CI/CD for Node.js Applications with GitHub Actions

Guide to Setting Up CI/CD for Node.js Applications with GitHub Actions

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) is essential for modern software development. It ensures that changes to your application are automatically built, tested, and deployed without manual intervention. This guide walks you through setting up a CI/CD pipeline for a Node.js application using GitHub Actions. We'll provide an example workflow file and explain each step.

Prerequisites

Before setting up CI/CD, ensure the following:

• A Node.js Application: You have a Node.js application hosted in a GitHub repository.
• A VPS or cloud server (e.g., AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode) for deployment.
• SSH access to your server. Node.js and npm (or yarn) installed on your server.
• Basic knowledge of Git, GitHub Actions, and Linux commands.

You may refer to Node.js, React.js, and Next.js Deployment with Nginx Using PM2 on a comprehensive guide on how to setup everything you need to get your app running and deployed on a vps.

Creating the GitHub Actions Workflow File

Step 1: Create the Workflow File Navigate to your project and create the file .github/workflows/deploy.yml

ssh root@your-server-ip
mkdir -p .github/workflows
mkdir -p .github/workflows
vi .github/workflows/deploy.yml

Step 2: Add the Workflow Configuration Paste the following configuration into the deploy.yml file:

name: Deploy Node.js App

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - deploy

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

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

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '20'
          cache: 'npm'

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Build Application
        run: npm run build

      - name: Setup SSH
        run: |
          mkdir -p ~/.ssh
          echo "${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}" > ~/.ssh/id_rsa
          chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
          ssh-keyscan -H ${{ secrets.HOST }} >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts

      - name: Deploy to Server
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@master
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
          key: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
          script: |
            cd /var/www/your-app-directory
            git pull origin deploy
            npm ci
            npm install sharp
            npm run build
            pm2 restart your-app-name

The workflow listens for changes pushed to the deploy branch. You can modify this to fit your branching strategy (for e.g staging).

Configuring SSH and Deploy Keys

To securely deploy your application, you need to set up SSH keys and configure a deploy key for your server.

Step 1: Generate an SSH Key Pair

Run the following command on your local machine to generate a new SSH key pair:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your-email@example.com"

1. When prompted, specify a file to save the key (e.g., ~/.ssh/id_rsa).
2. Press Enter to use the default location and leave the passphrase empty for automation purposes.

Step 2: Copy the Public Key to Your Server

Step 3: Add the Private Key to GitHub Secrets

1. Open your repository on GitHub.
2. Navigate to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions.
3. Add a new secret named SSH_PRIVATE_KEY and paste the contents of your private key (e.g., ~/.ssh/id_rsa).

Step 5: Configure Deploy Keys

1. Go to your repository settings on GitHub.
2. Under Deploy keys, click Add deploy key.
3. Paste the contents of your public key (e.g., ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub) and give it a meaningful title.

Set Up Secrets in GitHub

1. Navigate to your repository settings.
2. Under "Secrets and variables" > "Actions", add the following secrets:

• SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: The private key for accessing your server. Ensure the public key is already added to the server.
• HOST: The hostname or IP address of your deployment server.
• USERNAME: The SSH username for the server.

Testing Your Workflow

Step 1: Push Changes Push your changes to the deploy branch:

git add .
git commit -m "Test CI/CD pipeline"
git push origin deploy

** Step 2: Monitor Workflow Execution **

1. Navigate to the "Actions" tab in your GitHub repository.
2. Click on the running workflow to monitor the logs for each step.