Prerequisites

This guide requires:

A VPS running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
SSH access with root or sudo privileges
Basic command line familiarity

Step 1: System updates

Begin with package list and installed software updates:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install required packages

Add packages needed for external repository setup:

sudo apt install -y curl ca-certificates gnupg

Step 3: Configure NodeSource repository

NodeSource provides current Node.js packages beyond Ubuntu’s default versions.

Download and add the GPG key:

curl -fsSL \
  https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg

Add the repository for Node.js 20 LTS:

NODE_MAJOR=20

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] \
  https://deb.nodesource.com/node_$NODE_MAJOR.x nodistro main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list

Adjust NODE_MAJOR=20 to 18 for Node.js 18 LTS or 21 for Node.js 21.

Step 4: Install Node.js

Refresh package lists and install:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Step 5: Confirm installation

Verify Node.js and npm versions:

node --version
npm --version

Expected output shows versions like v20.x.x and 10.x.x.

Step 6: Firewall configuration

Security step often omitted from tutorials: restrict open ports.

Node.js applications typically run on specific ports (3000, 8080, etc.). Other ports should remain closed.

Using ColossusCloud’s Cloud Firewall

Configure firewall rules through the ColossusCloud control panel. Navigate to Firewall settings and establish rules allowing only necessary ports:

Port 22 (SSH) - Consider restricting to specific trusted IP addresses or closing when not needed
Port 80 (HTTP) - Open only if serving unencrypted traffic, otherwise redirect to HTTPS
Port 443 (HTTPS) - Open for secure web traffic through reverse proxies like Nginx
Application ports (e.g., 3000) - Limit to specific IP addresses if accessed directly

Set default policy to deny all other incoming traffic.

Network-level firewalls apply before traffic reaches your VPS, providing superior protection versus server-side firewall tools.

Step 7: Verification test

Create a simple test application:

mkdir ~/node-test && cd ~/node-test

Create app.js:

cat << 'EOF' > app.js
const http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
  res.end('Node.js is working!\n');
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server running at http://localhost:3000/');
});
EOF

Execute:

node app.js

With port 3000 open, access http://your-server-ip:3000 in a browser.

Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Additional resources

With Node.js installed, consider:

Using PM2 for process management and auto-restart
Configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy for SSL and static file serving
Setting up Git-based deployment automation

Find the right server for Node.js applications in our VPS hosting plans.

Setting up Node.js on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS