AWS EC2 Deployment of Node.js Application

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Steps

1. Project Setup

1. Clone the Project:

   • Create a .env file and add the following environment variables:

     DOMAIN="http://localhost:3000"
     PORT=3000
     STATIC_DIR="./client"
     
     # Stripe API keys
     PUBLISHABLE_KEY="YOUR_PUBLISHABLE_KEY"
     SECRET_KEY="YOUR_SECRET_KEY"

   • Note: Obtain the Stripe API keys from your Stripe account.

2. Run Locally:

   • Run the app locally to test if it’s working before deploying.

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2. AWS EC2 Setup

1. Create an IAM User:

   • In AWS, create an IAM user with administrative access.
   • Log in as the IAM user to create and manage your EC2 instance.

2. Create an EC2 Instance:

   • Choose Ubuntu as the OS, select the region, configure a VPC, and create a key pair (.pem file).
   • Launch the EC2 instance.

3. Configure Key Permissions on Local Machine:

   • For PowerShell: Open PowerShell in the folder containing your .pem file and set permissions (since chmod doesn’t work in PowerShell):

     icacls "yourkey.pem" /inheritance:r
     icacls "yourkey.pem" /grant:r "%username%:R"
     icacls "yourkey.pem" /remove "NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users"
     icacls "yourkey.pem" /remove "BUILTIN\Users"

   • For Linux:

     chmod 400 yourkey.pem

4. Connect to EC2 Instance:

   • Connect via SSH:

     ssh -i "yourkey.pem" ubuntu@<EC2-Public-DNS>

5. Install Dependencies:

   • Update and install necessary packages on the instance:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install -y git nodejs npm

6. Clone GitHub Repository:

   • Clone your repository and navigate to the project folder:

     git clone https://github.com/your-username/aws-ec2-nodejs-app.git
     cd aws-ec2-nodejs-app

7. Install Node Modules:

   • Install project dependencies:

     npm install

8. Set Up .env on EC2:

   • Create and edit the .env file directly on the EC2 instance:

     touch .env
     vi .env  # Add environment variables as needed

9. Start the Application:

   • Start the Node.js app:

     npm start

10. Configure EC2 Security Group:

    • In the AWS Console, go to Security Group for your instance.
    • Allow traffic on port 3000 by adding a new rule for Custom TCP, port 3000, accessible from Anywhere (IPv4).

11. Access the App:

    • Use the EC2 public IP with port 3000 to view your app: http://<EC2-Public-IP>:3000.

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3. GitHub Actions for Continuous Deployment

1. Add Secrets:

   • In your GitHub repository, go to Settings > Secrets and Variables > Actions and add the following secrets:
     • EC2_HOST: Public DNS or IP of your EC2 instance (e.g., ec2-100-26-43-234.compute-1.amazonaws.com).
     • EC2_USER: ubuntu (the default user for Ubuntu on EC2).
     • EC2_KEY: The content of your .pem key.

2. GitHub Actions Workflow File:

   • In your project, create .github/workflows/deploy.yml with the following content:

     name: Deploy to EC2
     
     on:
       push:
         branches:
           - main
     
     jobs:
       deploy:
         runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     
         steps:
           - name: Checkout code
             uses: actions/checkout@v2
     
           - name: Add SSH key
             env:
               EC2_KEY: ${{ secrets.EC2_KEY }}
             run: |
               mkdir -p ~/.ssh
               echo "${EC2_KEY}" > ~/.ssh/ec2-key.pem
               chmod 600 ~/.ssh/ec2-key.pem
     
           - name: Deploy to EC2
             env:
               HOST: ${{ secrets.EC2_HOST }}
               USER: ${{ secrets.EC2_USER }}
             run: |
               ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i ~/.ssh/ec2-key.pem $USER@$HOST << 'EOF'
                 cd /home/ubuntu/aws-ec2-nodejs-app
                 git pull origin main
                 npm install
                 pm2 restart your-app-name || pm2 start app.js --name your-app-name
               EOF

   • This workflow automatically deploys your app to EC2 each time you push changes to the main branch.

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Notes

• Make sure pm2 is installed on your EC2 instance for process management.
• Replace your-app-name with the desired name for your app when using pm2.
• Verify environment variables and secrets before running the deployment workflow.

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This completes the setup for deploying a Node.js app to AWS EC2 with GitHub Actions for CI/CD. Enjoy your deployment!