Description

MEAN Stack, short for MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node.js, is a free and open source JavaScript stack for building modern, dynamic websites and web applications.

First steps with the Bitnami MEAN Stack

Welcome to your new Bitnami application! Here are a few questions (and answers!) you might need when first starting with your application.

What are the system requirements?

Before you download and install your application, check that your system meets these requirements.

How do I install the Bitnami MEAN Stack?

Windows, OS X and Linux installer

• Download the executable file for the Bitnami MEAN Stack from the Bitnami website.

• Run the downloaded file:

  • On Linux, give the installer executable permissions and run the installation file in the console.
  • On other platforms, double-click the installer and follow the instructions shown.

Check the FAQ for instructions on how to download and install a Bitnami Stack for more details.

The application will be installed to the following default directories:

OS X VM

• Download the OS X VM file for the Bitnami MEAN Stack from the Bitnami website.
• Begin the installation process by double-clicking the image file and dragging the WordPress OS X VM icon to the Applications folder.
• Launch the VM by double-clicking the icon in the Applications folder.

What credentials do I need?

You need application credentials, consisting of a password. This will allow you to log in to the services of the Bitnami stack.

What is the administrator password?

• For Windows, Linux and OS X installers, the password was configured by you when you first installed the application.
• For OS X VMs, the password can be obtained by clicking the Bitnami badge at the bottom right corner of the application welcome page.

How to start or stop the services?

Linux

Bitnami native installers include a graphical tool to manage services. This tool is named manager-linux-x64.run on Linux and is located in the installation directory. To use this tool, double-click the file and then use the graphical interface to start, stop or restart services. Server log messages can be checked in the "Server Events" tab.

The native installer also includes a command-line script to start, stop and restart applications, named ctlscript.sh. This script can be found in the installation directory and accepts the options start, stop, restart, and status. To use it, log in to the server console and execute it following the examples below:

• Call it without any service names to start all services:

    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

• Use it to restart a specific service only by passing the service name as argument - for example, mysql, postgresql or apache:

    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mysql
    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart postgresql
    $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
  

• Obtain current status of all services:

    $ installdir/ctlscript.sh status
  

The list of available services varies depending on the required components for each application.

Mac OS X

Bitnami native installers include a graphical tool to manage services. This tool is named manager-osx on Mac OS X and is located in the installation directory. To use this tool, double-click the file and then use the graphical interface to start, stop or restart services. Server log messages can be checked in the "Server Events" tab.

The native installer also includes a command-line script to start, stop and restart applications, named ctlscript.sh. This script can be found in the installation directory and accepts the options start, stop, restart, and status. To use it, log in to the server console and execute it following the examples below:

• Call it without any service names to start all services:

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

• Use it to restart a specific service only by passing the service name as argument - for example, mysql or apache:

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mysql
   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
  

• Obtain current status of all services:

   $ installdir/ctlscript.sh status
  

The list of available services varies depending on the required components for each application.

Windows

Bitnami native installers include a graphical tool to manage services. This tool is named manager-windows.exe on Windows and is located in the installation directory. To use this tool, double-click the file and then use the graphical interface to start, stop or restart services. Server log messages can be checked in the "Server Events" tab.

The Windows native installer creates shortcuts to start and stop services created in the Start Menu, under "Programs -> Bitnami APPNAME Stack -> Bitnami Service". Servers can also be managed from the Windows "Services" control panel. Services are named using the format APPNAMESERVICENAME, where APPNAME is a placeholder for the application name and SERVICENAME is a placeholder for the service name. For example, the native installer for the Bitnami WordPress Stack installs services named wordpressApache and wordpressMySQL.

These services will be automatically started during boot. To modify this behaviour, refer to the section on disabling services on Windows.

Which components are installed with the Bitnami MEAN Stack?

The Bitnami MEAN Stack ships the components listed below. If you want to know which specific version of each component is bundled in the stack you are downloading, check the README.txt file in the download page or in the stack installation directory. You can also find more information about each component using the links below.

Main components

• MongoDB database
• Node.JS
• Express
• AngularJS
• Apache Web server
• Git
• PHP scripting language (optional)
• RockMongo web application management tool for MongoDB database (optional)

How can I get started with MEAN?

