Game Servers & OuiPanel•December 15, 2025• 6 views

How to deploy a Node.js web application on OuiPanel

How to deploy a Node.js web application on OuiPanel

How to deploy a Node.js web application on OuiPanel

Estimated Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate ⭐⭐
Server Type: Node.js

📋 Introduction

This guide explains how to host a Node.js web application (website, REST API, dashboard...) on OuiPanel with a custom domain name and automatic HTTPS.

What You Can Host

Application Type Examples
🌐 Website Showcase site, blog, portfolio
🔌 REST API Backend for mobile/web application
📊 Dashboard Admin panel, management interface
🛒 Web Application E-commerce, SaaS, online tool

What You Need

Prerequisites Description
📁 A Node.js application Your functional source code
💻 A Node.js server Ordered on OuiHeberg
🌐 A domain name (Optional) For access via a custom URL

📁 Step 1: Prepare the Application Files

File Structure

Your application must have this structure:

📁 MyApp/
├── 📄 index.js           ← Main file (or app.js, server.js...)
├── 📄 package.json       ← npm dependencies
├── 📄 .env               ← Environment variables (created on the server)
├── 📁 public/            ← (Optional) Static files (CSS, JS, images)
├── 📁 views/             ← (Optional) Templates (EJS, Pug, Handlebars)
└── 📁 routes/            ← (Optional) Application routes

package.json File

Create a package.json file with your dependencies:

{
  "name": "my-web-application",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My Node.js web application",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.2",
    "dotenv": "^16.3.1"
  }
}

💡 Adapt "main": "index.js" according to the name of your main file (app.js, server.js, etc.).

Main File (index.js)

Here is an example of an Express.js application configured for OuiPanel:

// Load environment variables from .env
require('dotenv').config();

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

// Port: use SERVER_PORT (OuiPanel) or PORT (.env) or 3000 by default
const PORT = process.env.SERVER_PORT || process.env.PORT || 3000;

// Middleware to parse JSON
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));

// Serve static files (CSS, JS, images)
app.use(express.static('public'));

// Main route
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send(`
        <!DOCTYPE html>
        <html lang="en">
        <head>
            <meta charset="UTF-8">
            <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
            <title>My Application</title>
            <style>
                body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 800px; margin: 50px auto; padding: 20px; }
                h1 { color: #333; }
                .status { background: #d4edda; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; color: #155724; }
            </style>
        </head>
        <body>
            <h1>🚀 My Node.js Application</h1>
            <div>
                ✅ The application is working correctly!
            </div>
            <p>Server started on port ${PORT}</p>
        </body>
        </html>
    `);
});

// Example API route
app.get('/api/status', (req, res) => {
    res.json({
        status: 'online',
        message: 'Functional API',
        timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
    });
});

// API route with parameter
app.get('/api/hello/:name', (req, res) => {
    res.json({
        message: `Hello ${req.params.name}!`
    });
});

// Start the server on 0.0.0.0 (important for OuiPanel)
app.listen(PORT, '0.0.0.0', () => {
    console.log(`✅ Server started at http://0.0.0.0:${PORT}`);
    console.log(`📅 ${new Date().toLocaleString('en-US')}`);
});

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The server must listen on 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces), not on localhost or 127.0.0.1.

Example with EJS Templates

If you are using EJS templates:

package.json:

{
  "name": "my-web-application",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.2",
    "ejs": "^3.1.9",
    "dotenv": "^16.3.1"
  }
}

index.js:

require('dotenv').config();

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const PORT = process.env.SERVER_PORT || process.env.PORT || 3000;

// EJS Configuration
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
app.set('views', './views');

// Static files
app.use(express.static('public'));

// Main route
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.render('index', { 
        title: 'My Application',
        message: 'Welcome to my site!'
    });
});

app.listen(PORT, '0.0.0.0', () => {
    console.log(`✅ Server started on port ${PORT}`);
});

views/index.ejs:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title><%= title %></title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1><%= message %></h1>
</body>
</html>

📤 Step 2: Upload Files to OuiPanel

Using the File Manager

  1. Log in to OuiPanel
  2. Select your Node.js server
  3. In the side menu, click on File Manager

Image

  1. Delete default files (if any)
  2. Click on Upload
  3. Upload your files:
    • index.js (or app.js, server.js...)
    • package.json
    • Your folders (public/, views/, routes/...) if needed

Image

⚠️ Do not upload: The .env file will be created directly on the server (more secure).

