How to Deploy a Node.js App in 5 Minutes

Deploying a Node.js application shouldn't take hours of DevOps work. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to go from code to production in just 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• A Node.js application (we'll use a simple Express app)
• A GitHub account
• A SnapDeploy account (free tier available)

Step 1: Prepare Your Application

Make sure your package.json has a start script:

json
{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js"
  }
}

Step 2: Connect GitHub
Log into SnapDeploy
Click "New Container" → "Deploy from GitHub"
Authorize GitHub access
Select your repository

Step 3: Configure Deployment
SnapDeploy auto-detects Node.js projects. Just confirm:
Node version (default: 18)
Build command: npm install
Start command: npm start
Port: 3000

Step 4: Deploy!
Click "Deploy" and watch your app go live in ~2 minutes.
You'll get:

✅ HTTPS URL (yourapp.snapdeploy.dev)
✅ Automatic SSL certificate
✅ Container logs and metrics

What's Next?
Add a custom domain
Set up automatic deployments on push
Add a managed database

SnapDeploy is a container hosting platform built by an AWS architect with 15 years of experience. 
Start free with 100 hours of compute time.

![ ](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/oytofzt73tgltzbmpccv.png)
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