To get started, we suggest the following steps:

Step 1: Create a new MEAN project

To create a new MEAN project, create a new folder for your project and then create a new Express project:

  $ mkdir projects
  $ cd projects
  $ express sample
  $ cd sample
  $ npm install

To start the application, use this command:

  $ ./bin/www

To access the application and see its output, browse to http://localhost:3000/. To end the application, terminate the running Express process.

For more information, refer to these instructions.

Step 2: Add MongoDB and AngularJS to your MEAN application

You can connect your application with MongoDB using MongooseJS, an object modelling driver for Node.js. It is already installed in the MEAN stack so you only have to add the following lines to your app.js file:

var Mongoose = require('mongoose');
var db = Mongoose.createConnection('mongodb://USER:PASSWORD@localhost/DATABASE');

You can use install AngularJS in your application with Bower. Create a file named .bowerrc in your application with the following content:

{ "directory" : "public/javascripts/vendor" }

Then, run this command in the project directory:

$ bower install angular

For more information, refer to these instructions.

Step 3: Access RockMongo

RockMongo is an application intended to handle the administration of MongoDB over the Web. To access it, browse to http://localhost:8080/rockmongo or http://localhost/rockmongo.

How to access a MEAN server application?

Access the application by browsing to http://localhost:3000/. Depending on how your system is configured, it may be necessary to first open that port in the server firewall.

How to find the MongoDB database credentials?

• Database username: root.
• Database password: The same as the application password. Find out how to obtain application credentials.

How to connect to the MongoDB database?

You can connect to the MongoDB database from the same computer where it is installed. Run the mongo client authenticating as the root user against the admin database:

$ mongo admin --username root -p

You will be prompted to enter the root user password. This is the same as the application password.

How to connect to MEAN from a different machine?

For security reasons, the MEAN ports in this solution cannot be accessed over a public IP address. To connect to MEAN from a different machine, you must open port 80, 443 for remote access. Refer to the FAQ for more information on this.

IMPORTANT: Bitnami Native Installers do not modify the firewall configuration of your computer, therefore the MEAN ports could be open which is a significant security risk. You are strongly advised to close the MEAN ports (refer to the FAQ for more information on this).

How to access RockMongo?

You should be able to access RockMongo directly, by browsing to http://127.0.0.1:8080/rockmongo (Linux or Mac OS X) or http://127.0.0.1/rockmongo (Windows).

The username is root, and the password is the one specified by you during the installation process.

How to change the MongoDB root password?

You can modify the MongoDB password using the following command at the shell prompt:

$ mongo admin --username root --password YOURPASSWORD
MongoDB shell version: 2.4.8
connecting to: 127.0.0.1:27017/admin
> db = db.getSiblingDB('admin')
admin
> db.changeUserPassword("root", "NEWPASSWORD")
> exit

How to reset the MongoDB root password?

You can reset the administrator password by following the steps below:

• Edit the installdir/mongodb/mongodb.conf file and replace the following lines:

   # Turn on/off security.  Off is currently the default
   #noauth = true
   auth = true
  
   # Disable the HTTP interface (Defaults to localhost:27018).
   #nohttpinterface = true
   setParameter = enableLocalhostAuthBypass=0
  

  with:

   # Turn on/off security.  Off is currently the default
   noauth = true
   #auth = true
  
   # Disable the HTTP interface (Defaults to localhost:27018).
   #nohttpinterface = true
   #setParameter = enableLocalhostAuthBypass=0
  

• Restart the MongoDB server:

   $ cd installdir
   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mongodb
  

• Create a new administrative user with a new password. Run the following commands to do so (remember to replace NEWPASSWORD with the new one you want to set):

   $ mongo
   > db = db.getSiblingDB('admin')
   admin
   > db.changeUserPassword("root", "NEWPASSWORD")
  

• Revert the modifications made to installdir/mongodb/mongodb.conf by replacing:

   # Turn on/off security.  Off is currently the default
   noauth = true
   #auth = true
  
   # Disable the HTTP interface (Defaults to localhost:27018).
   #nohttpinterface = true
   #setParameter = enableLocalhostAuthBypass=0
  

  with:

   # Turn on/off security. Off is currently the default
   #noauth = true
   auth = true
  
   # Disable the HTTP interface (Defaults to localhost:27018).
   #nohttpinterface = true
   setParameter = enableLocalhostAuthBypass=0
  

• Restart the MongoDB server again:

   $ cd installdir
   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart mongodb
  

How to create an SSL certificate?

