Milan Praz

Deploying an app on a VPS often feels intimidating at first — SSH access, Linux commands, server configs, and reverse proxies can look overwhelming. But once your VPS is prepared, deployment becomes a simple and repeatable workflow.

In this article, I’ll show you how to deploy your app on a VPS in just 5 steps using Git, PM2, and Nginx. This approach works perfectly for Astro apps, Node.js APIs, Next.js, and other modern web projects.

Why Deploy on a VPS?

Using a VPS gives you:

Full control over your server
Better performance than shared hosting
Freedom to run any stack you want
Host multiple projects on one server

Prerequisites

Ensure your VPS has:

Node.js installed
PM2 installed (npm install -g pm2)
Nginx installed
A domain pointing to your VPS IP

Step 1: Clone Your Project from Git

SSH into your VPS and clone your project:

ssh user@your-vps-ip
cd /var/www
git clone https://github.com/your-org/your-project.git
cd your-project

For private repositories, use SSH cloning instead.

Step 2: Setup Environment Variables and Install Dependencies

Most apps require environment variables (ports, database URLs, secrets).

cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Example:

NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000
DATABASE_URL=your_db_url

Save and exit.

Install dependencies and build the project:

npm install
npm run build

Don’t skip the build step — production apps should never run unbuilt source code.

Step 3: Run the App with PM2 (Using an Ecosystem File)

While PM2 allows you to start apps with a single command, the recommended production approach is to use an ecosystem configuration file. This keeps your deployment clean, reproducible, and version-controlled.

Create `ecosystem.config.js`

Inside your project root, create the file:

nano ecosystem.config.js

Add the Configuration

Add the following configuration to the file:

module.exports = {
  apps: [
    {
      name: 'my-app',
      script: 'npm',
      args: 'start',
      cwd: '/var/www/your-project',
      env: {
        NODE_ENV: 'production',
        PORT: 3000,
      },
    },
  ],
};

This file tells PM2:

What command to run
Where the app lives
Which environment variables to use
How to identify the process

Start the App with PM2

Run:

pm2 start ecosystem.config.js

Monitor the App

You can check status and logs anytime:

pm2 list
pm2 logs my-app

At this point, your app is running in the background and ready to be exposed via Nginx.

Step 4: Expose the App Using Nginx

Create an Nginx config to route traffic from your domain to the app.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-app

Paste this:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Enable and reload:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-app /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

🎉 Your app is now live!

Step 5: Secure Your App with SSL (HTTPS)

Running your app over HTTPS is no longer optional — it improves security, SEO, and user trust. The easiest way to enable SSL on a VPS is using Certbot with Nginx.

Install Certbot

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Generate an SSL Certificate

Replace the domain names with your own:

sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

Certbot will:

verify your domain
automatically update your Nginx config
enable HTTPS

Once completed, your site will be accessible at:

https://example.com

BONUS: Updating Your App Later

After deployment, updating your app is straightforward:

git pull origin main
npm install
npm run build
pm2 restart my-app

This workflow stays the same for every update.

Deploy Your App on a VPS in Just 5 Steps