{"id":1939,"date":"2025-01-28T17:03:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T15:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/us\/resources\/tutorials\/deploying-a-node-js-application-to-upcloud-from-gitlab-ci-cd\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T17:03:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T15:03:46","slug":"deploying-a-node-js-application-to-upcloud-from-gitlab-ci-cd","status":"publish","type":"tutorial","link":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/resources\/tutorials\/deploying-a-node-js-application-to-upcloud-from-gitlab-ci-cd\/","title":{"rendered":"Deploying a Node.js Application to UpCloud From Gitlab CI\/CD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

GitLab CI\/CD<\/a> and UpCloud<\/a> can be a powerful duo when it comes to deploying Node.js applications. GitLab CI\/CD automates the entire process of building, testing, and deploying your Node.js apps, making it easier than ever to push updates and ensure quality. Meanwhile, UpCloud offers a reliable and cost-effective cloud infrastructure that\u2019s perfect for hosting your applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this tutorial, you\u2019ll learn how to set up your deployment pipeline from GitLab to UpCloud, creating a smoother, automated deployment workflow and achieving faster releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Deploy to UpCloud From GitLab CI\/CD?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deploying to UpCloud using GitLab CI\/CD can simplify DevOps for many developers. For small to medium-sized applications, it easily and quickly automates the deployment process, allowing you to focus on writing code rather than managing deployments. This means your web applications or APIs can receive smooth and consistent updates without the usual headaches of connecting to the server and manually updating and restarting your application. Plus, automated workflows significantly reduce deployment times and errors, ensuring that your application is always up-to-date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a SaaS company rolling out microservices on UpCloud or a startup managing continuous delivery for its Node.js applications\u2014GitLab CI\/CD can help such teams forget about DevOps entirely and just focus on their app\u2019s development. Freelancers and small teams can also find it incredibly useful for deploying client projects quickly and reliably, freeing up time for more important tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the infrastructure provider, UpCloud stands out with its high performance, customizable plans, and scalability. In this tutorial, you will get a glance at the various resource plans and the simple setup process that UpCloud offers to help you get your Node.js applications to production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview and Prerequisites<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this tutorial, you will first fork this GitLab repository<\/a> with a simple Node.js application to your GitLab account. Then, you will set up an UpCloud server on which the app will be deployed. Once the server is ready, you will set up the Node.js app on it manually for the first time. Then, you will configure a GitLab CI\/CD pipeline in the forked GitLab repository to automatically update and redeploy the application whenever a new commit is pushed to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To follow along, you will need the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. \u2013 A GitLab account. You will use this account to fork your copy of this GitLab repository<\/a> on which you will set up the CI\/CD workflow. You will learn more about this repository shortly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. \u2013 An UpCloud account. You can sign up for a free trial here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. \u2013 Basic understanding of SSH<\/a> and GitLab CI\/CD YAML configuration<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Once you have these in place, let\u2019s now take a quick look at the example app that you will deploy through the pipeline in this tutorial. The app in the repository is a random facts generator. It has a list of a few facts in the source code, and it picks and returns a fact from it randomly on each API call:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \/\/ contents of index.js\nconst express = require('express');\nconst app = express();\nconst PORT = process.env.PORT || 5001;\n\n\/\/ Array of random facts\nconst facts = [\n    \"Honey never spoils.\",\n    \"A group of flamingos is called a 'flamboyance.'\",\n    \"Bananas are berries, but strawberries aren't.\",\n    \"Octopuses have three hearts.\",\n    \"Australia is believed to have lost to emus in the Great Emu War of 1932\",\n    \"A jiffy is an actual unit of time: 1\/100th of a second.\",\n    \"Cows have best friends and get stressed when they are separated.\",\n    \"The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes.\",\n    \"The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer.\",\n    \"A small child could swim through the veins of a blue whale.\"\n];\n\n\/\/ Serve static files (HTML, CSS, JS)\napp.use(express.static('public'));\n\n\/\/ Endpoint to get a random fact\napp.get('\/random-fact', (req, res) => {\n    const randomIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * facts.length);\n    res.json({ fact: facts[randomIndex] });\n});\n\n\/\/ Start the server\napp.listen(PORT, () => {\n    console.log(`Server is running on http:\/\/localhost:${PORT}`);\n});\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    It also serves a static HTML page on its root path (\/). This page contains a heading, a button to get a random fact, a placeholder for the random fact to be displayed to the user, and a footer at the bottom of the page. Here\u2019s the source code for this page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    <!DOCTYPE html>\n<html lang=\"en\">\n<head>\n    <meta charset=\"UTF-8\">\n    <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\">\n    <title>Random Facts Generator<\/title>\n    <style>\n        body {\n            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\n            display: flex;\n            flex-direction: column;\n            align-items: center;\n            justify-content: center;\n            height: 98vh;\n            background-color: #f5f5f5;\n        }\n        button {\n            padding: 10px 20px;\n            font-size: 16px;\n            cursor: pointer;\n        }\n        p {\n            margin-top: 20px;\n            font-size: 20px;\n            text-align: center;\n        }\n\n        #footer {\n            position: absolute;\n            bottom: 10px;\n            font-size: 0.8rem;\n        }\n    <\/style>\n<\/head>\n<body>\n\n<h1>Random Fact Generator<\/h1>\n<button id=\"generate\">Get a Random Fact<\/button>\n<p id=\"fact\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"footer\">Made in 2024<\/p>\n\n<script>\n    document.getElementById('generate').onclick = async () => {\n        const response = await fetch('\/random-fact');\n        const data = await response.json();\n        document.getElementById('fact').innerText = data.fact;\n    };\n<\/script>\n\n<\/body>\n<\/html><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You can try running the app locally using the following commands:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    # Clone the repo\ngit clone https:\/\/gitlab.com\/kharsh39\/random-facts-generator\ncd random-facts-generator\n\n# Install dependencies\nyarn\n\n# Run the development server\nyarn dev<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You can now go to http:\/\/localhost:5001<\/code> to view the app in action:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Once you click the Get a Random Fact<\/strong> button, you will, indeed, get a random fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Ensure that you fork a copy of this repo to your GitLab account before moving ahead. This is important because you will need to make changes to the source code of this app to trigger the CI\/CD pipeline and update the deployed application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Now, let\u2019s move on to setting up the UpCloud server where you will deploy this application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Setting up an UpCloud Server<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    You can use either the UpCloud web dashboard or the upctl<\/code> CLI to set up an UpCloud web server. This section will walk you through both of these options. For beginners, it\u2019s best to explore the web dashboard at least once before you switch to the CLI so that you have a clear idea of all the resource options that UpCloud offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Option 1: Through the Web Dashboard<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Head over to the UpCloud web dashboard<\/a> and sign in with your UpCloud account. Once you log in, this is how your dashboard will look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Click on the + Deploy new<\/strong> button on the top right of the page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Select Server<\/strong> from the list that pops up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    You will be taken to the Deploy a new server<\/strong> where you will configure the specifications of your server:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Server Location<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Start by choosing the physical location of your server. You should choose the location closest to you for the least latency when connecting to the server remotely. I\u2019ve chosen SG-SIN1<\/strong> as it is the closest to my location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Server Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next up, you need to choose a server plan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    The server plan defines the CPU, RAM, and storage space available to your server. UpCloud provides you with a range of options from developer-focused small sizes for testing purposes and personal projects to large and cost-effective cloud native plans that unbundle storage and IPv4 addresses from the plans. You can learn more about the available plans here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Since this is a test project, choose the first option in the Developer<\/em> list (1 CPU core, 1 GB RAM, and 10 GB storage).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Storage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next, you can configure the storage available to your server. Since the plan you chose above already comes with 10 GB storage, you will see it pre-configured in the list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    You can choose to add more storage devices at this point. You can learn how to do that here<\/a>. For this tutorial, a 10 GB storage device is sufficient, so leave this section as it is and move ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Automated Backups<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next, UpCloud offers you the option to set up automated backups of your server. Starting from the General Purpose<\/em> server plans, the Day plan<\/em>, which takes a backup every day and replaces the backup from the previous day, is included for free. You can choose to move up to the weekly, monthly, or yearly plans depending on your business needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    For this tutorial, leave the automated backups disabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Operating System<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    After the hardware configuration is done, it\u2019s time to choose the operating system for the server. UpCloud provides you with a few popular public templates to choose from along with the option of a wider variety of distributions under the CDROM tab and the ability to download and install nearly any other possible operating system using custom images<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    There are lots of technical considerations, opinions, and personal\/project preferences that need to be taken into account before making this choice. However, for this tutorial, select AlmaLinux 9<\/strong> as it is a lightweight option compared to enterprise distributions of Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Note: The commands used in this tutorial have been written with AlmaLinux in mind, so using a different OS might cause you to run into unexpected issues.