How to setup a Node.js + MongoDB environment and run apps with PM2 and SSL.

Node Server Setup 2023.md

Node + MongoDB Server Setup Ubuntu 24.12 LTS

How to setup a Node.js + MongoDB environment with PM2 and Let's Encrypt

Login to your server as root

ssh root@your_server_ip

Update the system before doing anything

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Create a non-root user and give it sudo permissions

* adduser braitsch
* usermod -aG sudo braitsch

Copy ssh key over to the non-root user home directory (if applicable)

rsync --archive --chown=braitsch:braitsch ~/.ssh /home/braitsch

Attempt to login as braitsch, if successful close root session

ssh braitsch@your_server_ip

Install Node.js via nvm

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc

Check installation succeeded & install the latest lts version

nvm list-remote
nvm install --lts
node -v

Install MongoDB

Start MongoDB as a service & confirm that it's running

sudo systemctl start mongod
sudo systemctl status mongod
sudo systemctl enable mongod

Install & Configure NGINX

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Setup NGINX Server Block

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

server {

	server_name my_domain.org www.my_domain.org;
	root /home/braitsch/site/server; # required to serve static images

	location / {
		proxy_pass http://localhost:8081; #nuxt app
		proxy_http_version 1.1;
		proxy_set_header Host $host;
	}

	location /api {
		proxy_pass http://localhost:8080; #express app
		proxy_http_version 1.1;
		proxy_set_header Host $host;
		client_body_buffer_size 1M; #required for image uploads
		client_max_body_size 100M; #required for image uploads
	}

	location /static {
		proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
		try_files $uri $uri/ =404; # static asset directory
	}
}

Activate NGINX Server Block

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/my_domain /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
http {
    server_names_hash_bucket_size 64; # <- uncomment this line
}
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Enable & Setup firewall

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw status

Install & Setup Let's Encrypt

sudo snap install core; sudo snap refresh core
sudo apt remove certbot
sudo snap install --classic certbot
sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot
sudo certbot --nginx -d my_domain.com -d www.my_domain.com

Confirm automatic SSL cert renewal

sudo systemctl status snap.certbot.renew.service
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Install PM2 globally to run & monitor our Node apps

npm install pm2@latest -g

Set the Server's Timezone

sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Los_Angeles