How to Deploy a Node.js App (Express, Next.js and More)

This guide shows how to host a Node.js application on OpenPanel - an Express API, a Next.js or Nuxt site, NestJS, or any other Node server. The app runs in its own Node.js container, and OpenPanel's web server forwards your domain to it with free SSL.

How It Works​

• Your code lives in the domain folder, e.g. /var/www/html/example.com/.
• OpenPanel runs an official node container with that folder as the working directory.
• On every start it can run npm install, then your startup command.
• The web server proxies https://example.com to the port your app listens on. WebSockets are supported.

Your app must listen on 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces), not 127.0.0.1.

Step 1: Add the Domain and Upload the Code​

1. Add the domain in OpenPanel → Domains (Add a new domain).
2. Upload the project to the domain folder with the File Manager or FTP - without node_modules/. Or deploy it from Git (below).

Step 2: Create the Application​

Go to OpenPanel → Websites → Install App → Setup Node.js Application and fill in:

Click Start Installation, then open your domain.

Minimal Express app​

// app.js
const express = require("express");
const app = express();
const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;

app.get("/", (req, res) => res.send("Hello from Node.js on OpenPanel!"));

app.listen(port, "0.0.0.0", () => console.log(`Listening on ${port}`));

Other frameworks​

Deploy from Git​

Enter an https:// Git repository URL when creating the app. Every time the container starts, it fetches the latest commit of the default branch.

To deploy a new version: push to the repository, then Restart the app from its manage page. Only public repositories over https:// are supported.

Environment Variables​

Put settings and secrets in a .env file in the app folder and load them with dotenv (Next.js and Nuxt read .env automatically):

NODE_ENV=production
DATABASE_URL=mysql://dbuser:dbpass@mysql:3306/dbname

Restart the app after changing .env. Don't commit it to Git.

Databases and Redis​

Inside OpenPanel, services are reached by name - never localhost:

See connecting to MySQL from applications.

Managing the App​

In OpenPanel → Websites → Sites, click Manage next to the app to start, stop or restart it, view Logs (console.log output and errors), edit package.json and run npm under Install Packages, and change the Node version, startup command and CPU/memory limits under Overview.

More: Node.js applications.

Troubleshooting​

Related​

• Self-host n8n
• Deploy a Flask app
• Deploy a Ruby app