Angular and Heroku: Deploying to the Cloud

This tutorial will guide you through the process of deploying an Angular app to the cloud using Heroku. We will start by setting up a Heroku account and installing the Heroku CLI. Then, we will prepare our Angular app for deployment by building it and configuring the package.json file. Next, we will deploy the app to Heroku by initializing a Git repository and pushing the app to Heroku. We will also cover how to set up environment variables, test the deployment, troubleshoot common issues, and scale the app. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a fully deployed Angular app running on Heroku.

angular heroku deploying cloud

Introduction

What is Angular?

Angular is a popular JavaScript framework for building web applications. It provides a powerful set of tools and features that make it easy to build scalable and maintainable applications. Angular follows the model-view-controller (MVC) architectural pattern and uses HTML templates, TypeScript, and dependency injection to create dynamic and responsive web pages.

What is Heroku?

Heroku is a cloud platform that allows you to deploy, manage, and scale web applications. It supports various programming languages and frameworks, including Angular. Heroku provides a simple and intuitive interface for managing your applications and offers a range of add-ons and services to enhance your app's functionality.

Why deploy Angular to the cloud?

Deploying your Angular app to the cloud has several advantages. First, it allows you to easily share your app with others by providing a public URL. Second, it allows you to scale your app to handle a large number of users without the need for additional infrastructure. Finally, deploying to the cloud provides a reliable and secure hosting environment, ensuring that your app is always available to users.

Setting up Heroku

Creating a Heroku account

Before we can deploy our Angular app to Heroku, we need to create a Heroku account. Go to the Heroku website (https://www.heroku.com/) and click on the "Sign up" button. Fill in the required information and click on the "Create free account" button. You will receive an email with a verification link. Click on the link to verify your account.

Installing the Heroku CLI

To interact with Heroku from the command line, we need to install the Heroku CLI. Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

$ npm install -g heroku

This will install the Heroku CLI globally on your system. Once the installation is complete, you can verify it by running the following command:

$ heroku --version

Creating a new Heroku app

Now that we have the Heroku CLI installed, we can create a new Heroku app. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the root directory of your Angular app. Run the following command to create a new Heroku app:

$ heroku create

This will create a new Heroku app and associate it with your Heroku account. You will see the app's URL and Git repository URL displayed in the terminal.

Preparing the Angular App

Building the Angular app

Before we can deploy our Angular app to Heroku, we need to build it. This will compile the TypeScript code, bundle the JavaScript and CSS files, and create the necessary assets for the app to run. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the root directory of your Angular app. Run the following command to build the app:

$ ng build --prod

This will build the app in production mode and generate the necessary files in the "dist" directory.

Configuring the package.json file

To deploy our Angular app to Heroku, we need to configure the package.json file. This file contains information about the app, its dependencies, and scripts to run various tasks. Open the package.json file in the root directory of your Angular app and add the following scripts:

"scripts": {
  "start": "node server.js"
}

This script tells Heroku to start the app by running the "server.js" file. We will create this file in the next section.

Adding a server.js file

To deploy our Angular app to Heroku, we need to add a server.js file. This file will serve as the entry point for our app and handle the HTTP requests. Create a new file called "server.js" in the root directory of your Angular app and add the following code:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const path = require('path');

app.use(express.static(__dirname + '/dist'));

app.get('/*', function(req,res) {
  res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname+'/dist/index.html'));
});

app.listen(process.env.PORT || 8080);

This code sets up a basic Express server that serves the static files from the "dist" directory and redirects all other requests to the "index.html" file. The "process.env.PORT || 8080" part ensures that the app listens on the correct port, whether it is provided by Heroku or the default port of 8080.

Deploying to Heroku

Initializing a Git repository

Before we can deploy our Angular app to Heroku, we need to initialize a Git repository. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the root directory of your Angular app. Run the following command to initialize a Git repository:

$ git init

This will create a new Git repository in the current directory.

Pushing the app to Heroku

Now that we have a Git repository, we can push our app to Heroku. Run the following command to add the Heroku remote repository:

$ heroku git:remote -a <your-app-name>

Replace "<your-app-name>" with the name of your Heroku app. This will add a new remote repository called "heroku" to your Git repository.

Next, run the following command to push the app to Heroku:

$ git push heroku master

This will upload the app's files to Heroku and trigger the deployment process. You will see the build logs in the terminal.

Setting up environment variables

To configure environment variables for our Angular app on Heroku, we can use the Heroku CLI or the Heroku Dashboard. For simplicity, we will use the Heroku Dashboard in this tutorial.

Go to the Heroku Dashboard (https://dashboard.heroku.com/) and log in.
Select your app from the list of apps.
Click on the "Settings" tab.
Scroll down to the "Config Vars" section.
Click on the "Reveal Config Vars" button.
Add any environment variables that your app requires, such as API keys or database connection strings.

Testing the Deployment

Accessing the deployed app

Once the deployment process is complete, you can access your deployed Angular app by visiting the URL provided by Heroku. Open your web browser and enter the URL in the address bar. You should see your app running.

Checking logs and error handling

To check the logs of your deployed app on Heroku, you can use the Heroku CLI or the Heroku Dashboard. For simplicity, we will use the Heroku Dashboard in this tutorial.

Go to the Heroku Dashboard (https://dashboard.heroku.com/) and log in.
Select your app from the list of apps.
Click on the "More" button in the top-right corner.
Select "View logs" from the dropdown menu.
This will open the logs page, where you can view the logs of your app and troubleshoot any errors or issues.

Scaling the app

To scale your deployed Angular app on Heroku, you can use the Heroku CLI or the Heroku Dashboard. For simplicity, we will use the Heroku Dashboard in this tutorial.

Go to the Heroku Dashboard (https://dashboard.heroku.com/) and log in.
Select your app from the list of apps.
Click on the "Resources" tab.
Under the "Dynos" section, click on the "Edit" button.
Adjust the number of dynos to scale your app up or down.
Click on the "Save" button to apply the changes.

Troubleshooting

Common deployment issues

Deploying an Angular app to Heroku can sometimes have issues. Here are some common deployment issues and their solutions:

Error: "No default language could be detected for this app.": This error occurs when Heroku cannot detect the programming language of your app. To fix this, make sure that your app's root directory contains a valid package.json file.
Error: "Error: Cannot find module 'express'": This error occurs when the Express module is not installed. To fix this, make sure that you have installed the Express module by running the following command: $ npm install express --save.

Debugging tips

If you encounter any issues during the deployment process, here are some debugging tips:

Check the build logs for any error messages or stack traces. These can provide valuable information about what went wrong.
Verify that your app's dependencies are correctly specified in the package.json file.
Check that your app's entry point file (e.g. server.js) is correctly configured and located in the root directory of your app.

Getting help from the community

If you are unable to resolve an issue or need further assistance, you can reach out to the Angular community for help. Here are some resources where you can ask questions and get support:

Angular Official Documentation: https://angular.io/docs
Angular Community Forum: https://gitter.im/angular/angular
Stack Overflow: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/angular
Angular Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/Angular2/

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have learned how to deploy an Angular app to the cloud using Heroku. We started by setting up a Heroku account and installing the Heroku CLI. Then, we prepared our Angular app for deployment by building it and configuring the package.json file. Next, we deployed the app to Heroku by initializing a Git repository and pushing the app to Heroku. We also covered how to set up environment variables, test the deployment, troubleshoot common issues, and scale the app. By following this tutorial, you should now have a fully deployed Angular app running on Heroku. Happy coding!