Node.js as a background service

Node.js as service

This article will explore how to setup Node.js for Linux distros and OSX. For Linux I will systemd as this is supported by most Linux distro. For OSX I will use launchd.

Node.js with systemd

You will need one file for each Node.js application you plan on running. Begin by creating a new file in this folder: /etc/systemd/system. I suggest naming your file the name of your with the extension .service. E.g. endyourif.service

[Unit]
Description=EndYourIf
[Service]
ExecStart=/var/www/endyourif/app.js
Restart=always
User=nobody
Group=nogroup
Environment=PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/endyourif
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

In the above code sample you will need to change the ExecStart and WorkingDirectory to where your application resides.

To start your application, run the following command: systemctl start endyourif.

To run your application on server startup, run the following command: systemctl enable endyourif.

Node.js with launchd

You will need one file for each Node.js application you plan on running. Begin by creating a new file in this folder: Library/LaunchDaemons. I suggest naming your filename as follows: www.endyourif.application.plist.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>www.endyourif.application</string>
<key>WorkingDirectory</key>
<string>/www/endyourif</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/usr/local/bin/node</string>
<string>app.js</string>
</array>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
<key>KeepAlive</key>
<true/>
</dict>
</plist>

You will need to update the Label, WorkingDirectory, and ProgramArguments as required.

To start and enable your application run the following commands: launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/www.endyourif.application.plist and launchctl start /Library/LaunchDaemons/www.endyourif.application.plist.

Published on Jul 6, 2019

Tags: Node js Tutorial