Deploy Angular 5 + Nodejs Express app to Heroku

Question

I have an Angular 5 App.

This is what I have in my package.json

{
  "name": "web",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "license": "MIT",
  "scripts": {
    "ng": "ng",
    "start": "node server.js",
    "build": "ng build",
    "test": "ng test",
    "lint": "ng lint",
    "e2e": "ng e2e",
    "postinstall": "ng build --aot --prod"
  },
  "private": true,
  "dependencies": {
    "@angular/animations": "5.1.0",
    "@angular/cli": "^1.6.4",
    "@angular/common": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/compiler": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/compiler-cli": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/core": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/forms": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/http": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/platform-browser": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": "5.0.3",
    "@angular/router": "5.0.3",
    "@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap": "1.0.0-beta.5",
    "@ngx-translate/core": "8.0.0",
    "@types/jquery": "3.2.16",
    "angular2-image-upload": "^1.0.0-rc.0",
    "bootstrap": "4.0.0-beta.2",
    "core-js": "2.4.1",
    "express": "^4.16.2",
    "jquery": "3.2.1",
    "jquery-slimscroll": "1.3.8",
    "ngx-toastr": "8.0.0",
    "ngx-uploader": "4.2.1",
    "pace-js": "1.0.2",
    "popper.js": "1.13.0",
    "rxjs": "5.5.0",
    "sticky-kit": "1.1.3",
    "typescript": "~2.4.2",
    "zone.js": "0.8.4"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@angular/language-service": "5.0.3",
    "@types/jasmine": "~2.5.53",
    "@types/jasminewd2": "~2.0.2",
    "@types/node": "~6.0.60",
    "codelyzer": "~3.2.0",
    "jasmine-core": "~2.6.2",
    "jasmine-spec-reporter": "~4.1.0",
    "karma": "~1.7.0",
    "karma-chrome-launcher": "~2.1.1",
    "karma-cli": "~1.0.1",
    "karma-coverage-istanbul-reporter": "1.2.1",
    "karma-jasmine": "~1.1.0",
    "karma-jasmine-html-reporter": "0.2.2",
    "protractor": "~5.1.2",
    "ts-node": "~3.2.0",
    "tslint": "~5.7.0"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": "8.9.4",
    "npm": "5.6.0"
  }
}

---

I created a server.js with these contents in it.

constexpress=require('express');
constapp=expres();
constpath=require('path');
 
app.us(express.static(__dirname+'/dist'));
 
app.listen(process.env.PORT||8080);
 
 
//PathLocationStradegy
app.get('/'function(req,res) {
  res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname+'/dist/index.html'));
});
 
console.log('Console Listening'); 

---

Then, I run these commands

heroku auth:login
Email : [email protected]
Password : #########
heroku create iproject-demo
heroku git:remote iproject-demo
git status
git add -A
git push heroku master

---

Debug

I tried running this

⚡️ web heroku ps

Free dyno hours quota remaining this month: 998h 46m (99%)
For more information on dyno sleeping and how to upgrade, see:
https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/dyno-sleeping

=== web (Free): npm start (1)
web.1: crashed 2018/01/27 14:18:58 -0500 (~ 1m ago)

---

Result

everything looks good.

Heroku Log show Build Success.

-----> Node.js app detected
-----> Creating runtime environment
       
       NPM_CONFIG_LOGLEVEL=error
       NPM_CONFIG_PRODUCTION=true
       NODE_VERBOSE=false
       NODE_ENV=production
       NODE_MODULES_CACHE=true
-----> Installing binaries
       engines.node (package.json):  unspecified
       engines.npm (package.json):   unspecified (use default)
       
       Resolving node version 8.x...
       Downloading and installing node 8.9.4...
       Using default npm version: 5.6.0
-----> Restoring cache
       Skipping cache restore (not-found)
-----> Building dependencies
       Installing node modules (package.json)
       added 26 packages in 5.46s
-----> Caching build
       Clearing previous node cache
       Saving 2 cacheDirectories (default):
       - node_modules
       - bower_components (nothing to cache)
-----> Build succeeded!
-----> Discovering process types
       Procfile declares types     -> (none)
       Default types for buildpack -> web
-----> Compressing...
       Done: 34.4M
-----> Launching...
       Released v3
       https://iproject-demo.herokuapp.com/ deployed to Heroku 

But when I go to the app:

https://iproject-demo.herokuapp.com/

I see this

How can I debug this further?

Answer 1

Here's how I make my Angular app to deploy and work on Heroku:

1. Your server.js should look something like this: https://hastebin.com/zavehahide.js
2. In your package.json, move @angular/cli and @angular/compiler-cli from devDependencies to dependencies
3. Also in your package.json, add postinstall: ng build --prod and start: node server.js to scripts

You should be good to go.

Answer 2

Usually when this error happens to me I have problems with node dependencies. Try to remove the node_modules folder, and the dist folder. From there spin everything up again, this mimics how heroku will build your project.