How to Install Sails.js Framework with Nginx as a Reverse Proxy on Ubuntu 20.04

Sails.js is the most popular MVC framework for Node.js. It allows you to build custom, enterprise-grade Node.js applications. Sails.js supports scalable, service-oriented architecture and provides basic security and role-based access control. It is used for developing chat, real-time dashboards, and multiplayer games.

Step 1 – Install Node.js

First, install the necessary dependencies using the following command.

apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Next, download the Node.js GPG key.

mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg

Next, add the NodeSource repo to the APT source list.

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_18.x nodistro main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list

Then, update the repository index and install the Ndoe.js with the following command.

apt update
apt-get install -y nodejs

Next, verify the Node.js version using the following command.

node -v

Output.

v18.19.0

Step 2 – Install Sails.js

You can install Sails.js easily using the NPM command.

npm -g install sails

Once Sails.js is installed, create a new project named myapp with the following command:

sails new myapp

You will be asked to choose a template for your Sails application:

 Choose a template for your new Sails app:
 1. Web App  ·  Extensible project with auth, login, & password recovery
 2. Empty    ·  An empty Sails app, yours to configure
 (type "?" for help, or <CTRL+C> to cancel)
? 2

Type 2 and hit Enter to finish the installation:

 info: Installing dependencies...
Press CTRL+C to cancel.
(to skip this step in the future, use --fast)
 info: Created a new Sails app `myapp`!

Next, change the directory to myapp and start the Sails app with the following command:

cd myapp
sails lift

You should see the following output:

 info: Starting app...

 info: 
 info:                .-..-.
 info: 
 info:    Sails              <|    .-..-.
 info:    v1.4.3              |\
 info:                       /|.\
 info:                      / || \
 info:                    ,'  |'  \
 info:                 .-'.-==|/_--'
 info:                 `--'-------' 
 info:    __---___--___---___--___---___--___
 info:  ____---___--___---___--___---___--___-__
 info: 
 info: Server lifted in `/root/myapp`
 info: To shut down Sails, press  + C at any time.
 info: Read more at https://sailsjs.com/support.

debug: -------------------------------------------------------
debug: :: Sun Jun 13 2021 04:33:02 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

debug: Environment : development
debug: Port        : 1337
debug: -------------------------------------------------------

Press CTRL + C to stop the Sails application.

Step 3 – Create a Systemd Service File for Sails.js App

Next, you will need to create a systemd service file to manage the Sails.js application. You can create it with the following command:

nano /lib/systemd/system/sails.service

Add the following lines:

[Unit]
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/root/myapp
ExecStart=/usr/bin/sails lift
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close the file, then reload the systemd daemon to apply the changes:

systemctl daemon-reload

Next, start the Sails.js service and enable it to start at system reboot:

systemctl start sails
systemctl enable sails

You can check the status of the Sails.js service with the following command:

systemctl status sails

You should see the following output:

● sails.service
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/sails.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2021-06-13 04:41:48 UTC; 6s ago
   Main PID: 3730 (node)
      Tasks: 22 (limit: 2353)
     Memory: 114.0M
     CGroup: /system.slice/sails.service
             ├─3730 node /usr/bin/sails lift
             └─3752 grunt

Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]:  info:  ____---___--___---___--___---___--___-__
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]:  info:
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]:  info: Server lifted in `/root/myapp`
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]:  info: To shut down Sails, press  + C at any time.
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]:  info: Read more at https://sailsjs.com/support.
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]: debug: -------------------------------------------------------
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]: debug: :: Sun Jun 13 2021 04:41:49 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]: debug: Environment : development
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]: debug: Port        : 1337
Jun 13 04:41:49 ubuntu2004 sails[3730]: debug: -------------------------------------------------------

Step 4 – Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Sails.js

It is recommended to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy to access the Sails application through port 80.

First, install the Nginx web server with the following command:

apt-get install nginx -y

Once installed, create an Nginx virtual host configuration file:

nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/sails.conf

Add the following lines:

server {
 listen       80;
 server_name  sails.example.com;
   location / {
     proxy_pass        http://localhost:1337/;
     proxy_set_header  Host $host;
     proxy_buffering   off;
   }
 }

Save and close the file, then verify Nginx for any syntax error:

nginx -t

You should see the following output:

nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

Next, restart the Nginx service to apply the configuration changes:

systemctl restart nginx

Step 5 – Access Sails.js Web Interface

Now, open your web browser and access the Sails.js application using the URL http://sails.example.com. You should see the Sails.js dashboard on the following screen:

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Sails.js with Nginx as a reverse proxy on Ubuntu 20.04 server. You can now build your own real-time application with Sails.js easily. Get started on your dedicated server hosting account today!