AWS for Developers — Deploy a Node.js App With EC2, RDS, and S3 (2026)

AWS for Developers — Deploy a Node.js App With EC2, RDS, and S3 (2026) | Expliq

Component	AWS Service	Purpose	Free Tier
Web server	EC2 t3.micro	Runs Node.js + Nginx	750 hrs/month
Database	RDS db.t3.micro (Postgres)	Managed Postgres	750 hrs/month
File storage	S3	User uploads, static assets	5GB
Secrets	SSM Parameter Store	Environment variables	10,000 params free
DNS	Route 53 (optional)	Domain management	$0.50/zone/month
SSL	Let's Encrypt (Certbot)	HTTPS certificate	Free

bash

Connect to Your EC2 Instance

# Connect via SSH
ssh -i ~/.ssh/my-app-key.pem ubuntu@YOUR_EC2_PUBLIC_IP

# Add to ~/.ssh/config for convenience
Host myapp
    HostName YOUR_EC2_PUBLIC_IP
    User ubuntu
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/my-app-key.pem

# Then just: ssh myapp

bash

Server Setup (run on EC2)

# Update system packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js 22 (LTS) via NodeSource
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Verify
node --version  # v22.x.x
npm --version   # 10.x.x

# Install PM2 globally
sudo npm install -g pm2

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install -y nginx

# Install Git
sudo apt install -y git

# Verify Nginx is running
sudo systemctl status nginx
# Open http://YOUR_EC2_IP in browser — you should see Nginx welcome page

bash

Test Database Connection from EC2

# Install Postgres client on EC2
sudo apt install -y postgresql-client

# Test connection (use your RDS endpoint from the AWS console)
psql -h YOUR_RDS_ENDPOINT.rds.amazonaws.com -U postgres -d postgres

# You should see the psql prompt
# q to exit

bash

Create S3 Bucket via AWS CLI

# Install AWS CLI on EC2
sudo apt install -y awscli

# Or install the newer v2
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
unzip awscliv2.zip && sudo ./aws/install

typescript

src/lib/s3.ts — S3 Upload Helper

import { S3Client, PutObjectCommand, GetObjectCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-s3';
import { getSignedUrl } from '@aws-sdk/s3-request-presigner';
import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';

// No credentials needed — uses EC2 instance role automatically
const s3 = new S3Client({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION ?? 'ap-south-1' });
const BUCKET = process.env.S3_BUCKET!;

export async function uploadFile(file: Buffer, mimeType: string, folder = 'uploads') {
  const key = `${folder}/${randomUUID()}`;
  await s3.send(new PutObjectCommand({
    Bucket: BUCKET,
    Key: key,
    Body: file,
    ContentType: mimeType,
  }));
  return key;
}

// Generate a time-limited URL for private files
export async function getSignedDownloadUrl(key: string, expiresIn = 3600) {
  const command = new GetObjectCommand({ Bucket: BUCKET, Key: key });
  return getSignedUrl(s3, command, { expiresIn });
}

bash

Store Secrets via AWS CLI (run locally)

# Store secrets as SecureString (encrypted with KMS)
aws ssm put-parameter   --name "/my-app/production/DATABASE_URL"   --value "postgresql://postgres:PASSWORD@YOUR_RDS_ENDPOINT:5432/myapp"   --type SecureString   --region ap-south-1

aws ssm put-parameter   --name "/my-app/production/JWT_ACCESS_SECRET"   --value "$(openssl rand -hex 32)"   --type SecureString   --region ap-south-1

aws ssm put-parameter   --name "/my-app/production/JWT_REFRESH_SECRET"   --value "$(openssl rand -hex 32)"   --type SecureString   --region ap-south-1

typescript

src/lib/config.ts — Load Secrets from Parameter Store

import { SSMClient, GetParametersByPathCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-ssm';

const ssm = new SSMClient({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION ?? 'ap-south-1' });
const PREFIX = '/my-app/production/';

export async function loadSecrets(): Promise<void> {
  if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') return; // use .env in dev

  const result = await ssm.send(new GetParametersByPathCommand({
    Path: PREFIX,
    WithDecryption: true,
    Recursive: true,
  }));

  for (const param of result.Parameters ?? []) {
    const name = param.Name!.replace(PREFIX, '');
    process.env[name] = param.Value!;
  }
}

