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How to Setup a Koa.js Node Application on Ubuntu 20.04 with Nginx

Author: Nabeel Ahmed

Last Updated: Wed, Feb 9, 2022
Programming Ubuntu Web Servers

Overview

Koa.js is a modern web framework built on Node.js. It allows developers to build high-performace and scalable web applications by focusing on a concise and extendible API built on asynchronous functionality in Node.js.

Prerequisites

Install Nodejs & Yarn

Koa requires Node.js version v7.6.0 or higher.

  1. Install the latest LTS version of Nodejs.

    $ curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
    
    $ sudo apt-get install nodejs
    
  2. Verify successful Nodejs installation.

    $ node -v
    
    v16.xx.x
    
  3. Install Yarn.

    $ curl -fsSL https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
    
    $ echo "deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list
    
    $ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install yarn
    
  4. Verify successful Yarn installation.

    $ yarn -v
    
    1.2x.xx
    

Setup Application

  1. Create the project root directory.

    $ cd ~
    
    $ mkdir koaserver && cd koaserver
    
  2. Initialize the Node.js project environment through yarn and answer the question prompts according to your project.

    $ yarn init
    
  3. Install Koa.

    $ yarn add koa
    
  4. Create index.js.

    $ touch index.js
    
  5. Add sample code to index.js.

    const Koa = require("koa");
    
    const app = new Koa();
    
    
    
    app.use(async (ctx) => {
    
            ctx.body = "Hello World";
    
    })
    
    
    
    app.listen(3000);
    

Setup PM2

PM2 will manage the Node.js application to run in the background as a system process. PM2 will automatically restart the server if it crashes, handle logs, and monitor performance.

  1. Install PM2.

    $ sudo yarn global add pm2
    
  2. Confirm successful installation.

    $ pm2 -V
    
    5.x.x
    
  3. Navigate to the project folder and start the Koa server through PM2.

    $ cd ~/koaserver
    
    $ pm2 start index.js --name koaserver
    
  4. Set PM2 to run on startup.

    $ eval "$(pm2 startup | tail -1)"
    
  5. Save PM2 configuration.

    $ pm2 save
    

Setup Reverse Proxy through Nginx

  1. Install Nginx.

    $ sudo apt-get install nginx
    
  2. Delete default Nginx server block.

    $ sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default 
    
  3. Create a new Nginx server block.

    $ sudo touch /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/koaserver.conf
    
  4. Add the following text to the file.

    server {
    
        listen 80;
    
        listen [::]:80;
    
    
    
        server_name _;
    
    
    
        location / {
    
            proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
    
        }
    
    }
    
  5. Restart Nginx.

    $ sudo systemctl nginx restart
    
  6. Verify a working server response by navigating to your server's IP address in a browser. You should see a Hello World message.

Setup Firewall

For added security, configure a firewall to restrict access to internal service ports.

  1. Setup UFW rules.

    $ sudo ufw allow 22,80,443/tcp
    

Add any other ports according to your application and needs.

  1. Enable UFW.

    $ sudo ufw enable
    
  2. Verify UFW working.

    $ sudo ufw status
    
    Status: active
    

Conclusion

For more information, refer to the official Koa.js documentation.

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