How to install a Node.js application

Introduction

This article discusses how to install a Node.js application on a cPanel account.

Procedure

To install an application:

1. Log in to the server as the cPanel user via SSH or 'Terminal' in cPanel.

2. Create the application's directory relative to the user's home directory.
   

   mkdir nodejsapp

3. Change to the application's directory.
   

   cd nodejsapp

4. Create the app.js file with a text editor.
   Please note we strongly recommend that you create the file with this exact name because Passenger searches for this filename when it executes.
5. Add the application's configuration to the app.js file. This will resemble the following example:
   

   const http = require('http')
   const hostname = '127.0.0.1';
   const port = 3000;
   
   const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
     res.statusCode = 200;
     res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
     res.end('Hello World! NodeJS \n');
   });
   
   server.listen(port, hostname, () => {
     console.log(`Server running at http://${hostname}:${port}/`);
   });

6. Save the changes.
7. Close the text editor.

Please note after installing that application, it must be registered in cPanel with "Application Manager."

Additional resources

How to Install a Node.js Application