Sails.js is an open-source MVC back-end web framework built on top of JavaScript runtime. It allows developers to create custom, enterprise-grade Node.js apps quickly. It offers a modern approach to building web applications with real-time features, such as a live chat option for smooth customer experiences. It also allows you to share your code between the server and the client.

This post will show you how to install Sails.js with Nginx on Fedora Linux.

In This Article

• Install Node.js
• Install Sails.js Framework
• Create an Application with Sails.js
• Create a Systemd Service File for Sails.js
• Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Sails.js
• Access Sails.js Application

Step 1 – Install Node.js

First, update the server and install the required dependencies using the following commands.

dnf update -y

dnf install curl gcc-c++ make -y

Next, add the Nodesource repository using the following command.

yum install https://rpm.nodesource.com/pub_18.x/nodistro/repo/nodesource-release-nodistro-1.noarch.rpm -y

Next, install the Node.js package with the following command.

yum install nodejs -y --setopt=nodesource-nodejs.module_hotfixes=1

You can now verify the Node.js installation using the following command.

node --version

Output:

v18.17.1

Step 2 – Install Sails.js Framework

You can use the NPM command line tool to install the Sails.js easily, as shown below.

npm -g install sails

Once Sails.js is installed, you can verify its version with the following command.

sails --version

Output.

1.5.8

Step 3 – Create an Application with Sails.js

Sails.js provides an easier way to create an application via the command line terminal. Let’s make an application called sailsapp with the following command.

sails new sailsapp

You will be asked to choose a template for your application.

 Choose a template for your new Sails app:
 1. Web App  ·  Extensible project with auth, login, & password recovery
 2. Empty    ·  An empty Sails app, yours to configure
 (type "?" for help, or  to cancel)
? 2

Type 2 and press the Enter key to create an application.

 info: Installing dependencies...
Press CTRL+C to cancel.
(to skip this step in the future, use --fast)

------------------------------------------------------------
Cancelled `npm install`.
New app was generated successfully, but some dependencies
in node_modules/ are probably still incomplete or missing.

Before you can lift this app, you'll need to cd in and run:
    rm -rf node_modules && npm install

For more help, visit https://sailsjs.com/support.

Next, change the directory to your application directory and remove the node modules.

cd sailsapp
rm -rf node_modules 

Next, install all the required dependencies using the NPM command.

npm install

Finally, start your application with the following command.

sails lift

You will see the following output.

 info: Starting app...

 info: 
 info:                .-..-.
 info: 
 info:    Sails              
Press the CTRL+C to stop the application.
Step 4 – Create a Systemd Service File for Sails.js
Next, create a systemd service file to manage your application.
nano /lib/systemd/system/sails.service
Add the following configurations.
[Unit]
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/root/sailsapp
ExecStart=/usr/bin/sails lift
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close the file, then reload the systemd daemon.
systemctl daemon-reload

Next, start and enable the Sails.js service.
systemctl start sails
systemctl enable sails

You can also verify the status of your Sails.js service using the following command.
systemctl status sails

Output:
● sails.service
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/sails.service; disabled; vendor preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-09-13 11:26:03 EDT; 5s ago
   Main PID: 2499 (node)
      Tasks: 22 (limit: 4666)
     Memory: 162.4M
        CPU: 4.090s
     CGroup: /system.slice/sails.service
             ├─2499 node /usr/bin/sails lift
             └─2507 grunt

Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]:  info:
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]:  info: Server lifted in `/root/sailsapp`
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]:  info: To shut down Sails, press  + C at any time.
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]:  info: Read more at https://sailsjs.com/support.
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]: debug: -------------------------------------------------------
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]: debug: :: Wed Sep 13 2023 11:26:05 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]: debug: Environment : development
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]: debug: Port        : 1337
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]: debug: Local       : http://localhost:1337
Sep 13 11:26:05 fedora sails[2499]: debug: -------------------------------------------------------

Step 5 – Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Sails.js
You must configure the Nginx as a reverse proxy to access your application from the remote machine.
First, install the Nginx server.
dnf install nginx -y

Next, create an Nginx configuration file.
nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/sails.conf

Add the following configurations.
server {
 listen       80;
 server_name  sails.example.com;
   location / {
     proxy_pass        http://localhost:1337/;
     proxy_set_header  Host $host;
     proxy_buffering   off;
   }
 }

Save and close the file, then edit the Nginx main configuration file.
nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Add the following line after the line http{:
server_names_hash_bucket_size 64;

Save and close the file, then verify the Nginx configuration.
nginx -t

You should get the following output:
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

Finally, start and enable the Nginx service with the following command.
systemctl start nginx
systemctl enable nginx

Step 6 – Access Sails.js Application
At this point, the Sails.js application is installed on your server. You can now access it using the URL http://sails.example.com. You will see the Sails.js default dashboard on the following screen.

Conclusion
This tutorial explained installing and creating a Sails.js application on Fedora Linux. We also showed you how to configure the Nginx as a reverse proxy to access the application from the outside world. You can now try to deploy the Sails.js application on dedicated server hosting from Atlantic.Net!
The post How To Install Sails.js Framework with Nginx on Fedora appeared first on Atlantic.Net.