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

Question

Since this post has gotten a lot of attention over the years, I\'ve listed the top solutions per platform at the bottom of this post.

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Original post

Answer 1

June 2017 Update:
Solution for Linux: (Red hat). Previous comments doesn't work for me. This works for me on Amazon Web Service - Red Hat 7. Hope this works for somebody out there.

A. Create the service file 
sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=Your app
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/home/ec2-user/meantodos/start.sh
WorkingDirectory=/home/ec2-user/meantodos/

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

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B. Create a shell file
/home/ec2-root/meantodos/start.sh
#!/bin/sh -
sudo iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 80 -j REDIRECT --to 8080
npm start

then:
chmod +rx /home/ec2-root/meantodos/start.sh
(to make this file executable)

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C. Execute the Following

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start myapp
sudo systemctl status myapp

(If there are no errors, execute below.  Autorun after server restarted.)
chkconfig myapp -add