JavaScript/Node.js

You can now use composable image to install runtimes and tools in your application container. To find out more, see the Composable image topic.

Node.js is a popular asynchronous JavaScript runtime. Deploy scalable Node.js apps of all sizes on Upsun Cloud. You can also develop a microservice architecture mixing JavaScript and other apps with multi-app projects.

Active versions

See Image statuses for what Active means. You can select the major version. But the latest compatible minor version is applied automatically and can’t be overridden. Patch versions are applied periodically for bug fixes and other maintenance updates. By default, you get the latest available patches each time you deploy. If your project has a maintenance window configured, Upsun Cloud applies patches only during that window. Upsun Cloud may still apply urgent or critical fixes outside of the maintenance window.

Specify the language

To use Node.js, specify nodejs as your app’s type: For example: To use a specific version in a container with a different language, use a version manager.

Sunset versions

The following versions are still available in your projects, including code pushes, but new projects can’t use them. These versions are decommissioned 180 calendar days after entering Sunset. The exact decommission date is shown on your project’s Overview page and on the relevant activity in the Activity panel. See Image statuses for what each status means.

20
18
16
15
14
12
10
8.9
8
6.10
6.9
6.8
6.6
6.3
6.2
6
4.7
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.3
4.2
4
0.12

Decommissioned versions

The following versions have been decommissioned and are no longer available. See Image statuses for what each status means. If your project uses a decommissioned version, you must update to an active version. No decommissioned versions.

Usage example

To use JavaScript with Node.js on Upsun Cloud, configure your app configuration (a complete example is included at the end).

1. Specify the version

Choose a version from the list of active versions and add it to your app configuration:

2. Specify any global dependencies

Add the following to your app configuration: These are now available as commands, the same as installing with npm install -g.

3. Build your app

Include any commands needed to build and setup your app in the hooks, as in the following example:

4. Start your app

Specify a command to start serving your app (it must be a process running in the foreground):

5. Listen on the right port

Make sure your Node.js application is configured to listen over the port given by the environment.

// Load the http module to create an http server.
const http = require('http');
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 8888;

const server = http.createServer(function (request, response) {
    response.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    response.end("Hello world!");
});

// Listen on the port from the Upsun Cloud configuration
server.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server is listening on port: ${PORT}`);
});

Complete example

A complete basic app configuration looks like the following:

Dependencies

By default, Upsun Cloud assumes you’re using npm as a package manager. If your code has a package.json, the following command is run as part of the default build flavor:

npm prune --userconfig .npmrc && npm install --userconfig .npmrc

This means you can specify configuration in a .npmrc file in your app root.

Use Yarn as a package manager

To switch to Yarn to manage dependencies, follow these steps:

Turn off the default use of npm:

Specify the version of Yarn you want:

package.json

{
  ...
  "packageManager": "yarn@3.2.1"
}

What you do next depends on the versions of Yarn and Node.js you want.

Yarn 3.x and Node.js 16+
Yarn 3.x and Node.js < 16
Yarn < 3

Use Corepack to run Yarn in your build hook:

Add Yarn as a global dependency:

Install dependencies in the build hook:

Use Bun as a package manager

Bun is available as a runtime and package manager for Node.js version 20 or above. Choose one of the active versions rather than the minimum supported version.

To switch to Bun to manage dependencies, use the following configuration:

.upsun/config.yaml

applications:
  # The name of your app.
  myapp:
  # Choose an active Node.js version.
    type: 'nodejs:26'
    # Override the default Node.js build flavor.
    build:
      flavor: none
    # Use Bun to install the dependencies.
    hooks:
      build: bun install

Use Bun as a runtime

You can even use Bun as a runtime by adjusting the start command as follows:

.upsun/config.yaml

applications:
  # The name of your app.
  myapp:
    # Choose an active Node.js version.
    type: 'nodejs:26'
    # Override the default Node.js build flavor.
    build:
      flavor: none
    # Use Bun to install the dependencies.
    hooks:
      build: bun install
    # In the start command replace node with Bun.
    web:
      commands:
        start: 'bun app.js'

Connecting to services

You can access service credentials to connect to managed services from environment variables present in the application container. Consult each of the individual service documentation to see how to retrieve and surface credentials into your application.

To deploy a Node.js project, create a new project from the Upsun Console and select a template, or push your existing code.

Frameworks

All major Javascript/Node.js web frameworks can be deployed on Upsun Cloud. See dedicated guides for deploying and working with them:

Get Started

Core Concepts

Configure Apps & Services

Build, Deploy & Run

Manage Projects

Manage Environments

Manage Resources

Observability & Metrics

Integrations

Troubleshooting

Resources

Active versions

Specify the language

Sunset versions

Decommissioned versions

Usage example

1. Specify the version

2. Specify any global dependencies

3. Build your app

4. Start your app

5. Listen on the right port

Complete example

Dependencies

Use Yarn as a package manager

Use Bun as a package manager

Use Bun as a runtime

Connecting to services

Frameworks

​Active versions

​Specify the language

​Sunset versions

​Decommissioned versions

​Usage example

​1. Specify the version

​2. Specify any global dependencies

​3. Build your app

​4. Start your app

​5. Listen on the right port

​Complete example

​Dependencies

​Use Yarn as a package manager

​Use Bun as a package manager

​Use Bun as a runtime

​Connecting to services

​Frameworks

Active versions

Specify the language

Sunset versions

Decommissioned versions

Usage example

1. Specify the version

2. Specify any global dependencies

3. Build your app

4. Start your app

5. Listen on the right port

Complete example

Dependencies

Use Yarn as a package manager

Use Bun as a package manager

Use Bun as a runtime

Connecting to services

Frameworks