Using SFTP (Recommended for multiple files)

  1. Connect via SFTP with FileZilla
  2. Drag and drop all the content of your application folder
  3. Verify that all files are uploaded correctly

📖 Check out the guide "SFTP Access with FileZilla" for detailed instructions.

🔑 Step 3: Create the .env File

Create a file .env to securely store your environment variables.

Create the .env file

  1. In the File Manager, click on New file
  2. Name it .env (with a dot in front)
  3. Add your variables:
# Application configuration
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=production

# Database (if needed)
DATABASE_URL=mysql://user:password@host:3306/database

# API Keys (examples)
API_KEY=your_api_key
SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key

Image

  1. Click on Create or Save

💡 Tip: The variable SERVER_PORT is automatically provided by OuiPanel. Use it as a priority in your code.

Final Structure on the Server

📁 Server Root/
├── 📄 .env               ← Environment variables
├── 📄 index.js           ← Your code
├── 📄 package.json       ← Dependencies
├── 📁 public/            ← Static files
├── 📁 views/             ← Templates
└── 📁 node_modules/      ← (automatically created)

⚙️ Step 4: Configure the Startup File

OuiPanel needs to know which file to execute at startup.

Accessing the settings

  1. In the sidebar menu, click on Configuration
  2. Click on Server Settings

Image

Configuring the file to execute

Locate the File to Execute field:

Image

Your main file Value to set
index.js index.js
app.js app.js
server.js server.js
src/index.js src/index.js

⚠️ Important: The name must match exactly your file (case-sensitive).

🚀 Step 5: Start the Application

Launching the server

  1. In the sidebar menu, click on Console
  2. Click on Start

Automatic Installation of Dependencies

Upon first startup, the server automatically runs npm install:

> npm install
added 62 packages in 4s

> node index.js
✅ Server started at http://0.0.0.0:25639
📅 15/12/2025 14:30:00

[Image

Screenshot taken with EJS configuration

Testing the application

  1. Note the port displayed in the console (e.g., 25639)
  2. Retrieve the IP of your server in the Global View
  3. Access http://IP:PORT in your browser

Example: http://51.77.xxx.xxx:25639

ImageImage

💡 For easier access with a domain name and HTTPS, configure the Proxy Manager (next step).

🌐 Step 6: Configure a Domain Name (Proxy Manager)

To access your application via a clean URL with HTTPS (e.g., https://myapp.com), use the Proxy Manager.

Prerequisites

  • ✅ A domain name you own
  • ✅ Access to the DNS zone of your domain

Configure the DNS

  1. In OuiPanel → Proxy Manager, note the Proxy IP
  2. At your registrar (OVH, Cloudflare, etc.), create a DNS record:
Type Name Value
A @ or app Proxy IP

Add the domain in OuiPanel

  1. In the sidebar menu, click on Proxy Manager
  2. Click on Add
  3. Fill in:
Field Value
Domain Name myapp.com or app.mydomain.com
Port Your application's port (e.g., 25639)
SSL ✅ Enabled

Image


Image


Image


Image

  1. Click on Create redirection

Result

Your application is now accessible via:

  • ✅ https://myapp.com (with automatic HTTPS)
  • ✅ Free SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt)

📖 Check out the guide "Configure a Domain Name with the Proxy Manager" for more details.

