarts on crash, and starts on system boot.

Step 6: Configure Nginx as Reverse Proxy

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

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name 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;
    }
}

The Upgrade and Connection headers are critical for Socket.io WebSocket support.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/devtinder /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Deploy the Frontend

The frontend can be deployed separately to Vercel, Netlify, or the same EC2 instance.

To Vercel:

npm install -g vercel
cd devtinder-frontend
vercel

Set the environment variable VITE_API_URL=https://yourdomain.com/api in Vercel.

Step 8: Add SSL with Let's Encrypt

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

This automatically configures Nginx for HTTPS and sets up auto-renewal.

Step 9: Verify the Deployment

• Visit https://yourdomain.com should show the API response
• Test signup and login
• Test the frontend at the Vercel URL
• Check PM2 logs: pm2 logs devtinder-api
• Check Nginx logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

The Takeaway

Deploying DevTinder to production involves: launching an AWS EC2 instance, installing Node.js and PM2, cloning the backend, configuring environment variables, starting with PM2, setting up Nginx as a reverse proxy (with WebSocket support for Socket.io), deploying the frontend to Vercel, and adding SSL with Let's Encrypt. PM2 ensures the app restarts on crash, and Nginx handles routing and SSL termination.