OpenSSL is required to create an SSL certificate. A certificate request can then be sent to a certificate authority (CA) to get it signed into a certificate, or if you have your own certificate authority, you may sign it yourself, or you can use a self-signed certificate (because you just want a test certificate or because you are setting up your own CA).

Follow the steps below for your platform.

Linux and Mac OS X

Follow the steps below:

• Generate a new private key:

   $ sudo openssl genrsa -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key 2048
  

• Create a certificate:

   $ sudo openssl req -new -key installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr
  

  IMPORTANT: Enter the server domain name when the above command asks for the "Common Name".

• Send cert.csr to the certificate authority. When the certificate authority completes their checks (and probably received payment from you), they will hand over your new certificate to you.

• Until the certificate is received, create a temporary self-signed certificate:

   $ sudo openssl x509 -in installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.crt -req -signkey installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -days 365
  

• Back up your private key in a safe location after generating a password-protected version as follows:

   $ sudo openssl rsa -des3 -in installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out privkey.pem
  

  Note that if you use this encrypted key in the Apache configuration file, it will be necessary to enter the password manually every time Apache starts. Regenerate the key without password protection from this file as follows:

   $ sudo openssl rsa -in privkey.pem -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key
  

Windows

Follow the steps below once OpenSSL is installed:

• Set the OPENSSL_CONF environment variable to the location of your OpenSSL configuration file. Typically, this file is located in the bin/ subdirectory of your OpenSSL installation directory. Replace the OPENSSL-DIRECTORY placeholder in the command below with the correct location.

   $ set OPENSSL_CONF=C:\OPENSSL-DIRECTORY\bin\openssl.cfg
  

• Change to the bin/ sub-directory of the OpenSSL installation directory. Replace the OPENSSL-DIRECTORY placeholder in the command below with the correct location.

   $ cd C:\OPENSSL-DIRECTORY\bin
  

• Generate a new private key:

   $ openssl genrsa -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key 2048
  

• Create a certificate:

   $ openssl req -new -key installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr
  

  IMPORTANT: Enter the server domain name when the above command asks for the "Common Name".

• Send cert.csr to the certificate authority. When the certificate authority completes their checks (and probably received payment from you), they will hand over your new certificate to you.

• Until the certificate is received, create a temporary self-signed certificate:

   $ openssl x509 -in installdir/apache2/conf/cert.csr -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.crt -req -signkey installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -days 365
  

• Back up your private key in a safe location after generating a password-protected version as follows:

   $ openssl rsa -des3 -in installdir/apache2/conf/server.key -out privkey.pem
  

  Note that if you use this encrypted key in the Apache configuration file, it will be necessary to enter the password manually every time Apache starts. Regenerate the key without password protection from this file as follows:

   $ openssl rsa -in privkey.pem -out installdir/apache2/conf/server.key
  

Find more information about certificates at http://www.openssl.org.

How to enable HTTPS support with SSL certificates?

Bitnami images come with SSL support already pre-configured and with a dummy certificate in place. Although this dummy certificate is fine for testing and development purposes, you will usually want to use a valid SSL certificate for production use. You can either generate this on your own (explained here) or you can purchase one from a commercial certificate authority.

Once you obtain the certificate and certificate key files, you will need to update your server to use them. Follow these steps to activate SSL support:

• Use the table below to identify the correct locations for your certificate and configuration files.

  Variable	Value
  Current application URL	https://[custom-domain]/
  	Example: https://my-domain.com/ or https://my-domain.com/appname
  Apache configuration file	installdir/apache2/conf/bitnami/bitnami.conf
  Certificate file	installdir/apache2/conf/server.crt
  Certificate key file	installdir/apache2/conf/server.key
  CA certificate bundle file (if present)	installdir/apache2/conf/server-ca.crt

• Copy your SSL certificate and certificate key file to the specified locations.

  NOTE: If you use different names for your certificate and key files, you should reconfigure the SSLCertificateFile and SSLCertificateKeyFile directives in the corresponding Apache configuration file to reflect the correct file names.