🔧 Troubleshooting

The application doesn't start

❌ Error ✅ Solution
Cannot find module 'express' Check package.json and restart
Cannot find module 'dotenv' Add dotenv to package.json
Error: Cannot find module './index.js' Incorrect startup file configured
SyntaxError Error in your JavaScript code

The application starts but is not accessible

❌ Cause ✅ Solution
Listens on localhost Change to 0.0.0.0
Incorrect port Use process.env.SERVER_PORT
Firewall The port must be the one assigned by OuiPanel

Check your code:

// ❌ WRONG - listen only locally
app.listen(3000, 'localhost', () => {});
app.listen(3000, '127.0.0.1', () => {});

// ✅ CORRECT - listen on all interfaces
app.listen(PORT, '0.0.0.0', () => {});

502 Bad Gateway Error (Proxy Manager)

❌ Cause ✅ Solution
Application not started Start the server in OuiPanel
Wrong port in Proxy Manager Check the configured port
Application crashed Check the Console

Application Crashes on Startup

❌ Cause ✅ Solution
Missing environment variable Check the .env file
Syntax error Correct the code
Missing package Check package.json

Add error handling:

// Handling uncaught errors
process.on('uncaughtException', (error) => {
    console.error('Uncaught error:', error);
});

process.on('unhandledRejection', (error) => {
    console.error('Promise rejected:', error);
});

npm install Fails

❌ Error ✅ Solution
package.json not found Check that the file is at the root
ERESOLVE unable to resolve Update versions in package.json

🔒 Security

.env File

✅ To Do ❌ Not To Do
Create the .env on the server Upload the .env from your PC
Add .env to .gitignore Commit the .env to GitHub
Use variables for secrets Put API keys in the code

Recommended .gitignore file:

# Environment variables
.env
.env.local
.env.production

# Node modules
node_modules/

Security Best Practices

const helmet = require('helmet');  // HTTP Security
const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');  // Anti-DDoS

// Add in package.json: "helmet": "^7.1.0", "express-rate-limit": "^7.1.5"

app.use(helmet());

const limiter = rateLimit({
    windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
    max: 100 // 100 max requests per IP
});
app.use(limiter);

💡 Best Practices

Performance

  • ✅ Use NODE_ENV=production in production
  • ✅ Enable compression with compression
  • ✅ Cache static files
const compression = require('compression');
app.use(compression());

// Cache static files (1 day)
app.use(express.static('public', { maxAge: '1d' }));

Advanced Structure

For a more complex application:

📁 MyApp/
├── 📄 index.js              ← Entry point
├── 📄 package.json
├── 📄 .env
├── 📁 config/
│   └── 📄 database.js       ← DB Configuration
├── 📁 routes/
│   ├── 📄 index.js          ← Main routes
│   ├── 📄 api.js            ← API routes
│   └── 📄 auth.js           ← Authentication routes
├── 📁 controllers/
│   └── 📄 userController.js
├── 📁 models/
│   └── 📄 User.js
├── 📁 middleware/
│   └── 📄 auth.js
├── 📁 public/
│   ├── 📁 css/
│   ├── 📁 js/
│   └── 📁 images/
└── 📁 views/
    ├── 📄 index.ejs
    └── 📄 layout.ejs

📦 Supported Frameworks

OuiPanel supports all Node.js frameworks:

Framework Description
Express.js Minimalistic framework (used in this guide)
Fastify Fast alternative to Express
Koa Lightweight framework by the Express team
NestJS Structured TypeScript framework
Next.js React framework with SSR
Nuxt.js Vue.js framework with SSR

💡 The principle remains the same: listen on 0.0.0.0 with the port provided by OuiPanel.

📝 Summary

1. Prepare files (index.js + package.json with dotenv)
2. Ensure the server listens on 0.0.0.0:PORT
3. Upload files to OuiPanel (without the .env)
4. Create the .env file on the server
5. Configure the startup file (index.js, app.js...)
6. Start the server
7. Test via http://IP:PORT
8. (Optional) Configure Proxy Manager for a domain with HTTPS
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