Deployment on aaPanel

This guide deploys SocialMine on aaPanel (Linux web hosting panel): Node.js, MySQL, Nginx, PM2, and SSL. It aligns with the repository’s root .env layout and the Production deployment overview.

Replace yourdomain.com, api.yourdomain.com, and paths like /www/wwwroot/socialmine with your real domain and install location.

Prerequisites

• A server with aaPanel installed (root or sudo access)
• A domain (optional but recommended for SSL and OAuth)

1. Install software in aaPanel

1. Log in to aaPanel (often http://your-server-ip:7800).
2. App Store → Node.js Version Manager → install Node.js 18+ (or 20.x) and set as default.
3. App Store → MySQL 8 — set a strong root password.
4. App Store → PM2 Manager — install.
5. App Store → Nginx — install.

2. Upload the project

cd /www/wwwroot
mkdir -p socialmine
cd socialmine
git clone <your-repository-url> .

Or use Files in aaPanel to upload and extract a ZIP into /www/wwwroot/socialmine.

Ensure uploads can be written by the web user (often www):

cd /www/wwwroot/socialmine/server
mkdir -p uploads/avatars uploads/products uploads/posts uploads/tickets uploads/branding
chown -R www:www uploads
chmod -R 755 uploads

3. Database

Database → MySQL → Add Database: create socialmine and a dedicated user, or use SQL:

CREATE DATABASE socialmine CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'socialmine_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON socialmine.* TO 'socialmine_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

4. Environment file (project root)

Create /www/wwwroot/socialmine/.env from .env.example at the repository root (not only inside server/). SocialMine’s server loads this file from the project root.

Example production values (adjust domains and secrets):

NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000
DEMO_MODE=false

DATABASE_URL="mysql://socialmine_user:your_password@localhost:3306/socialmine?schema=public"

JWT_SECRET=your-long-random-secret-minimum-32-characters
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=7d

ENCRYPTION_KEY=generate-with-openssl-rand-base64-32

CORS_ORIGIN=https://yourdomain.com
FRONTEND_URL=https://yourdomain.com
API_PUBLIC_URL=https://api.yourdomain.com

VITE_API_URL=https://api.yourdomain.com/api
VITE_APP_NAME=SocialMine
VITE_APP_VERSION=1.0.0

SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=
SMTP_PASSWORD=
SMTP_FROM_EMAIL=noreply@yourdomain.com
SMTP_FROM_NAME=SocialMine

If the web app is served on the same origin as the API (unified server/index.js or Nginx proxying /api on the same host), set VITE_API_URL, CORS_ORIGIN, FRONTEND_URL, and API_PUBLIC_URL to match that single public URL.

Rebuild the client after any change to VITE_* variables:

cd /www/wwwroot/socialmine/client && npm run build

5. Backend: install, Prisma, build

cd /www/wwwroot/socialmine/server
npm install --production
npm run prisma:generate
npx dotenv-cli -e ../.env -- prisma migrate deploy
npm run build

6. Frontend build

cd /www/wwwroot/socialmine/client
npm install
npm run build

Output: client/dist/.

7. PM2 — backend process

Option A — Use the repo ecosystem.config.js (from project root)

cd /www/wwwroot/socialmine
pm2 start ecosystem.config.js
pm2 save
pm2 startup

The default app name is socialmine. It runs server/dist/main.js with cwd set to server.

Option B — PM2 Manager UI

• Project path: /www/wwwroot/socialmine/server
• Startup file: dist/main.js
• Node version: match your installed version

Verify:

pm2 status
pm2 logs socialmine
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health

8. Nginx

Typical split setup:

• API — api.yourdomain.com → proxy to http://127.0.0.1:3000
• Frontend — yourdomain.com → root = /www/wwwroot/socialmine/client/dist and try_files for SPA

API site (api.yourdomain.com)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name api.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /uploads {
        alias /www/wwwroot/socialmine/server/uploads;
        expires 30d;
    }
}

Frontend site (yourdomain.com)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    root /www/wwwroot/socialmine/client/dist;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }

    location /api {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Test and reload:

nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

In aaPanel you can create sites via Website → Add Site, then paste the relevant server { ... } under Configuration.

9. SSL

Website → your site → SSL → Let’s Encrypt → apply for yourdomain.com and api.yourdomain.com → enable Force HTTPS.

10. Firewall

Open 80 and 443 (aaPanel Security → Firewall or firewalld / ufw).

Updates (deploy new code)

cd /www/wwwroot/socialmine
git pull origin main

cd server
npm install --production
npm run prisma:generate
npx dotenv-cli -e ../.env -- prisma migrate deploy
npm run build
pm2 restart socialmine

cd ../client
npm install
npm run build

Troubleshooting

For command shortcuts and paths, see aaPanel quick reference. The repository also ships AAPANEL_DEPLOYMENT.md and AAPANEL_QUICK_REFERENCE.md at the project root for the same workflow with minor wording differences.