• If your certificate authority has also provided you with a PEM-encoded Certificate Authority (CA) bundle, you must copy it to the correct location in the previous table. Then, modify the Apache configuration file to include the following line below the SSLCertificateKeyFile directive. Choose the correct directive based on your scenario and Apache version:

  Variable	Value
  Apache configuration file	installdir/apache2/conf/bitnami/bitnami.conf
  Directive to include (Apache v2.4.8+)	SSLCACertificateFile "installdir/apache2/conf/server-ca.crt"
  Directive to include (Apache < v2.4.8)	SSLCertificateChainFile "installdir/apache2/conf/server-ca.crt"

  NOTE: If you use a different name for your CA certificate bundle, you should reconfigure the SSLCertificateChainFile or SSLCACertificateFile directives in the corresponding Apache configuration file to reflect the correct file name.

• Once you have copied all the server certificate files, you may make them readable by the root user only with the following commands:

   $ sudo chown root:root installdir/apache2/conf/server*
  
   $ sudo chmod 600 installdir/apache2/conf/server*
  

• Open port 443 in the server firewall. Refer to the FAQ for more information.

• Restart the Apache server.

You should now be able to access your application using an HTTPS URL.

How can I run a command in the Bitnami MEAN Stack?

Load the Bitnami Console and then run the command as usual.

How to create a custom Node.js application?

Many users run a Bitnami stack as a development environment for their own projects (as opposed to running third-party applications). To create a custom Node.js application from scratch, follow the steps below. These steps assume that your application will live in the installdir/apps/myapp/ directory:

• Run the following commands to create the directories:

  $ sudo mkdir -p installdir/apps/myapp
  $ sudo mkdir installdir/apps/myapp/conf
  $ sudo mkdir installdir/apps/myapp/htdocs
  

• Create and edit the installdir/apps/myapp/conf/httpd-prefix.conf file and add the line below to it:

  Include "installdir/apps/myapp/conf/httpd-app.conf"
  

• Create and edit the installdir/apps/myapp/conf/httpd-app.conf file and add the content below to it. This is the main configuration file for your application, so modify it further depending on your application's requirements.

  ProxyPass / http://127.0.0.1:3000/
  ProxyPassReverse / http://127.0.0.1:3000/
  

  NOTE: 3000 is the default port for the Express server. If you have customized your application to use a different port, change it here as well.

• Once you have created the files and directories above, add the following line to the end of the main Apache configuration file at installdir/apache2/conf/bitnami/bitnami-apps-prefix.conf, as shown below:

  Include "installdir/apps/myapp/conf/httpd-prefix.conf"
  

• Restart the Apache server:

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh restart apache
  

• Start the Express server:

  $ cd installdir/apps/myapp/htdocs
  $ ./bin/www
  

  Alternatively, use the following command to start the server and keep it running even after your server session ends. Replace FILE with the correct filename for your application.

  $ forever start FILE.js
  

Although your application is now available, you may not be able to access it immediately. This is because the Express server runs on port 3000 by default, and Bitnami stacks on some platforms have this port closed for security reasons. To access the application, you will need to create an SSH tunnel to the port.

How to create a project using Express?

Express is a high-performance Web development framework for Node.js inspired by Sinatra.

• Installing it is as simple as executing the commands below:

   $ sudo npm -g install express
   $ sudo npm -g install express-generator
  

• Create a skeleton project by executing these commands. This will produce a new application in the projects/sample-application directory:

   $ mkdir -p projects
   $ cd projects
   $ express sample-application
  

• Install dependencies using npm:

   $ cd sample-application
   $ npm install
  

This will download and install the required dependencies into a node_modules directory under your project folder.

How to start the Express web application?

To start your application server, you just have to start the Bitnami console and then execute the following command, inside your application directory:

$ npm start

If you are using a recent Express version (greater than 4.0), you should use the following command instead:

$ ./bin/www (Linux and Mac OS X native installers)
$ node bin\www (Windows native installer)

Port 3000 is the default port used by Express when creating the template. This means that you may receive an error similar to the below when starting the server:

Error: listen EADDRINUSE
 at errnoException (net.js:670:11)
 at Array.0 (net.js:771:26)
 at EventEmitter._tickCallback (node.js:190:38)

This means that the port is already in use. Edit the app.js script and change the line containing app.listen() to use a different port number, as below. Then, start the application again.

app.listen(4000, function(){

How to install Node.js applications?

