Hey everyone! I’m trying to figure out if pm2 can handle running an npm start script. I know in development we usually just type npm start in the terminal. But what about when we’re ready for production and want to use pm2?
I was wondering if there’s a way to do something like this:
pm2 start 'npm start'
Or do we always have to specify the main file, like:
pm2 start app.js
I remember seeing something similar with the forever tool, where you could do:
forever start -c "npm start" ./
Does pm2 have a similar feature? Any help would be awesome! I’m kinda new to deployment stuff, so I’m still learning the ropes. Thanks in advance!
I’ve been using PM2 for a while now, and I can confirm it works great with npm scripts. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most reliable method:
pm2 start npm --name “my-app” – start
This command tells PM2 to run npm and pass the ‘start’ argument to it. The ‘–name’ flag is optional but really useful for identifying your app in the PM2 process list.
One thing to keep in mind: if your package.json has a ‘start’ script that uses nodemon or something similar, you might run into issues. In those cases, I usually create a separate ‘prod’ script in my package.json that doesn’t use development tools, and then use:
pm2 start npm --name “my-app” – run prod
This approach has served me well in production environments. Just remember to test thoroughly before deploying!
Certainly, you can use PM2 to run your npm start command. The syntax is slightly different from what you initially proposed, but it’s straightforward:
pm2 start npm --name “your-app-name” – run start
This command tells PM2 to execute npm with the ‘run start’ arguments. The ‘–name’ flag allows you to assign a custom name to your process, which is helpful for monitoring and management.
Remember to use ecosystem.config.js for more complex setups. It provides better control over environment variables and other PM2 options. Always test your deployment setup in a staging environment before going live.