Deploy a Node.js App to EC2 using Ansible

🎯 Objective

Use Ansible to automate deploying a basic Node.js app on an EC2 instance running Amazon Linux 2.

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🧰 Tools Used

• Amazon Linux 2 EC2

• Ansible

• Node.js

• Git (optional)

• SSH

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🛠️ Basic Node.js App Code (Use this)

Create a folder on your Ansible controller named nodejs-basic-app and add these files:

index.js

const http = require('http');
const port = 3000;

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.statusCode = 200;
  res.end('Hello from Node.js App deployed using Ansible!');
});

server.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running at http://localhost:${port}`);
});

package.json

{
  "name": "nodejs-basic-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js"
  }
}

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🪜 Step-by-Step Instructions

1️⃣ Prepare Target EC2 Instance

• Launch Amazon Linux 2 EC2

• Enable port 3000 in the Security Group

• Allow SSH access from your Ansible controller

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2️⃣ Install Ansible on Controller (if not installed)

sudo yum update -y
sudo amazon-linux-extras enable ansible2
sudo yum install ansible -y

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3️⃣ Create Ansible Inventory

inventory.ini

[nodejs]
target-ec2 ansible_host=YOUR_EC2_PUBLIC_IP ansible_user=ec2-user ansible_ssh_private_key_file=~/.ssh/your-key.pem

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4️⃣ Create Ansible Playbook

deploy-nodejs.yml

- name: Deploy Basic Node.js App
  hosts: nodejs
  become: yes

  tasks:
    - name: Install Git and Node.js
      shell: |
        yum install -y git
        curl -sL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_16.x | bash -
        yum install -y nodejs
      args:
        executable: /bin/bash

    - name: Copy App Files to EC2
      copy:
        src: ./nodejs-basic-app
        dest: /home/ec2-user/nodejs-basic-app
        owner: ec2-user
        group: ec2-user
        mode: 0755

    - name: Install npm dependencies
      shell: npm install
      args:
        chdir: /home/ec2-user/nodejs-basic-app

    - name: Start the Node.js app
      shell: nohup node index.js &
      args:
        chdir: /home/ec2-user/nodejs-basic-app

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5️⃣ Run the Playbook

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini deploy-nodejs.yml

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🔍 What You Learn Today

• Install Node.js on Amazon Linux

• Use Ansible to copy files and automate deployment

• Run a basic app on EC2, accessible via http://<EC2-PUBLIC-IP>:3000

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🧠 How It Works