Creating a service to run the node.js listening app

by Lance Gold

After app.js listens on port 3000, Create a service to run it on systemctl

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Here are some of the references used for this:
Google A.I.
debian how to tun node.js app as a service

debian what is the /bin/false file

Currently the node.js app runs here: 


you@de:/opt/nginx_server_project$ node server.js
Listening for request

with the following permissions: 


you@de:/etc/nginx/sites-available$ ls -l /opt/nginx_server_project/server.js
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 548 Feb  3 23:47 /opt/nginx_server_project/server.js
you@de:/etc/nginx/sites-available$

Step 1: Prepare the ownership and permission for the service files

Create a dedicated user for security, non-root. The new system user does not login, does not have a home directory, and system user accounts don't have password aging. They are intented for ownership of files and running system services (like mysql, nginx): www-data. 


you@de:~$ sudo useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin my-servicer
you@de:~$
-r creates a system account

-s assigns /sbin/nologin (or /bin/false ) unusable login shell to the account.

There is a file /bin/false which is a program that returns a 1. If someone tries to log in with this user's command shell, the login fails

Grant this system user my-servicer access to the node.js application library

Here are the permissions before: 


you@de:~$ ls -l /opt
total 12
drwxrwxr-x 2 root ndev 4096 Feb  3 22:39 html
drwxrwxr-x 2 root ndev 4096 Feb  3 23:47 nginx_server_project
drwxrwxr-x 3 root ndev 4096 Feb  2 19:09 python_server_project
you@de:~$ ls -l /opt/nginx_server_project
total 8
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 234 Jan 31 09:34 package.json
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 548 Feb  3 23:47 server.js
you@de:~$



Here is the change of permissions ( -R changes recursively):




you@de:~$ sudo chown -R my-servicer:my-servicer /opt/nginx_server_project
you@de:~$

you@de:~$ ls -l /opt
total 12
drwxrwxr-x 2 root        ndev        4096 Feb  3 22:39 html
drwxrwxr-x 2 my-servicer my-servicer 4096 Feb  3 23:47 nginx_server_project
drwxrwxr-x 3 root        ndev        4096 Feb  2 19:09 python_server_project
you@de:~$

you@de:~$ ls -l /opt/nginx_server_project
total 8
-rw-r--r-- 1 my-servicer my-servicer 234 Jan 31 09:34 package.json
-rw-r--r-- 1 my-servicer my-servicer 548 Feb  3 23:47 server.js
you@de:~$





Step 2: Create a systemd Service File




Create a service file with a .service extension in the /etc/systemd/system/ directory. 




you@de:~$ sudo touch /etc/systemd/system/nginx_server.serivce
[sudo] password for x:
you@de:~$





Add the following configuration, modifying the Description, ExecStart, WorkingDirectory, and User to match your application's specifics: 




[Unit]
Description=My Node.js Application Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=my-nodejs-app-user
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/your/app/directory
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /path/to/your/app/app.js
Restart=on-failure
Environment=NODE_ENV=production

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target





Here is the file:




[Unit]
Description=A Node.js Application web server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=my-servicer
WorkingDirectory=/opt/nginx_server_project
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /opt/nginx_server_project/server.js
Restart=on-failure
Environment=NODE_ENV=production

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target





Added description:




•After=network.target: Ensures the service starts after the network is available.


•ExecStart: Specifies the command to run your application. Replace /usr/bin/node with the output of which node if different.


•Restart=on-failure: Automatically restarts your app if it crashes.


•Environment=NODE_ENV=production: Sets an environment variable, useful for configuring your app's behavior. 






Stop the command line process of the app if it is running.




you@de:/opt/nginx_server_project$ node server.js
Listening for request
^C
you@de:/opt/nginx_server_project$





Step 3: Manage the Service




After creating the file, use these commands to manage your new service: 


Reload systemd: This tells systemd to recognize the new service file.






sudo systemctl daemon-reload





Enable the service: This ensures the application starts automatically on boot.




sudo systemctl enable my-app.service





Start the service:




sudo systemctl start my-app.service





Check the status and logs:




sudo systemctl status my-app.service
journalctl -u my-app.service -f





The journalctl command with the -f flag allows you to view the live logs (stdout and stderr) of your application. Press Ctrl+C to exit the log viewer. 




You can also use sudo systemctl restart my-app.service or sudo systemctl stop my-app.service to manage the service as needed. 





Before loading:




you@de:~$ sudo systemctl status nginx_server.service
[sudo] password for x:
○ nginx_server.service - A Node.js Application web server
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/nginx_server.service; d>
     Active: inactive (dead)
lines 1-3/3 (END)



Press <ctrl-c>you@de to exit




you@de:~$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
you@de:~$ sudo systemctl enable nginx_server.service
Created symlink '/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/nginx_server.service' → '/etc/systemd/system/nginx_server.service'.
you@de:~$ sudo systemctl start nginx_server.service
you@de:~$

you@de:~$ sudo systemctl status nginx_server.service
● nginx_server.service - A Node.js Application web server
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/nginx_server.service; e...
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2026-02-04 18:43:16 PST;...
 Invocation: a4edf49d211b43319fdc2ec7b1372553
   Main PID: 2055839 (node)
      Tasks: 11 (limit: 2303)
     Memory: 12.6M (peak: 16.8M)
        CPU: 508ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/nginx_server.service
             └─2055839 /usr/bin/node /opt/nginx_server_project/s>

Feb 04 18:43:16 c7.xcvvc.com systemd[1]: Started nginx_server.se>
Feb 04 18:43:16 c7.xcvvc.com node[2055839]: Listening for request
lines 1-13/13 (END)