To install a Node.js application, first ensure that all dependences are satisfied. Many applications will require Node.js and MongoDB, but others may require Redis or MySQL. To check available services, run this command:

$ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh status

To install an application in the example/ directory, follow these steps:

• Create the directory:

   $ sudo mkdir installdir/apps/example
  

• Move the application files to that directory and follow the official installation steps.

How to create a new MEAN project?

If you would like to create a new MEAN project, follow the steps below:

• Log in to your server console.

• Create a new folder for your project.

   $ mkdir installdir/projects
  

• Create a new Express project:

   $ cd installdir/projects
   $ express sample
  

• The MEAN stack already has the required components installed in Node.js, but if you prefer, you can install them in the new project folder:

   $ cd installdir/projects/sample
   $ npm install
  

• Start the application.

   $ ./bin/www
  

This will start the Express server for your application on port 3000.

To access the application and see its output, browse to http://localhost:3000/. To end the application, terminate the running Express process. Learn more about how to access the application.

You can now proceed to enhance your project by connecting it with MongoDB or by adding AngularJS.

Connecting to MongoDB

You can connect your application with MongoDB using MongooseJS, an object modelling driver for Node.js. It is already installed in the MEAN stack so you only have to add the following lines to your app.js file:

var Mongoose = require('mongoose');
var db = Mongoose.createConnection('mongodb://USER:PASSWORD@localhost/DATABASE');

Note that the socket name depends on the MongoDB port in use.

Refer to this document for information on how to create a database and a database user in MongoDB.

Adding AngularJS

You can use install AngularJS in your application with Bower. Create a file named .bowerrc in your application with the following content:

{ "directory" : "public/javascripts/vendor" }

Then, run this command in the project directory:

$ bower install angular

The necessary files will be copied into the public/javascripts/vendor/angular directory of your application.

Learn more about testing and developing applications with the Bitnami MEAN stack.

How to create a full backup of MEAN?

The Bitnami MEAN Stack is self-contained and the simplest option for performing a backup is to copy or compress the Bitnami stack installation directory. To do so in a safe manner, you will need to stop all servers, so this method may not be appropriate if you have people accessing the application continuously.

Backup on Linux and Mac OS X

Follow these steps:

• Change to the directory in which you wish to save your backup.

   $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers.

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh stop
  

• Create a compressed file with the stack contents.

   $ sudo tar -pczvf application-backup.tar.gz installdir
  

• Start all servers.

   $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

• Download or transfer the application-backup.tar.gz file to a safe location.

You should now download or transfer the application-backup.tar.gz file to a safe location.

Backup on Windows

Follow these steps:

• Stop all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

• Create a compressed file with the stack contents. You can use a graphical tool like 7-Zip or WinZip or just right-click the folder, click "Send to", and select the "Compressed (zipped) folder" option.

• Download or transfer the compressed file to a safe location.

• Start all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

Restore on Linux and Mac OS X

Follow these steps:

• Change to the directory containing your backup:

  $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers.

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh stop
  

• Move the current stack to a different location:

  $ sudo mv installdir /tmp/bitnami-backup
  

• Uncompress the backup file to the original directory:

  $ sudo tar -pxzvf application-backup.tar.gz -C /
  

• Start all servers.

  $ sudo installdir/ctlscript.sh start
  

Restore on Windows

• Change to the directory containing your backup:

     $ cd /your/directory
  

• Stop all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

• Uninstall the previous services by executing the following command:

      $ serviceinstall.bat
  

• Create a safe folder named Backups in the desktop and move the current stack to it. Remember to replace PATH with the right location of your folder:

      $ move installdir \PATH\Backups
  

• Uncompress the backup file using a tool like 7-Zip or Winzip or just double-click the .zip file to uncompress it, and move it to the original directory.

• Install services by running the following commands from an elevated command prompt:

    $ cd installdir
    $ serviceinstall.bat INSTALL
  

• Start all servers using the shortcuts in the Start Menu or the graphical manager tool.

How to debug errors in your MongoDB database?

The main log file is created at installdir/mongodb/log/mongodb.log on the MongoDB database server host.