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🔐 Deploy an Express App with Docker, Nginx, and HTTPS

·590 words·3 mins·
Web Development Docker Https Devops Http
Table of Contents

How to Deploy Your Express App with Docker, Nginx, and HTTPS (Ubuntu)
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This guide walks you through deploying your Express application on an Ubuntu Droplet, using the provided Dockerfile.

We will use Nginx as a reverse proxy to handle HTTPS (via Certbot) and pass traffic to your app running in Docker.

Prerequisites
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  1. Droplet: A running Ubuntu Droplet.

  2. Domain: A domain name (e.g., your-domain.com) with an A record pointing to your Droplet’s IP address.

  3. Application Code: Your Express app’s source code should be on the Droplet, most likely cloned from a Git repository.

Step 1: Install and Configure dependencies
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  • Install Nginx, Docker, and Certbot
  • Log in to your Droplet as root or a user with sudo privileges.

1. Update your package lists
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sudo apt-get update

2. Install Nginx
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sudo apt-get install nginx -y

3. Install Docker
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Ubuntu’s default ‘docker.io’ package is often fine, but installing from the official Docker repo is recommended)

sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl gnupg
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io -y

# 4. Install Certbot and the Nginx plugin
sudo apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

# 5. Start and enable the services
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 2: Build and Run Your Docker App
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Navigate to your app’s code:

Example:
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git clone https://github.com/your-repo/my-app.git my-express-app

cd path/to/my-app

Build the Docker image:
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(This uses the app/Dockerfile provided.)

docker build -t my-express-app .

Run the container:
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This command runs your app in the background, ensures it restarts, and exclusively binds it to localhost:3000.

This means it’s not accessible from the public internet; only Nginx on the Droplet can talk to it.

Run the container we built
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docker run \
  -d \
  --restart always \
  --name express-app \
  -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 \
  my-express-app

Step 3: Configure Nginx
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This is the key difference from the Fedora guide.

Copy the Nginx Config: Save the your-domain.com.conf file (which I generated for you) to your Droplet.

Move it to the sites-available folder: (Remember to replace your-domain.com in the filename with your actual domain.)

sudo cp /path/to/your-domain.com.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-domain.com

  • Enable the site by creating a symbolic link:

  • This links your config into the ‘sites-enabled’ directory

    sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-domain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

(Recommended) Remove the default Nginx config # 

sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

Test and Restart Nginx
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Test the config for syntax errors

sudo nginx -t

If the test is successful, restart Nginx
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sudo systemctl restart nginx

At this point, if you visit http://your-domain.com, you should see your Express app (without HTTPS).

Step 4: Enable HTTPS with Certbot
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This step is the same as before. Certbot knows how to find your Ubuntu Nginx config.

Run Certbot:
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This command will guide you through a few prompts
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sudo certbot --nginx

  • It will show a list of domains from your Nginx configs. Select your domain.

  • It will ask if you want to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS. Select the “Redirect” option. This is highly recommended.

  • Restart Nginx (if needed):

Certbot usually reloads Nginx, but if not, run:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

You’re Done!
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Visit https://your-domain.com. You should see your Express app running with a valid SSL certificate. Certbot also sets up a systemd timer (or cron job) to auto-renew your certificate.

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