Nginx and PM2 Deployment Workflow Complete Guide to Node.js Production Setup

Nginx and PM2 Deployment Workflow

This is a complete workflow for deploying a Node.js application using Nginx and PM2 on an EC2 instance.

Initial Setup (One-Time)

1. Install Software

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs nginx git
sudo npm install -g pm2

2. Clone and Configure Project

cd /home/ubuntu
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/devtinder-backend.git
cd devtinder-backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Add production values

3. Start with PM2

pm2 start src/server.js --name devtinder-api
pm2 save
pm2 startup  # Follow the instructions outputted

4. Configure Nginx

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;
    }
}

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

5. Add SSL

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

Regular Deployment (Every Update)

Manual Deployment

# SSH into EC2
ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@your-ec2-ip

# Pull latest code
cd /home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend
git pull origin main

# Install new dependencies (if any)
npm install

# Restart PM2
pm2 restart devtinder-api

# Verify
pm2 status
curl http://localhost:3000/api/health

Zero-Downtime Deployment (Reload)

# reload restarts instances one by one (no downtime)
pm2 reload devtinder-api

For cluster mode:

pm2 reload devtinder-api

PM2 reloads workers one at a time, keeping the app available throughout.

Automated Deployment Script

Create a deployment script on the server:

nano /home/ubuntu/deploy.sh

#!/bin/bash
set -e

echo "Starting deployment..."

cd /home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend

echo "Pulling latest code..."
git pull origin main

echo "Installing dependencies..."
npm install

echo "Restarting PM2..."
pm2 reload devtinder-api

echo "Clearing PM2 logs..."
pm2 flush

echo "Deployment complete!"
pm2 status

chmod +x /home/ubuntu/deploy.sh

Now you can deploy with one command:

./deploy.sh

Rollback Process

If the new deployment has issues:

Option 1: Revert to Previous Commit

cd /home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend

# Check recent commits
git log --oneline -5

# Revert to previous commit
git revert HEAD
# Or reset to a specific commit
git reset --hard <commit-hash>

npm install
pm2 reload devtinder-api

Option 2: PM2 Rollback

PM2 doesn't have built-in rollback, but you can keep the previous version:

# Keep two directories
/home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend/     # Current
/home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend-prev/ # Previous

# To rollback:
pm2 stop devtinder-api
pm2 delete devtinder-api
cd /home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend-prev
pm2 start src/server.js --name devtinder-api

Health Check After Deployment

# Check if the app is running
pm2 status

# Check logs for errors
pm2 logs devtinder-api --lines 20

# Test the API
curl http://localhost:3000/api/health

# Test via Nginx (external)
curl https://yourdomain.com/api/health

# Check Nginx status
sudo systemctl status nginx

PM2 Ecosystem File

For complex setups, use an ecosystem file:

nano /home/ubuntu/devtinder-backend/ecosystem.config.js

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: "devtinder-api",
    script: "src/server.js",
    instances: "max",  // or a specific number
    exec_mode: "cluster",
    max_memory_restart: "500M",
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: "production",
      PORT: 3000
    },
    error_file: "/var/log/devtinder/error.log",
    out_file: "/var/log/devtinder/out.log",
    log_date_format: "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss"
  }]
};

pm2 start ecosystem.config.js
pm2 save

The Takeaway

The Nginx + PM2 deployment workflow involves: initial setup (install Node.js, PM2, Nginx, clone project, configure .env, start with PM2, configure Nginx, add SSL), regular deployments (git pull, npm install, pm2 reload for zero downtime), automated deployment scripts, rollback by reverting commits or switching directories, and health checks after deployment. Use ecosystem.config.js for complex setups with cluster mode.