Installing and Configuring Nginx on Ubuntu for Node.js Deployment

Installing and Configuring Nginx on Ubuntu

This guide covers installing Nginx on Ubuntu, understanding its directory structure, and configuring it as a reverse proxy for Node.js.

Step 1: Install Nginx

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx

Verify:

nginx -v
# nginx version: nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)

Step 2: Start and Enable Nginx

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx

You should see active (running).

Step 3: Test Nginx

Visit http://your-ec2-public-ip in a browser. You should see the "Welcome to nginx!" page.

Step 4: Nginx Directory Structure

/etc/nginx/
├── nginx.conf          # Main config file
├── sites-available/    # Available site configs
│   └── default
├── sites-enabled/      # Enabled sites (symlinks to sites-available)
│   └── default -> ../sites-available/default
├── conf.d/             # Additional configuration files
└── mime.types          # MIME type definitions

Key files:

• nginx.conf Global settings (worker processes, logging, etc.)
• sites-available/ All site configurations (create files here)
• sites-enabled/ Symlinks to enabled sites (Nginx serves these)

Step 5: Create a Server Block

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

Add this configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;  # or EC2 public IP

    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;
    }
}

Step 6: Enable the Site

# Create symlink to sites-enabled
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/devtinder /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Remove default site
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

# Test configuration
sudo nginx -t
# nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

# Restart Nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Verify the Proxy

Make sure your Node.js app is running on port 3000:

pm2 status
# devtinder-api should be online

Test from your local machine:

curl http://your-ec2-public-ip/api/health

You should get your API response. Nginx is now proxying traffic to Node.js.

Understanding the Configuration

server block Like a virtual host. Defines how Nginx handles requests for a specific domain.

listen 80 Listen on port 80 (HTTP).

server_name The domain name or IP that this server block handles.

location / How to handle all request paths.

proxy_pass Where to forward requests (the Node.js app on port 3000).

proxy_set_header Passes information from the original request to Node.js (host, IP, protocol).

Common Nginx Commands

# Test config
sudo nginx -t

# Reload config (no downtime)
sudo systemctl reload nginx

# Restart (brief downtime)
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Stop
sudo systemctl stop nginx

# Check status
sudo systemctl status nginx

# View Nginx error log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

The Takeaway

Installing Nginx on Ubuntu is straightforward with apt. The key is understanding the directory structure: create configs in sites-available, symlink to sites-enabled, test with nginx -t, and restart. The server block configuration with proxy_pass, proxy_set_header, and WebSocket headers is the foundation for deploying Node.js with Nginx.