Automated CI/CD Pipeline for Node.js App on AWS EC2 Using GitHub Actions

STEP 1 – Create the GitHub repository

1. 1. Click: New Repository
2. Repository name: 'repo name'
3. Visibility: Public
4. Initialize with:
   • ✅ Add a README file
   • ❌ No .gitignore or license needed right now (we can add later)
5. Click Create repository

STEP 2 – Clone the repo to your machine

• Open your terminal (VS Code terminal, Git Bash, or macOS Terminal — anything works).
• Run this commands:

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/automated-cicd-nodejs-aws-ec2-github-actions.git

cd automated-cicd-nodejs-aws-ec2-github-actions

Replace <your-username> with your actual GitHub username. This will:

• Download your new repo to your machine
• Move you inside the project folder
• Prepare you to start building the Node.js app

**STEP 3 — Create a simple Node.js app

3.1 Initialize Node.js

• In your project folder, run:

npm init -y

• This creates package.json.

3.2 Install Jest (for testing)

npm install jest --save-dev

3.3 Create folders

mkdir src tests

3.4 Create the app file

• Create: src/index.js

function add(a, b) {
  return a + b;
}

module.exports = add;

3.5 Create the test file

• Create: tests/app.test.js

const add = require('../src/index');

test('adds numbers correctly', () => {
  expect(add(2, 3)).toBe(5);
});

3.6 Update package.json scripts

• Open package.json and replace the "scripts" section with:

"scripts": {
  "test": "jest",
  "build": "echo 'Build step placeholder'"
}

• This gives us:
• A test command
• A build command (placeholder for now)

3.7 Commit and push your code

git add .
git commit -m "Add Node.js app and tests"
git push

STEP 4 — Add the CI Workflow (GitHub Actions)

This workflow will automatically:

• Install dependencies
• Run tests
• Build the app
• Upload the build artifact This is your Continuous Integration pipeline.

4.1 Create the workflows folder

In your project root, create:

.github/workflows

4.2 Create the CI workflow file

Inside .github/workflows, create:

ci.yaml

Paste this workflow:

name: CI Pipeline

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  build-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 18
          cache: 'npm'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

      - name: Build project
        run: npm run build

      - name: Upload build artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: build-output
          path: .

This workflow teaches you:

• Triggers
• Runners
• Steps
• Using marketplace actions
• Caching
• Artifacts

4.3 Commit and push the workflow

git add .
git commit -m "Add CI workflow"
git push

4.4 Verify CI is running

Go to your GitHub repo → Actions tab You should see: CI Pipeline — running This means your automation is alive.

STEP 5 — Prepare Your EC2 Instance for Deployment

5.1 Launch an EC2 Instance

Go to AWS Console → EC2 → Instances → Launch Instance Use these settings:

• Name: cicd-nodejs-ec2
• AMI: Amazon Linux 2 (recommended)
• Instance type: t2.micro (free tier)
• Key pair: Create or choose an existing one
• Security group:
  • Allow SSH (22) from your IP
  • Allow HTTP (80) from anywhere (for app access) Click Launch Instance.

5.2 Connect to the EC2 Instance

In your terminal:

chmod 400 your-key.pem

ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@<EC2-Public-IP>

Replace:

• your-key.pem → your private key file
• <EC2-Public-IP> → from AWS console If you’re on Windows and using Git Bash, same command works.

5.3 Install Node.js and Git on EC2

Run

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install -y nodejs git

Verify

node -v
npm -v

5.4 Install PM2

PM2 keeps your Node.js app running even after deployment.

sudo npm install -g pm2

5.5 Create a folder for your app

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/myapp
sudo chown ec2-user:ec2-user /var/www/myapp

This is where GitHub Actions will upload your build files.

STEP 6 — Add EC2 secrets to GitHub (for secure deployment)

Your GitHub Actions workflow will need:

• The EC2 public IP
• The EC2 username
• Your private SSH key These must be stored securely in GitHub Secrets.

6.1 Go to GitHub Secrets

In your GitHub repo: Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret You will create three secrets.

6.2 Secret 1 — EC2_HOST

• Name: EC2_HOST
• Value: your EC2 public IPv4 address Example: 54.175.34.160 Click Add secret.

6.3 Secret 2 — EC2_USER

This depends on your AMI:

• For Amazon Linux 2 → ec2-user
• For Ubuntu → ubuntu You used Amazon Linux 2 earlier, so:
• Name: EC2_USER
• Value: ec2-user Click Add secret.

6.4 Secret 3 — EC2_SSH_KEY

This is your private key (.pem) content.

1. Open your .pem file in a text editor
2. Copy the entire content including:

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

3. Create a new secret:

• Name: EC2_SSH_KEY
• Value: paste the entire key Click Add secret.

STEP 7 — Create the CD workflow to deploy to EC2

This workflow will:

1. Download the build artifact from the CI pipeline
2. SSH into your EC2 instance
3. Copy the build files
4. Restart your Node.js app using PM2

7.1 Create the CD workflow file

Inside your project, go to:

.github/workflows/

Create a new file:

cd-ec2.yaml

Paste this workflow:

name: Deploy to EC2

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Download build artifact
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: build-output
          path: build/

      - name: Add SSH key
        run: |
          echo "${{ secrets.EC2_SSH_KEY }}" > key.pem
          chmod 600 key.pem

      - name: Copy files to EC2
        run: |
          scp -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i key.pem -r build/* \
          ${{ secrets.EC2_USER }}@${{ secrets.EC2_HOST }}:/var/www/myapp/

      - name: Restart app on EC2
        run: |
          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i key.pem \
          ${{ secrets.EC2_USER }}@${{ secrets.EC2_HOST }} \
          "pm2 restart all || pm2 start /var/www/myapp/index.js"

7.2 Commit and push the workflow

git add .
git commit -m "Add CD workflow for EC2 deployment"
git push

7.3 Verify the workflow exists

Go to your GitHub repo → Actions tab You should now see:

• CI Pipeline
• Deploy to EC2 The CD pipeline will show a Run workflow button.

STEP 8 — Run Your First Deployment to EC2

This is where you trigger the CD workflow manually and watch your app deploy to your EC2 instance.

8.1 Go to the Actions tab

In your GitHub repo:

1. Click Actions
2. On the left side, select Deploy to EC2
3. Click the Run workflow button (top right) A small dropdown appears → click Run workflow again. This will start your deployment job.

8.2 Watch the logs

You should see steps like:

• Checkout code
• Download build artifact
• Add SSH key
• Copy files to EC2
• Restart app on EC2 If everything is correct, the workflow will turn green.

8.3 Verify the app is running on EC2

SSH into your EC2 instance:

ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@<EC2-Public-IP>

Then check PM2:

pm2 status

You should see your app running.

Outcome :

• Built a fully automated CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions and AWS EC2
• CI workflow runs tests, builds the app, and uploads optimized artifacts
• CD workflow deploys to EC2 automatically with zero manual steps
• Deployment is verified live via PM2, demonstrating production‑ready DevOps automation