An example "router" for a web server hosting several Node.js apps. In this scenario. I run each application on a different port, using pm2 to keep the process running and watching for changes. The router determines the desired application based on the URL, and then forwards the request to the correct app/port. Static files are served up using Ex…

router.js

// https://github.com/nodejitsu/node-http-proxy
// https://github.com/visionmedia/express

var httpProxy = require('http-proxy'),	
	express = require('express'),  
	app = express();

var PATH_REGEX = /^\/([a-zA-Z0-9]+).*$/;

// Create a proxy server with custom application logic. 
var server = httpProxy.createServer(function (req, res, proxy) {
	
	// Grab the first 'directory' from the URL path. 
	var pathParts = req.url.match(PATH_REGEX);

	// Check if we have something. This identifies the application we should route to. 
	var app = '';
	if (pathParts && pathParts.length > 0) app = pathParts[1];
	
	// Determine where to send this request. 
	switch (app.toLowerCase()) {

		case 'echo' :  // Echo app
			proxy.proxyRequest(req, res, { 
				host: '127.0.0.1', 
				port: 8081
			});
			break;
			
		case 'app1' : // Application with path /app1
			proxy.proxyRequest(req, res, { 
				host: '127.0.0.1', 
				port: 8082
			});
			break;
			
		case 'app2' : // Application with path /app2
			proxy.proxyRequest(req, res, { 
				host: '127.0.0.1', 
				port: 8083
			});
			break;
			
		// Static files are served up using express.
		// Paths are defined at the bottom.				
		case 'slides' : // Static files: presentations/slides
		case 'sandbox' : // All sandbox apps/projects
		case 'foo' : // Static files: details here
			proxy.proxyRequest(req, res, { 
				host: '127.0.0.1', 
				port: 8100
			});
			break; 
			
		default: // Homepage/root
			proxy.proxyRequest(req, res, { 
				host: '127.0.0.1', 
				port: 8086
			});
			break;
	}
	
});


// Handler to route web socket traffic. 
// Only needed if you have an application using web sockets. 
server.on('upgrade', function (req, socket, head) {
	var pathParts = req.url.match(PATH_REGEX);
	
	var app = '';
	if (pathParts && pathParts.length > 0) app = pathParts[1];
	
	switch (app.toLowerCase()) {
		case 'app2': 
			server.proxy.proxyWebSocketRequest(req, socket, head, { 
				host: '127.0.0.1', 
				port: 8083
			});
			break;
	}
	
});

server.listen(8000);  // Fire up the server, on port 8000


// Define paths for serving up static content. 
app.use('/slides', express.static(__dirname + '/slides'));
app.use('/sandbox', express.static(__dirname + '/sandbox'));
app.listen(8100);