🌐 Introduction

Whether you're a startup founder or a solo developer, deploying scalable applications is crucial. In this guide, you’ll deploy a Node.js app on AWS using:

EC2 for hosting
S3 for storing images/files
RDS (PostgreSQL) for the database
IAM for secure access control

Let’s turn your local project into a cloud-native powerhouse.

🧱 Step 1: Setting Up EC2

Go to EC2 Dashboard → Launch Instance
Choose Amazon Linux 2 or Ubuntu 22.04
Set:
- Instance type: t3.micro (Free Tier)
- Key pair: Create/download one for SSH
In Security Groups, open:
- Port 22 (SSH)
- Port 80 (HTTP)
- Port 443 (HTTPS, optional)
Launch!

SSH into the server:

bash

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ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@your-ec2-ip

📦 Step 2: Deploy Your Node.js App

Update server & install Node.js:

bash

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sudo yum update -y curl -sL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo bash - sudo yum install -y nodejs git

Clone your app and install dependencies:

bash

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git clone https://github.com/your-user/your-node-app.git cd your-node-app npm install

Run your app (use PM2 for production):

bash

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npm install -g pm2 pm2 start app.js pm2 startup pm2 save

🗂️ Step 3: Upload and Serve Files with S3

Go to S3 → Create a new bucket (e.g., your-app-assets)
Enable public access for file hosting (optional, depends on use case)
From Node.js, install AWS SDK and upload files:

bash

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npm install aws-sdk

js

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const AWS = require("aws-sdk"); const s3 = new AWS.S3({ region: "ap-south-1", accessKeyId: process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY, secretAccessKey: process.env.AWS_SECRET_KEY }); const uploadFile = async (buffer, name) => { const result = await s3.upload({ Bucket: "your-app-assets", Key: name, Body: buffer }).promise(); return result.Location; };

🛢️ Step 4: Set Up PostgreSQL with RDS

Go to RDS → Create database
Choose:
- Engine: PostgreSQL
- Instance class: db.t3.micro (Free Tier)
- Storage: 20GB
Set public access: Yes (if needed)
After creation, connect using:

bash

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psql -h your-db-endpoint -U your-user -d your-db-name

In your Node app:

js

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const { Pool } = require("pg"); const pool = new Pool({ host: "your-db-endpoint", user: "dbuser", password: "password", database: "dbname", port: 5432, });

🔐 Step 5: Secure Your App

Use IAM Roles for accessing S3 without hardcoding keys.
Enable HTTPS using Nginx + Certbot (Let’s Encrypt).
Add rate-limiting and CORS handling in your app.

🧪 Final Checklist Before Launch

✅ App runs with PM2
✅ Database is connected
✅ S3 uploads work
✅ HTTPS configured
✅ Auto-restart on reboot
✅ IAM policies are secure

🏁 Conclusion

You’ve now deployed a full-stack Node.js app on AWS with real-world infrastructure! EC2, S3, and RDS form a robust foundation for scalability and security.

Want a version with Docker, ECS, or Terraform? Let me know and I’ll write a follow-up!

🚀 Deploy a Scalable Node.js App on AWS with EC2, S3, and RDS — A Step-by-Step Guide

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