How to Deploy a NestJS Application with Nginx on Ubuntu 22.04

NestJS is a progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, reliable, and scalable server-side applications. It leverages TypeScript to bring robust type-checking and enhanced developer productivity to the Node.js ecosystem. Angular’s architecture inspires NestJS and uses similar concepts such as modules, controllers, services, and decorators, making it familiar to developers with experience in Angular or similar frameworks.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to deploy NestJS on Ubuntu 22.04.

Step 1 – Install NodeJS

The latest NodeJS version is not included by default in the Ubuntu default repository. Therefore, you will need to install it from the NodeJS official repository.

First, create a directory to store the NodeJS key file.

mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings

Next, download the GPG key using the following command:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg

Then, add the NodeJS repo to the APT source file.

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_18.x nodistro main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list

Finally, update the repository index and install NodeJS using the following command:

apt update
apt-get install -y nodejs

You can verify the NodeJS version using the following command:

node -v

Output:

v18.19.1

Step 2 – Install NestJS

You can use the NPM to install the Nest CLI easily.

npm i -g @nestjs/cli

Next, create a project for NestJS using the following command:

nest new project

Select the NPM package manager and press the Enter key to create a project.

⚡  We will scaffold your app in a few seconds..

? Which package manager would you ❤️  to use? (Use arrow keys)
❯ npm 
  yarn 
  pnpm 
? Which package manager would you ❤️  to use? npm
CREATE project/.eslintrc.js (663 bytes)
CREATE project/.prettierrc (51 bytes)
CREATE project/README.md (3340 bytes)
CREATE project/nest-cli.json (171 bytes)
CREATE project/package.json (1946 bytes)
CREATE project/tsconfig.build.json (97 bytes)
CREATE project/tsconfig.json (546 bytes)
CREATE project/src/app.controller.ts (274 bytes)
CREATE project/src/app.module.ts (249 bytes)
CREATE project/src/app.service.ts (142 bytes)
CREATE project/src/main.ts (208 bytes)
CREATE project/src/app.controller.spec.ts (617 bytes)
CREATE project/test/jest-e2e.json (183 bytes)
CREATE project/test/app.e2e-spec.ts (630 bytes)

✔ Installation in progress... ☕

🚀  Successfully created project project
👉  Get started with the following commands:

$ cd project
$ npm run start

                                         
                          Thanks for installing Nest 🙏
                 Please consider donating to our open collective
                        to help us maintain this package.
                                         
                                         
               🍷  Donate: https://opencollective.com/nest

Next, change the directory to the project and download the typescript.

cd project
git clone https://github.com/nestjs/typescript-starter.git 

Then, install all the required dependencies.

npm install

Next, start your application.

npm run start

You will see the following output:

[Nest] 185741  - 03/14/2024, 3:17:45 PM     LOG [NestFactory] Starting Nest application...
[Nest] 185741  - 03/14/2024, 3:17:45 PM     LOG [InstanceLoader] AppModule dependencies initialized +15ms
[Nest] 185741  - 03/14/2024, 3:17:45 PM     LOG [RoutesResolver] AppController {/}: +40ms
[Nest] 185741  - 03/14/2024, 3:17:45 PM     LOG [RouterExplorer] Mapped {/, GET} route +3ms
[Nest] 185741  - 03/14/2024, 3:17:45 PM     LOG [NestApplication] Nest application successfully started +2ms

Press the CTRL + C to stop the application.

You can also test your application using the following command:

npm run test

You will see the following output:

> [email protected] test
> jest

 PASS  src/app.controller.spec.ts (5.578 s)
  AppController
    root
      ✓ should return "Hello World!" (16 ms)

Test Suites: 1 passed, 1 total
Tests:       1 passed, 1 total
Snapshots:   0 total
Time:        5.679 s
Ran all test suites.

Step 3 – Use PM2 to Manage the NestJS Application

First, install PM2 using the following command:

npm install -g pm2

Next, start your NestJS application using the following command:

pm2 start dist/src/main.js --name "nestjs.example.com"

Next, run the following command to start your application at system startup.

pm2 startup

Now, save your service configuration using the following command:

pm2 save

Step 4 – Configure Nginx for NestJS

First, install the Nginx server using the following command:

apt install nginx -y

Next, create an Nginx virtual host for NestJS.

nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/nestjs.conf

Add the following configuration:

server {
  server_name nestjs.example.com;
    location / {
      proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
      proxy_http_version 1.1;
      proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
      proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
      proxy_set_header Host $host;
      proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Save the file, then edit the Nginx main configuration file.

nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Add the following line after the file http {:

server_names_hash_bucket_size 64;

Finally, restart the Nginx service to apply the changes.

systemctl restart nginx

Step 5 – Access the NestJS Application

At this point, your NestJS application is created with Nginx as a reverse proxy. You can now access it using the URL http://nestjs.example.com. You will see the NestJS application on the following page.

Conclusion

NestJS provides developers with a streamlined pathway to harnessing the power of this modern Node.js framework for building efficient and scalable server-side applications. By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this article, users can quickly set up NestJS on their Ubuntu systems, leveraging its robust features and architectural patterns to accelerate development workflows. You can now use the NestJS framework on dedicated server hosting from Atlantic.Net!