// Call at app startup, before anything else:
// await loadSecrets();
// const app = express(); ...

bash

Deploy App to EC2

# On EC2: clone your repository
cd /home/ubuntu
git clone https://github.com/your-username/your-app.git app
cd app

# Install production dependencies only
npm ci --only=production

# Build TypeScript (if applicable)
npm run build

# Create PM2 ecosystem config
cat > ecosystem.config.js << 'EOF'
module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'my-app',
    script: 'dist/server.js',      // or 'src/server.js' for non-TS
    instances: 'max',               // use all CPU cores
    exec_mode: 'cluster',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 3000,
      AWS_REGION: 'ap-south-1',
    },
    error_file: '/var/log/my-app/error.log',
    out_file:   '/var/log/my-app/out.log',
    log_date_format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss',
  }]
};
EOF

# Create log directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/log/my-app
sudo chown ubuntu:ubuntu /var/log/my-app

# Start app with PM2
pm2 start ecosystem.config.js

# Save PM2 process list and auto-start on reboot
pm2 save
pm2 startup  # follow the printed instructions to enable systemd startup

nginx

/etc/nginx/sites-available/my-app

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com www.your-domain.com;
    # Or use your EC2 IP if you don't have a domain yet

    # Proxy all requests to Node.js
    location / {
        proxy_pass         http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header   Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header   Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header   Host $host;
        proxy_set_header   X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }

    # Increase upload size for file uploads
    client_max_body_size 10M;
}

bash

Enable Nginx Config and Add HTTPS

# Enable the site
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-app /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default   # remove default site

# Test Nginx config syntax
sudo nginx -t

# Reload Nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

# Add HTTPS with Let's Encrypt (requires a domain pointed at your EC2 IP)
sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com -d www.your-domain.com

# Certbot auto-renews — verify the timer
sudo systemctl status certbot.timer

bash

deploy.sh — Run on EC2 for Each Deployment

#!/bin/bash
set -e   # exit on any error

APP_DIR=/home/ubuntu/app

echo "Pulling latest code..."
cd $APP_DIR
git pull origin main

echo "Installing dependencies..."
npm ci --only=production

echo "Building..."
npm run build

echo "Reloading app (zero downtime)..."
pm2 reload ecosystem.config.js --update-env

echo "Deploy complete. Status:"
pm2 status

bash

Run deploy from local machine

# Copy deploy script to server once
scp deploy.sh myapp:/home/ubuntu/app/deploy.sh
ssh myapp "chmod +x /home/ubuntu/app/deploy.sh"

# Deploy on every push
ssh myapp "/home/ubuntu/app/deploy.sh"

bash

Useful Commands

# PM2 — view app status
pm2 status
pm2 monit          # real-time CPU and memory

# PM2 — view logs
pm2 logs my-app
pm2 logs my-app --lines 100

# Nginx — view access/error logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

# System resources
htop               # interactive process viewer (sudo apt install htop)
df -h              # disk usage
free -h            # memory usage

# Check app is responding
curl http://localhost:3000/health

Service	Free Tier	After Free Tier (approx)	Notes
EC2 t3.micro	750 hrs/month × 12 months	~₹620/month	~$7.50/month
RDS db.t3.micro	750 hrs/month × 12 months	~₹1,150/month	~$14/month
S3 (5GB)	5GB + 20K requests	~₹7/GB/month	Very cheap at small scale
Data transfer	15GB/month free	~₹7/GB after 15GB	Outbound only
Parameter Store	10,000 standard params	Free for standard tier	Encrypted SecureString: ~₹0.30/param/month
Route 53	Not in free tier	~₹40/hosted zone/month	Optional

AWS for Developers — Deploy a Node.js App With EC2, RDS, and S3 (2026)

Why AWS for Your Node.js App

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Architecture Overview

Step 1 — Launch an EC2 Instance

Step 2 — Set Up the Server

Step 3 — Create RDS Postgres Database

Step 4 — Create S3 Bucket for File Storage

Step 5 — Store Secrets in Parameter Store

Step 6 — Deploy Your Application

Step 7 — Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

Step 8 — Zero-Downtime Deployment Script

Step 9 — Monitoring and Logs

Cost Breakdown

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