Deploying a Node.js App with GitHub Actions and Docker on AWS EC2 – Step-by-Step Guide

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Deploying a Node.js App with GitHub Actions and Docker on AWS EC2

Are you looking to deploy your Node.js app with modern automation techniques? In this guide, you’ll learn how to use GitHub Actions, Docker, and AWS EC2 to create a production-grade deployment pipeline.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

A GitHub account with your Node.js project pushed to a repository.
A basic Node.js app (Express, for example).
Docker installed locally.
An AWS EC2 instance (Ubuntu preferred) with SSH access.
A domain name (optional).

🛠 Step 1: Create Your Node.js App

If you already have one, skip this step.

mkdir my-node-app
cd my-node-app
npm init -y
npm install express

Create a simple server in index.js:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const PORT = 3000;

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello from Node.js + Docker!');
});

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
});

🐳 Step 2: Dockerize the Application

Create a Dockerfile in your project root:

FROM node:18

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install

COPY . .

EXPOSE 3000

CMD ["node", "index.js"]

Then add a .dockerignore file:

node_modules
npm-debug.log

🔧 Step 3: Test the Docker Image Locally

docker build -t my-node-app .
docker run -p 3000:3000 my-node-app

Visit http://localhost:3000 to test the app.

☁️ Step 4: Prepare AWS EC2 for Deployment

Launch an Ubuntu EC2 instance.
SSH into the instance:

ssh -i your-key.pem ubuntu@your-ec2-public-ip

Install Docker:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io -y
sudo usermod -aG docker ubuntu

(Optional) Install Docker Compose if needed.

🔐 Step 5: Set Up SSH Access from GitHub Actions to EC2

Generate SSH keys locally (if not already):

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "ci-cd-deploy"

Add the public key (.pub) to /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys on your EC2 instance.
In your GitHub repo, go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions and add the following:

Name	Value
`EC2_HOST`	Your EC2 public IP
`EC2_USERNAME`	`ubuntu`
`EC2_SSH_KEY`	Contents of your private key

🔁 Step 6: Configure GitHub Actions Workflow

Create .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

name: Deploy to EC2

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Install SSH key
        uses: webfactory/[email protected]
        with:
          ssh-private-key: ${{ secrets.EC2_SSH_KEY }}

      - name: Deploy via SSH
        run: |
          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no ${{ secrets.EC2_USERNAME }}@${{ secrets.EC2_HOST }} << 'EOF'
            cd my-node-app || git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_REPO.git my-node-app && cd my-node-app
            git pull origin main
            docker stop my-node-app || true
            docker rm my-node-app || true
            docker build -t my-node-app .
            docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name my-node-app my-node-app
          EOF