Updated: 30 September 2026 · Applies to: CWP (Control Web Panel) on AlmaLinux 8 and 9 and other Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 servers; Node.js 20 and 22
CWP does not install Node.js itself, but you can add it to the server and let CWP's web server pass a domain's traffic to your Node.js application. The older version of this guide used Node.js 8 to 12, which are all long out of support. Use a current long-term support release instead: Node.js 22 (or 20). We installed Node.js 22 from AlmaLinux 9's module streams.
1. Install Node.js
As root over SSH:
dnf module reset nodejs dnf module install nodejs:22/common node -v npm -v
This installs Node.js from the operating system's own repositories, so it updates with dnf upgrade. The module streams on version 9 offer Node.js 18, 20, 22 and 24; pick one that your application supports and that is still maintained.
2. Run your application as a service
Run the application as the CWP user who owns the site, on a local port such as 3000. A systemd unit keeps it running and restarts it after a crash or reboot. Create /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service:
[Unit] Description=My Node.js app After=network.target [Service] User=cwpuser WorkingDirectory=/home/cwpuser/myapp Environment=NODE_ENV=production PORT=3000 ExecStart=/usr/bin/node server.js Restart=on-failure [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
systemctl daemon-reload systemctl enable --now myapp curl -I http://127.0.0.1:3000/
Make the application listen on 127.0.0.1 only, so it is reachable through the web server and not directly from the internet.
3. Send the domain's traffic to the application
In the CWP admin panel, go to WebServer Settings > WebServers Domain Conf, choose the user and the domain, and select a proxy configuration that forwards to a custom port. CWP's documentation recommends Nginx proxying directly to the application's port; enter 3000 (or your port). CWP writes the virtual host and reloads the web server.
Then enable SSL for the domain in CWP (AutoSSL / Let's Encrypt) so visitors use HTTPS.
4. Update the application
cd /home/cwpuser/myapp && sudo -u cwpuser npm ci --omit=dev systemctl restart myapp
If you would rather have us manage the panel and application, see our managed CWP VPS.
Official documentation: CWP wiki: Node.js on CWP and Node.js release schedule.
