Nodester {Open Source Node.JS Hosting Platform}

Tips for Windows Users

Installing Node.JS apps on Nodester using Windows was slightly different that the steps for Mac and Linux users.  Last night, I used Bootcamp on my Mac to walk through installing Node.JS as an MSI on Windows 7 and installing the Nodester-CLI and deploying the “hello world” app.  My recap is below:

1. Download and install Node.JS by clicking on the Download and Windows links on http://nodejs.org.  Next reboot your PC to get the paths working to run Node. (There is probably an easier way to do this but I am slightly Windows challenged ;)
2. Install Git for Windows and generate your RSA key using GitHub’s instructions here: http://help.github.com/win-set-up-git/
3. Rather than using the Windows CMD prompt, I had much better results using the Git Bash prompt on Windows for the remainder of these steps. 
   
    
4. Install Nodester-CLI by running:
   npm install nodester-cli -g
5. Link the CLI to your Nodester account by running:
   nodester user setup yourusername yourpassword
6. Submit your RSA key to Nodester so that your git commands work as follows:
   nodester user setkey
7. Create and deploy your first Node.JS “hello world” app on Nodester using the following 2 commands:
   nodester app create mycoolnewappname
   nodester app init  mycoolnewappname
8. This created a new app directory for me and a git repo but the CLI failed to add the new nodester files (server.js and package.json) to my git repo and thus failed to push files to Nodester (because they were not added to git.)  I manually added these files to git and pushed and the app came up as expected.  Here were the steps that I used:
   git add .
   git commit -m “initial commit”
   git push origin master

If everything worked for you as it did for me, your new Node.JS application should now be running online at: mycoolnewappname.nodester.com

Special thanks to Nirahiel for helping us troubleshoot our CLI on Windows!

Passwords and Passphrases Tips

Two of the most common issues when setting up a Nodester account are related to passwords and/or RSA passphrases.  

1. Passwords: Please ensure that your user password does not include non-base64 characters such as ~!@#$%^&*().  Our REST API and cURL does not support these characters in requests.  i.e. curl -u username:p@$$w0rd will not pass.

2. Passphrases: Nodester works perfectly if your RSA key does not include a passphrase or challenge phrase.  If you have a passphrase, you will encounter the following error: EBADF, Bad file descriptor.  There are two options:

a. Generate a new RSA key without a passphrase for use with Nodester and update your account using the “nodester user setkey </path/to/sshkey>”

b. Add your passphrase to your keychain so it automatically responses with the challenge.  More info at: http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~aia21/osx/leopard-ssh.html#Passphrase

We enjoy your feedback and assistance in making Nodester even better for everyone.  You can contribute to our code by sending us pull requests at http://github.com/nodester or open issues for us to research on the github ticketing system at https://github.com/nodester/nodester/issues

THANK YOU!