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Deploying Node.js and Laravel Together: A Guide to Building and Launching Hybrid Applications

Deploying Node.js + Laravel Together

Laravel backend + Node for realtime/SSR/assets deployed reliably.

A compact, practical, production-ready recipe that covers two common approaches

  • Docker Compose + self-managed server
  • Integration tips (broadcasting, queues, SSL, CI/CD, scaling)

You can pick a deployment style below:

  1. Docker Compose (recommended for reproducibility) — everything containerized, single server or multiple, easy CI/CD. Good for small→medium projects.

  2. Traditional (Nginx + PHP-FPM + PM2 for Node) — if you prefer not to use Docker and like systemd/supervisor.

  3. Cloud managed (ECS / Fargate / Kubernetes / DigitalOcean Apps) — use when you need autoscaling. Concepts below still apply.

Prerequisites (server/local)

  • Ubuntu 20.04+ (or similar) or Docker-compatible host

  • SSH access + domain name (example.com)

  • Git, Docker & Docker Compose (if using Docker)

  • PHP 8.0+/Composer, Node 16+/npm or pnpm (if not using Docker)

  • MySQL/Postgres, Redis (for sessions, queues, broadcasting)

  • Certbot or a reverse proxy with Let’s Encrypt (Traefik) for TLS

A — Docker Compose approach (complete example)

1. Repo layout (monorepo recommended)

2. Laravel Dockerfile (/backend/Dockerfile)

3. Node Dockerfile (/node-app/Dockerfile)

4. docker-composer.yml (basic, extend as needed)

5. Nginx config (/nginx/conf.d/app.conf)

6. Environment (.env important keys for Docker)

7. Build & run

8. TLS / Let’s Encrypt

  • Option A: Put Traefik as a reverse proxy with automatic ACME in front of nginx.

  • Option B: Run certbot on the host and configure nginx to serve certs (if not fully containerized).
    For production, Traefik + Docker labels or an nginx-proxy + letsencrypt-companion are solid choices.

B — Non-Docker (Nginx + PHP-FPM + PM2)

If you prefer bare metal:

1. PHP & Laravel

  • Install PHP-FPM, PHP extensions, Composer.
  • Nginx config similar to above, with fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock; or 127.0.0.1:9000 depending on your PHP-FPM setup.
  • Run php artisan migrate --force, etc.

2. Node process manager (PM2)

  • Install PHP-FPM, PHP extensions, Composer.
  • Nginx config similar to above, with fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock; or 127.0.0.1:9000 depending on your PHP-FPM setup.
  • Run php artisan migrate --force, etc.

3. Supervisor for Laravel queue worker

/etc/supervisor/conf.d/laravel-worker.conf:

Then supervisorctl reread && supervisorctl update.

4. Cron scheduler

Integrating realtime: Laravel Node (Socket.io) via Redis

Use Redis as a bridge:

Node (socket.io + redis-adapter)

Laravel

  • .env: BROADCAST_DRIVER=redis

  • Create an ShouldBroadcast event — Laravel will publish to Redis channels.

  • Node’s redis-adapter will receive broadcasts and forward to connected clients.

Alternative: use beyondcode/laravel-websockets or laravel-echo-server if you want PHP to serve WebSockets itself.

CI/CD (GitHub Actions → server via SSH + Docker Compose)

Simple flow: build images → push (or build on server) → ssh to server → docker-compose pull && docker-compose up -d --build.

Sample deploy step (in a GH Actions job):

Production hardening checklist

  • Run php artisan config:cache & route:cache & optimize.

  • APP_DEBUG=false in .env.

  • Periodic DB backups + offsite storage.

  • Set file permissions: chown -R www-data:www-data storage bootstrap/cache.

  • Use Redis for sessions & queue for worker scalability.

  • Use HTTPS + HSTS.

  • Logging & error tracking: Sentry, Papertrail, or ELK stack.

  • Monitor processes (PM2 / Prometheus + Grafana / UptimeRobot).

  • Use --force flag for migrations in automation only.

Troubleshooting commands

  • docker-compose logs -f nginx / docker-compose exec php tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

  • docker ps / docker exec -it <container> bash

  • pm2 logs / pm2 status

  • ss -ltnp | grep 3000 (check Node port)

  • journalctl -u nginx -f

Quick 10-step executable checklist 

  1. Clone repo on server.

  2. Create .env.production with production values.

  3. docker-compose build --parallel

  4. docker-compose up -d

  5. docker-compose exec php php artisan key:generate

  6. docker-compose exec php php artisan migrate --force

  7. docker-compose exec php php artisan config:cache

  8. docker-compose exec php php artisan route:cache

  9. Enable SSL (Traefik or certbot).

  10. docker-compose exec worker supervisorctl status (verify queue worker)

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RS

IT Professional / Full-Stack Developer

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