Deploy an Express.js app

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This guide explains how to deploy your existing Express.js application to seenode.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• A seenode account (sign up free)
• Git configured on your machine
• Existing Express.js project ready to deploy

Configure for seenode Deployment

Port Configuration

Express.js has no default port. Your service must listen on the same port that you configure in the Port field for the web service. Choose a port (for example, 8080) and use it both in your code and in the dashboard.

If you need a refresher on how ports are configured and routed on seenode, see Configuring Your Application’s Port.

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const express = require('express');
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const app = express();
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const port = 8080;
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app.get('/', (req, res) => {
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    res.send('Hello World\nWelcome to Seenode!');
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});
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app.listen(port, () => {
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    console.log(`Example app listening on port ${port}`);
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});

::::note[Why this matters] Express.js has no default port, so you must explicitly specify the port in your code. On seenode, the Port field defaults to 80, and traffic is routed to whatever value it holds, so your app must listen on that same port on host 0.0.0.0 (for example, 8080). You don’t need to set a PORT environment variable; just bind your app to the port shown in the Port field. ::::

Package Scripts

Ensure your package.json includes the following scripts:

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{
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  "name": "example-nodejs-express",
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  "version": "1.0.0",
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  "main": "main.js",
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  "scripts": {
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    "start": "node main.js"
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  },
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  "dependencies": {
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    "express": "^4.18.2"
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  }
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}

Run npm install to create your package-lock.json file.

Deploy on seenode

::::tip[Troubleshooting] If your deployment fails, the first place to check is the Logs tab in your seenode service dashboard. Build and runtime logs often contain valuable information for diagnosing issues.

Port configuration mismatch

• On seenode, the Port field defaults to 80. Ensure your application listens on host 0.0.0.0 and the port set there.
• Update your framework code if needed (for example, change the port value in const port = 8080; or your app.listen(...) call to match the Port field).
• Seeing a 502 Bad Gateway? Your app may not be listening on the expected port. ::::

Starting from Scratch?

If you don’t have an Express.js project yet:

Option 1: Use our Template (Recommended)

Option 2: Create from Express Docs + seenode Setup

Follow the official Express documentation to create a new project, then return here for seenode-specific deployment steps.

seenode-Specific Setup Steps:

1. Create main.js with Express server
2. Configure your server to listen on the port you’ll set in the dashboard (for example, 8080)
3. Set up package.json with start script

Next Steps

Now that your Express.js application is deployed, here are some things you might want to do next: