How do I run a Node.js app as a background service?

To run a Node.js application as a background service, you have several options depending on your operating system and preferences. Here are some of the most common methods:

Using Process Managers

Process managers are tools designed to help you manage and keep your Node.js applications running in the background. They can start, stop, and monitor your applications, and ensure that they restart automatically in case of failure.

1. PM2: PM2 is a popular process manager for Node.js applications. It is feature-rich and supports load balancing, monitoring, and log management. To use PM2, you would first install it globally using npm:

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   npm install pm2 -g

   Then, you can start your Node.js application with PM2:

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   pm2 start app.js

   To ensure that PM2 and your application start on system boot, you can use the pm2 startup command to generate a startup script[1][5][11][12].

2. Forever: Forever is another command-line tool that ensures a script runs continuously. To use Forever, you would install it globally:

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   npm install forever -g

   And then start your application with:

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   forever start app.js

   Forever will keep your application running in the background even if it crashes or the system reboots[2][5].

Using Systemd (Linux)

For Linux systems, you can use systemd to run your Node.js application as a service. This involves creating a service file with the .service extension in the /etc/systemd/system directory. The service file should include details about how to start, stop, and restart your application. After creating the service file, you can enable and start the service using systemctl commands:

sudo systemctl enable yourapp.service
sudo systemctl start yourapp.service

This method ensures that your application starts automatically on system boot and is managed by systemd[1][2][5].

Using Windows Services

On Windows, you can use tools like node-windows to run your Node.js application as a Windows service. This will allo...