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Setting Up Nginx with a Node.js Express Project

This guide explains how to set up Nginx as a reverse proxy for a Node.js Express application and ensure no conflicts with other servers like Apache.

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Prerequisites

1. A server running Ubuntu or a similar Linux distribution.
2. Node.js and npm installed.
3. Nginx installed.
4. An Express.js project ready to deploy.

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Step 1: Stop and Disable Conflicting Servers

If other services like Apache are running, stop and disable them to free up port 80:

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl disable apache2

To check which service is using port 80:

sudo netstat -tuln | grep ':80'

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Step 2: Install and Start Nginx

1. Install Nginx if not already installed:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install nginx

2. Enable and start Nginx:

   sudo systemctl enable nginx
   sudo systemctl start nginx

3. Check Nginx status:

   sudo systemctl status nginx

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Step 3: Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

1. Open a new Nginx configuration file:

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

2. Add the following configuration to set up Nginx as a reverse proxy for your Node.js app:

   server {
       listen 80;
   
       server_name your-domain.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_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
       }
   }

   Replace your-domain.com with your domain or server's IP address and 3000 with the port your Node.js app is running on.

3. Enable the configuration:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/node_project /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

4. Test the Nginx configuration:

   sudo nginx -t

5. Reload Nginx:

   sudo systemctl reload nginx

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Step 4: Start Your Node.js Express App

1. Start your Node.js app:

   node app.js

   Or use a process manager like PM2 for better app management:

   pm2 start app.js

2. Ensure your app is running on the port specified in the Nginx configuration (e.g., 3000).

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Step 5: Verify the Setup

1. Open your browser and navigate to your server's domain or IP address (e.g., http://your-domain.com).
2. You should see your Node.js application served through Nginx.

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Troubleshooting

• Check Nginx logs for errors:

  sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

• Check your Node.js app logs if it's not responding:

  pm2 logs

• Ensure the firewall allows HTTP traffic:

  sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
  sudo ufw reload

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Optional: Secure Nginx with SSL (HTTPS)

1. Install Certbot:

   sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

2. Obtain an SSL certificate:

   sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

3. Verify SSL setup:

   https://your-domain.com

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PRODUCTION BUILD .CJS

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

   // serve up production assets
   const path = require("path");
   app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, "/")));

   // let the react app to handle any unknown routes
   // serve up the index.html if express does'nt recognize the route
   app.get("*", (req, res) => {
      res.sendFile(path.resolve(__dirname, "index.html"));
   });

   // if not in production use the port 5000
   const PORT = 5000;

   // console.log("server started on port:", PORT);
   app.listen(PORT);

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New Options

1. Load Balancer with Multiple Node.js Instances

If you want to run multiple Node.js processes and distribute traffic:

1. Start your app on different ports (or use PM2 cluster mode):

   pm2 start app.js --name "travel1" -- 5000
   pm2 start app.js --name "travel2" -- 5001
   pm2 start app.js --name "travel3" -- 5002
   pm2 start app.js --name "travel4" -- 5003

2. Update Nginx config with an upstream block:

   upstream travel_app {
       server 127.0.0.1:5000;
       server 127.0.0.1:5001;
       server 127.0.0.1:5002;
       server 127.0.0.1:5003;
   }
   
   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name your-domain.com;
   
       location / {
           proxy_pass http://travel_app;
           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;
       }
   }

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2. Cache Control (Industry Standard)

To avoid hard reload issues when you deploy new updates:

• Keep index.html always no-cache (so new builds load immediately).
• Cache static assets (.js, .css, images) long-term with immutable cache (hashing handles version changes).

Update your Nginx config:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://travel_app;
        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;

        # No cache for HTML
        proxy_hide_header Cache-Control;
        add_header Cache-Control "no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate" always;
    }

    # Cache assets long-term
    location ~* \.(?:ico|css|js|gif|jpe?g|png|woff2?|eot|ttf|svg)$ {
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
        proxy_pass http://travel_app;
    }
}