Node.js

Node.js deployments with PM2 and zero downtime

Published 2026–03–10 • 9 min read

PM2 is the standard process manager for Node.js applications in production. It handles clustering, automatic restarts on crash, graceful reloads with zero downtime, and log management.

Installing PM2

npm install -g pm2

Starting your app

# Start in cluster mode (uses all CPU cores)
pm2 start app.js -i max --name myapp

# Or use an ecosystem file
pm2 start ecosystem.config.js

Ecosystem file

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'myapp',
    script: 'app.js',
    instances: 'max',
    exec_mode: 'cluster',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 3000
    }
  }]
};

Zero-downtime reload

PM2’s reload command restarts workers one at a time, keeping the app available during updates:

pm2 reload myapp

Auto-start on reboot

pm2 startup
pm2 save

Log management

# View logs
pm2 logs myapp

# Flush logs
pm2 flush

# Rotate logs (install pm2-logrotate)
pm2 install pm2-logrotate

Monitoring

pm2 monit

Using Simplewala

Simplewala’s Node.js installer sets up PM2 for you and integrates with the Git App deployment system so your app reloads automatically on every push to your main branch.

Node.js hosting on Simplewala