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Network<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next, you can configure the network settings of the server. All server plans include public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and a private Utility Network connection by default. You also have the option to create SDN private networks<\/a> and attach them to the server if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    You can leave this section as it is and move ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Optionals<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    This section allows you to enable or disable the metadata service for your server and configure anti-affinity server groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    The metadata service<\/a> is an API that provides information about the deployed cloud server to the server environment itself. This information is used when running cloud initialization scripts after the initial deployment. Anti-affinity server groups<\/a> allow servers to be arranged into groups that try to place their members on separate hosts to achieve high fault tolerance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Since you\u2019ve selected AlmaLinux for this tutorial (and it is a cloud-init enabled template), the metadata service is enabled by default. You can skip the anti-affinity server group for now and move ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Login Method<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    This is an important part of the server setup. The login method section requires you to either configure an SSH key pair to authenticate with your server or set it to use one-time passwords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    AlmaLinux does not support one-time passwords, so you need to create an SSH key pair<\/a> and add its public key here by clicking on the + Add new<\/strong> button<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    On MacOS and Windows environments, you will need the ssh-keygen<\/a> tool to create the key pair. Open up a terminal window and run the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    ssh-keygen -t rsa<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The tool will ask you to choose a location where the file will be saved:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Generating public\/private rsa key pair.<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Enter file in which to save the key (\/Users\/kumarharsh\/.ssh\/id_rsa):<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    If you do not want to overwrite your current ~\/.ssh\/id_rsa<\/strong> key, provide a new file location, such as .\/id_rsa_fact-gen_ci<\/code>, and press Enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The tool will then ask you for a passphrase. It is recommended to not set a passphrase to avoid running into issues when setting up the CI to use these keys. Press Enter twice to complete the key generation. Here\u2019s what the output will look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \u2717 ssh-keygen -t rsa\nGenerating public\/private rsa key pair.\nEnter file in which to save the key (\/Users\/kumarharsh\/.ssh\/id_rsa): id_rsa_fact-gen_ci\nEnter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): \nEnter same passphrase again: \nYour identification has been saved in id_rsa_fact-gen_ci\nYour public key has been saved in id_rsa_fact-gen_ci.pub\nThe key fingerprint is:\nSHA256:lUtVhsM0qmpQxmy3TOWuZx1ZbEy81pdoMXU3CfTGZm0 kumarharsh@Kumars-Macbook-Air.local\nThe key's randomart image is:\n+---[RSA 3072]----+\n|          .o=**o+|\n...\n|                 |\n+----[SHA256]-----+<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You will now be able to view the public key by running the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \u2717 cat id_rsa_fact-gen_ci.pub\nssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABgQC01PFioPM8+7Paexj7euO7NCzY5wUuJJ+eLy1bmu0qT2n5mPx02mtOUT\/0jESSV4zPsaMov4Qz3kX0pHk7vCgzGdQ1uupPQe1qKPJglRTut0ZBzWauxmOff+6ysPi11lSrdLgY5zSKTgib746q7lDLKqR0DD2vNod9m6N6wO1xD9NBwbr\/GeYxhzp8Ct05VCMjLs2ejXN6h5aFmo1g1vcaiqFnTlK+hf6y2dBCIaUB3uoZNsysmMTqw+BJegpoI44zn7JKIquqg\/7BnIP6INMgyCjoNLC3kbHxoWtSbVskbE61HDvyQS1F2PVhwmJVpcNdUfSpf9kskT7UdaYhTroYIF+G0XmDEr4zKW9Sb0zlzaDdGFBu1yowH5BGBEyfSDGdx3W6HdDCygemuLUj6Huv0akv\/y6DhoH0FvJvQMLwJMvVd6kjhYDJ7VF0rcGp\/r2BcSBdbtNiTtXFIHPVFqLACilHJmfdLL78E9zwvci57h3trwZJbZ3fdSy1QeJ2kaU= kumarharsh@Kumars-Macbook-Air.local<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    For Windows, you can use the PuTTYgen key generator that comes with the PuTTY SSH client to generate the keys. You can find instructions for that <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    You need to copy the value of the public key (starting from ssh-rsa AA..<\/code> to ..Air.local<\/code> in the example above) and paste it into the popup box that opens on the Deploy a new server<\/strong> page along with a name to remember it by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Once done, click on the Save the SSH key<\/strong> button and the key will be added to the new server:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    The key also gets automatically saved to your UpCloud account so that you can easily attach it to any resources that you create in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Initialization Script<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next, you have the option to add an initialization script<\/a> to the deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Normally, right after you set up a cloud server, you will have a list of things to do before you start deploying your applications on it. It can include anything from upgrading installed packages to configuring tools and setting up user accounts. Initialization scripts help you automate these tasks instead of having to manually do them after the server is deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Since you will be deploying a Node.js application to this server, you need to ensure that Node is installed on it. You will also need the git<\/code> CLI tool to interact with the repository and pull in the code. And, since the project uses yarn<\/code> to manage dependencies and scripts, you will need to install it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    To have the server automatically do that after it is deployed, add the following code snippet to the initialization script textbox:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    #!