Install Sails.js Framework with Nginx on AlmaLinux 9: A No‑Nonsense Guide
You’ll learn how to get a fresh Sails.js app humming behind Nginx on AlmaLinux 9, complete with a systemd service so you don’t have to keep `npm start` in the foreground. Skip the vague “install Node” tutorial and jump straight into the steps that actually matter.
Prerequisites – What You Need Before Starting
- AlmaLinux 9, fresh install, SSH access
- Root or sudo privileges
- A domain name pointing at your server’s IP (or just use 127.0.0.1 for testing)
If you’re missing any of those, your head will probably hurt before the first line of code.
Install Node.js 18.x on AlmaLinux 9
AlmaLinux ships an old Node in its repos; we need a recent LTS. The Nodesource setup script does the heavy lifting:
curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo bash - sudo dnf install -y nodejs
Why this matters: The script configures the right repo and installs Node 18, which Sails requires for ES‑module syntax. I once tried to run a Sails project with Node 14 on AlmaLinux 9 and got an “Unexpected token” error—just a reminder that version mismatches bite.
Check you’re good:
node -v # should be v18.x npm -v # npm comes bundled
Set Up a Sails.js Project
Create the project in your home directory (or wherever you keep apps). The `sails new` command pulls from GitHub, so no worries about missing binaries.
npx sails new myapp cd myapp npm install
Why run `npm install`? Sails ships with a lot of optional dependencies that are pulled lazily. Installing them up front saves you later headaches when the server first boots.
Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy
Install Nginx if it’s not already on your box:
sudo dnf install -y nginx
Create a site config in `/etc/nginx/conf.d/myapp.conf`:
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com; # change to your domain
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:1337; # Sails default port
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
}
}
Restart Nginx:
sudo systemctl restart nginx
If you forget the `proxy_set_header` lines, websockets (e.g., Socket.io) will die on reconnects. I’ve seen this happen after a quick copy‑paste that omitted those headers.
Create a Systemd Service for Your App
Systemd keeps your app alive and restarts it if something crashes. Drop this file at `/etc/systemd/system/sails-myapp.service`:
[Unit] Description=Sails.js Application – myapp After=network.target [Service] Type=simple User=youruser # replace with the account that owns /home/youruser/myapp WorkingDirectory=/home/youruser/myapp ExecStart=npm start Restart=on-failure Environment=NODE_ENV=production [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enable and start:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable --now sails-myapp.service
Why the `User=` line? Running a Node process as root is a bad idea. When I accidentally left it on root, my app had read/write permissions to the entire filesystem—a nightmare to debug.
Test the Deployment
Open your browser and navigate to your domain (or 127.0.0.1). You should see Sails’ default welcome page or whatever route you defined.
Check logs:
journalctl -u sails-myapp.service -f # live tail
If you hit a “502 Bad Gateway” from Nginx, the service is probably not running or listening on 1337. Look for `node: command not found` errors if you see a crash—maybe your PATH in systemd is wrong.
You’ve got it! Your Sails app runs behind a hardened AlmaLinux 9 server with Nginx as a reverse proxy, and the systemd unit will keep it alive after reboots or crashes.
