How to Set Up a CI/CD Pipeline for Node.js REST APIs With GitHub Actions and Netlify
Netlify is a web hosting platform and a comprehensive suite of tools for deploying and managing web applications in the cloud.
But its features extend far beyond this—its serverless functions let you run server-side code without a dedicated server.
Explore how to set up a CI/CD pipeline to deploy a Node.js REST API on Netlify using GitHub Actions.
CI/CD Pipelines With GitHub Actions: An Overview
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines are a series of sequential, automated processes that software applications undergo before being shipped to production.
Typically, CI/CD pipelines consist of several key phases, including the source, build, test, and deploy phases.
While it’s possible to perform these phases manually, automating them offers several advantages, including:
What Is GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions is a tool integrated within GitHub that provides a wide range of pre-built actions that it’s possible to use to define workflows-as-code directly in your project repository to automate the CI/CD pipelines.
you’re able to also create custom actions to suit your specific project needs, allowing you to build and deploy applications to production hassle-free. One of the advantages of GitHub Actions is its seamless integration with other GitHub features, such as pull requests and issue tracking.
This makes it possible to trigger workflows based on specific events, such as a new commit ensuring that your CI/CD pipelines are automatically triggered when needed.
Set Up the Node.js Project
To get started, you need to createan Express web server. To do so, create a new folder locally and change the directory on your terminal.
Next, create apackage.jsonfile usingnpm, the Node Package Manager.
Finally, install the dependencies required in the project.
Thenetlify-lambdapackage serves as a local development server that facilitates testing serverless functions.serverless-httphelps in adapting Express.js apps to a format that is compatible with serverless function handlers.
Netlify does not provide native support for hosting and running full-fledged backend applications. Instead, it offers serverless functions as an alternative solution for handling backend functionality.
These functions manage server-side logic, handle HTTP API requests, and serve dynamic content, providing backend-like functionality within the serverless paradigm.
it’s possible to find this project’s code in itsGitHub repository.
Create the Express Web Server
Create three folders:dist,functions, andsrcin the root directory of your project folder.
Before you set up the Express server, create a blankindex.htmlfile in thedistfolder. This file acts as a placeholder that allows Netlify to successfully deploy the Express application and serve the API routes.
Now, create asrc/app.jsfile and add the following code:
This code defines an Express server with a single route for the root URL which handles GET requests. Theapp.usefunction registers the route’s middleware with the Express application, ensuring that any HTTP requests made to the path/.netlify/functions/appwill be properly handled by the router, even in a production environment.
Consequently, If you add a new endpoint such as/api/auth, it will be accessible on/.netlify/functions/app/api/auth. Finally, the code exports the Express application and the serverless handler function.
This allows for local testing of the server and ensures you can deploy it as a serverless function on Netlify.
Define the Netlify.toml File
In the root directory, create a newNetlify.tomlfile, and add the following code.
The code specifies the build and deployment configuration settings for the Express app on Netlify. It includes settings such as the base directory, build command, publish directory, and functions directory.
Additionally, it defines redirect settings that should manage the routing of HTTP API requests, ensuring they are properly directed to the Netlify serverless functions.
Update the Package.json File
Open thepackage.jsonfile and add these commands to the scripts object.
Run the following commands to build and start the application locally.
The server will start on port 9000. You can go ahead and test the API using Postman by making requests tohttp://localhost:9000/.netlify/functions/app
Finally, before setting up the GitHub Actions workflow to automate deployments on Netlify,create a repository on GitHub, and push the project files.
Deploy the Express Application on Netlify
First, deploy the API on Netlify before configuring the GitHub Actions workflow. Follow these steps to deploy the Express app on Netlify.
Create a GitHub Actions Workflow
Click on theActionstab in your project’s GitHub repository. In theContinuous integrationsection, select, and click onConfigure Node.jsworkflow.
From the GitHub editor, rename the file name toNetlify.yml, delete the boilerplate Node.js workflow code, and add the code below:
Here is a breakdown of the workflow properties:
Finally, commit the updates made to this file. GitHub should automatically trigger the workflow.
The initial build, however, will trigger an error since you need to add secret variables required by the workflow: the deployed site ID and Netlify’s auth token. Head over to yourSite settingson Netlify and copy theSite ID.
To get the auth token, click theuser profileicon, and select theUser settingsoption from the drop-down window. On the settings page, selectApplications, and clickNew access tokento generate your auth token.
Add the two environment variables as NETLIFY_SITE_ID and NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN to both the environment variables and repository secrets sections in your GitHub repository. After making these changes, rerun the workflow. Netlify will automatically deploy any subsequent changes you push using this pipeline.
Go ahead and test the API using Postman by making requests to this URL:<netlify’s site url>/.netlify/functions/app.
Configuring CI/CD Pipelines With GitHub Actions and Netlify
By utilizing Netlify’s serverless functions, you can deploy fully-fledged web applications that encompass both client-side and backend functionality on Netlify.
In addition, setting up CI/CD pipelines for applications with GitHub Actions offers a streamlined approach to automating the build and deployment process. This allows you to define workflows that ensure a seamless and reliable development process, starting from ideation and progressing through to the release stage.
Ease your production and deployment woes with a CI/CD pipeline that takes care of the laborious detail.
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