\/bin\/bash \nsudo dnf update -y\nsudo dnf install curl dnf-plugins-core -y\nsudo dnf module install nodejs:22 -y\nsudo dnf install git -y\nnpm install --global yarn\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Remember to add the line #!\/bin\/bash<\/code> to the top of the script to make sure the OS understands what kind of interpreter it needs to run this script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Here\u2019s how it will look when you\u2019ve set up the initialization script correctly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    UpCloud also allows you to save initialization scripts and reuse them when creating servers. You can do that by clicking the + Add as saved script<\/strong> button. Saved scripts will be available in the dropdown next to Load a saved script<\/strong> when you create a server next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Naming the Server and the Host<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Finally, you need to provide a name for the host and server. Choose anything simple and relevant, such as random-facts-generator<\/code> for the host and random-facts-generator-server<\/code> for the server:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Now, you are ready to deploy the server. Click on the Deploy<\/strong> button and wait for the server to be deployed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    You can click on the server name to view its details and state. Once it\u2019s deployed and started, you will see the state Started<\/strong> on its details page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    You are now ready to connect to the server!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    You can scroll down to the bottom of the server details page to find the instructions to connect to your newly created server via SSH:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \"-\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Running the command ssh root@<server-ip-address> <\/code>will connect you to the server via SSH. If you chose a custom location for your SSH key when creating it, you will need to either add it to your keystore by running ssh-add .\/id_rsa_fact-gen_ci <\/code>before you run the ssh connect command or supply the private key file to the ssh command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    ssh -i .\/id_rsa_fact-gen_ci root@<server-ip-address><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Once you\u2019re connected successfully, you will receive a similar output:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \u2717 ssh root@95.111.197.195\nThe authenticity of host '95.111.197.195 (95.111.197.195)' can't be established.\nED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:0UMHPBBghugwpkt+MzrRRfQSRqUPKv3uEa4TkTaWTxY.\nThis key is not known by any other names.\nAre you sure you want to continue connecting (yes\/no\/[fingerprint])? yes\nWarning: Permanently added '95.111.197.195' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.\n[root@random-facts-generator ~]# <\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You can now run commands on the server to set up your application for the first time. You can ensure that Node, git, and yarn are set up correctly by running the following commands:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    [root@random-facts-generator ~]# node -v\nv22.11.0\n[root@random-facts-generator ~]# git -v\ngit version 2.43.5\n[root@random-facts-generator ~]# yarn -v\n1.22.22<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Option 2: Through the <\/strong>upctl<\/strong> CLI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    While the dashboard helps you carefully configure your server, it can be a time-consuming process. UpCloud also allows users to manage its resources through its CLI called upctl<\/a>. You can find detailed instructions on how to set it up here<\/a> based on your operating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Once you have set up upctl correctly and authenticated with your UpCloud account, running the following command should print the details of your UpCloud account:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \u2717 upctl account show\n  \n  Username: kumarharsh \n  Credits:  \u20ac100.52   \n  \n  Resource Limits:\n    Cores:                      100 \n    Detached Floating IPs:       10 \n    Load balancers:              50 \n    Managed object storages:     20 \n    Memory:                  307200 \n    Network peerings:           100 \n    Networks:                   100 \n    NTP excess GiB:               0 \n    Public IPv4:                 20 \n    Public IPv6:                100 \n    Storage HDD:              10240 \n    Storage MaxIOPS:          10240 \n    Storage SSD:              10240 <\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    upctl <\/code>can help you set up a server exactly the same as you saw above with just one command:
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n
    upctl server create \n  --title \"Random Facts Generator Server\" \n  --zone sg-sin1 \n  --os \"AlmaLinux 9\" \n  --hostname random-facts-generator-server \n  --ssh-keys key\/id_rsa_fact-gen_ci.pub \n  --plan DEV-1xCPU-1GB-10GB \n  --user-data \"$(cat init-script)\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Here\u2019s a quick explanation of the arguments used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n