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Install Node.js 20 + PM2 in One Click

Sep 28, 2026 2 min read

Node.js 20 + PM2 gives you the Node 20 LTS runtime and PM2, a process manager that restarts your app when it crashes and brings it back after a reboot.

New or rebuilt machines only. Node.js 20 + PM2 can't be added to a machine you're already running. It installs during the next rebuild (cloud) or reinstall (bare metal), and both erase the disk first, so the machine comes back as a fresh Debian or Ubuntu system with Node.js 20 + PM2 on top. Use it on a new machine or one you're ready to wipe, and back up anything you want to keep first. To add Node.js 20 + PM2 to a server that already holds your data, install it by hand instead.

What gets installed

  • Node.js 20 and npm from the NodeSource repository.
  • PM2, installed globally, with its boot service set up for root.

No ports are opened; your app decides that. No password is generated.

Install it

On a cloud instance, open its Apps tab, click Install on next rebuild on the Node.js 20 + PM2 card, then rebuild with a Debian or Ubuntu image. On a bare-metal server it's Install on next reinstall, then a reinstall with the App: Node.js 20 + PM2 post-install script ticked. The App Library guide covers the details, the status you'll see, and what to do if it fails.

The Node.js 20 + PM2 card in the App Library on a cloud instance's Apps tab, with its Debian / Ubuntu label and the Install on next rebuild button
The card on the Apps tab. The label shows which operating system it needs.
After clicking Install on next rebuild: a message that Node.js 20 + PM2 is staged and the VM must be rebuilt to install it, and node-pm2 listed as queued under Installs on this machine
Clicking the button only stages the app. The message tells you to rebuild, and names the operating system to pick.
The Rebuild tab: a notice that 1 staged app will install during this rebuild (node-pm2), above the Rebuild VM card warning that all data on the VM will be erased
The Rebuild tab lists the staged app above the warning that the rebuild erases the VM. Nothing is installed until you go ahead.

First steps once it's ready

node --version
pm2 start server.js --name api
pm2 save

Don't skip pm2 save. The boot service brings back whatever list of processes was last saved, so an app you started but never saved won't come back after a reboot.

pm2 status
pm2 logs api
pm2 restart api

Put Nginx in front for a domain and HTTPS if the app faces the internet, and open only the ports you actually serve in the firewall.

Questions we get

  • Does it run as root? The PM2 boot service is set up for root. For a production app, consider a dedicated user and pm2 startup as that user.
  • Can I switch Node versions later? Yes. Tools like nvm work fine alongside it, or install a different NodeSource version.

Still stuck?

Open a support ticket with the machine and paste the install log from the Apps tab if it failed. We can see the install from our side.

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