🚀 Deploy Node.js API with PM2 on Windows (Offline + Auto-Restart on Boot)

 When deploying a Node.js API on a Windows server without internet access, traditional online installation steps won’t work. This guide walks you through offline deployment with PM2 and configuring it to auto-start on reboot using pm2-windows-startup.

✅ Prerequisites

1. A development machine with Node.js and internet access.

2. The target Windows server has:

   • Node.js installed

   • No internet access

   • Your Node.js API project copied

📦 Step 1: Prepare Offline PM2 Package

On a machine with internet:

bash
mkdir pm2-offline && cd pm2-offline
npm install pm2

Then zip the folder:

bash
cd ..
zip -r pm2-offline.zip pm2-offline

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📁 Step 2: Transfer to Target Server

Copy these to the Windows server:

• pm2-offline.zip

• Your Node.js API project

Unzip both:

bash
unzip pm2-offline.zip

🔹 3. Use PM2 Locally or Link Globally
To use PM2 in that folder:
bash
./node_modules/.bin/pm2 --version
./node_modules/.bin/pm2 start app.js
Or install it globally (optional):
bash
npm install -g ./node_modules/pm2

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🛠️ Step 3: Start API with PM2

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:

bash
cd C:\path\to\your-api
node C:\path\to\pm2-offline\node_modules\pm2\bin\pm2 start index.js --name your-api

Replace index.js with your actual entry file.

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💾 Step 4: Save PM2 Process List

bash
node C:\path\to\pm2-offline\node_modules\pm2\bin\pm2 save

This saves the process list for auto-restore.

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🔁 Step 5: Auto-Start on Reboot (PM2 on Windows)

Install PM2 Windows startup module:

bash
npm install -g pm2-windows-startup

Then run:

bash
pm2-startup install

This registers PM2 as a Windows service to auto-start after reboot.

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🎯 After Reboot

• Your API starts automatically

• It stays alive forever (auto-restarts on crash)

• No internet required!

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🧪 Helpful PM2 Commands (Offline)

bash
# Check status
node C:\path\to\pm2-offline\node_modules\pm2\bin\pm2 status

# View logs
node C:\path\to\pm2-offline\node_modules\pm2\bin\pm2 logs

# Restart your API
node C:\path\to\pm2-offline\node_modules\pm2\bin\pm2 restart your-api

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💡 Summary

Task	Command
Start app	pm2 start index.js --name your-api
Save app list	pm2 save
Auto-start on reboot	pm2-startup install
Run offline PM2 commands	node path\to\pm2\bin\pm2 <command>

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📝 Final Tip

For even smoother startup, you can create a .bat file that restores the saved PM2 processes on boot, or configure it in Windows Task Scheduler if needed.