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To run a Socket.IO Node.js application on a Dokku VPS, deploy it as a web process, make the application listen on Dokku’s assigned port, and configure the reverse proxy to pass the WebSocket upgrade. The critical nginx settings are HTTP/1.1 plus the Upgrade and Connection headers; without them, Socket.IO may fall back to polling or fail to establish a WebSocket connection.
This guide covers the application contract, Procfile, port handling, nginx configuration, idle-connection timeouts, deployment checks, and the limits of scaling Socket.IO behind a proxy.
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What Dokku must do for Socket.IO
Dokku places your Node.js process behind a reverse proxy. Ordinary HTTP requests can work with a basic proxy, but a WebSocket connection begins as an HTTP request and then asks the proxy to switch protocols. The proxy must forward that upgrade instead of treating the request as a normal, short-lived HTTP exchange.
There are three separate pieces to make reliable:
- Application process: Dokku routes web traffic to the process type named
web. - Listening port: your Node server must bind to the port Dokku supplies rather than assuming a fixed public port.
- Proxy upgrade: nginx must use HTTP/1.1 and forward the WebSocket upgrade headers for Socket.IO requests.
If any one of these is wrong, symptoms can include a refused connection, a 404 on the Socket.IO endpoint, repeated polling requests, or a connection that closes after sitting idle.
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Before you deploy
Application prerequisites
- A Node.js application with Socket.IO installed and a start script that launches the server.
- A repository Dokku can deploy.
- A VPS with Dokku already installed and an application created in Dokku.
- A DNS name pointing to the VPS if you intend to expose the service through a hostname.
This article focuses on the application, process, port, and proxy configuration. Dokku installation, VPS hardening, DNS, certificate issuance, and the exact git-push syntax depend on the Dokku release and your infrastructure; use the documentation for the installed release for those operations.
Confirm the server’s start command
Dokku’s Node guidance uses a Procfile entry in this form:
web: npm startThe command after web: must actually start your HTTP server. Check the scripts.start entry in package.json; if it points to a development watcher, replace it with a production command that keeps one foreground Node process running. Socket.IO is attached to the HTTP server, so the process must not exit after starting.
Create the Procfile and bind the server correctly
Declare a web process
Create a file named exactly Procfile at the repository root, with no extension:
web: npm startDokku’s process-management documentation identifies web as the process type that receives web traffic and notes that it is scaled to one on the first deploy. A worker process, a custom process name, or a command that listens only on a local development interface will not receive normal HTTP and WebSocket traffic through Dokku’s proxy.
Use the port supplied by the environment
Have Node read process.env.PORT and provide a development fallback only for local use. A typical server-side pattern is:
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const port = Number(process.env.PORT || 3000);
server.listen(port, '0.0.0.0', () => {
console.log(`Listening on ${port}`);
});The important deployment behavior is not the fallback number; it is that the production process honors the environment value and binds on an interface reachable from the proxy. Binding only to localhost can make the process invisible to a proxy running outside that network namespace.
Do not assume you should set PORT manually in Dokku
Dokku’s port-management guidance advises against manually setting PORT, because Dokku derives the value from its port mappings. A separate third-party example sets PORT=3000 html in application configuration, but that advice conflicts with Dokku’s own port-management guidance and should not be applied blindly. Check the behavior of your installed Dokku version and its current port mapping before adding a manual PORT env value.
An older example repository uses a mapping in the form DOKKU_PROXY_PORT_MAP=http:80:5000. Treat that as a dated example rather than a universal requirement: port mapping syntax and defaults can change, and the correct internal port is the one your process actually listens on.
Deploy the application and verify the process
Use your normal Dokku deployment workflow for the installed release. Because the precise git-push command and release-specific setup were not established here, do not copy a command from an unrelated Dokku version without checking its documentation.
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- The build completes and dependencies are installed.
- The
webprocess is running rather than repeatedly restarting. - The Node log reports the port supplied through the environment.
- The application is listening on the expected internal interface and port.
- An ordinary HTTP route responds through the Dokku hostname before you troubleshoot WebSockets.
Testing HTTP first separates application startup and routing failures from WebSocket-proxy failures. If the ordinary route fails, fix the process, port, or application error before editing nginx.
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Configure nginx to pass the Socket.IO upgrade
Required headers for the Socket.IO path
Socket.IO’s reverse-proxy guidance shows an nginx upstream using HTTP/1.1 and forwarding the upgrade headers. Dokku’s WebSocket tutorial uses the same headers in a dedicated location and disables proxy buffering. The essential directives are:
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_buffering off;Place these directives in the location that handles Socket.IO traffic, normally the /socket.io/ path. The exact way you persist custom nginx configuration varies with Dokku’s current proxy setup, so use the installed release’s documented mechanism rather than editing a generated file that may be overwritten.
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Dedicated WebSocket location
A dedicated location makes the intent clear and mirrors Dokku’s tutorial approach:
location /socket.io/ {
proxy_pass http://your_dokku_upstream;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_buffering off;
}your_dokku_upstream is explanatory text, not a value to paste. Replace it with the upstream name generated or documented by your Dokku configuration. Preserve the rest of your application’s proxy headers and routing rules. The key requirement is that requests under the Socket.IO path reach the same Node process as the rest of the application.
One location for HTTP and WebSocket traffic
You can also let one location handle both ordinary HTTP and upgrade requests by mapping the incoming Upgrade header. The common pattern uses nginx’s map directive to choose a connection value based on $http_upgrade:
map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
default upgrade;
'' close;
}
location / {
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
}This arrangement avoids maintaining separate routing logic when the same upstream serves both page requests and Socket.IO. A dedicated /socket.io/ location is easier to audit when you want buffering and timeout behavior to apply specifically to long-lived connections.
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Set a timeout suitable for long-lived connections
nginx may close an idle upstream connection after roughly 60 seconds under its default behavior, according to a proxy configuration guide. That is short for a WebSocket that is intentionally quiet. Raise proxy_read_timeout for the location or upstream that serves Socket.IO, choosing a value longer than the longest period in which your application permits a connection to remain idle.
Do not confuse an nginx read timeout with Socket.IO’s heartbeat and disconnect settings. The proxy timeout controls how long nginx waits for upstream activity; Socket.IO’s own ping cycle and server-side disconnect rules still apply. After changing the timeout, reload the proxy using the Dokku-supported configuration workflow and confirm that the generated configuration contains the directive in the effective location.
Client and server checks after deployment
Confirm the transport
Open the browser’s network tools while connecting to the application. A healthy WebSocket path begins with a Socket.IO handshake and then shows an upgraded WebSocket connection when the client and proxy permit it. If the client remains on long-polling, check the proxy upgrade directives, the URL path, and whether another proxy or load balancer sits in front of Dokku.
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The client’s Socket.IO URL and path must match the server and proxy location. A proxy rule for /socket.io/ will not help a client configured with a different custom path unless the nginx location is changed to match. If the page loads but the handshake returns 404, inspect the path before changing timeout or scaling settings.
Watch logs during a connection attempt
- A process restart at connection time points to an application exception or an invalid start command.
- A 502 or connection-refused response usually indicates that nginx cannot reach the web process or that the process is listening on the wrong port.
- A successful HTTP response followed by a failed upgrade points toward missing HTTP/1.1 or upgrade headers.
- A connection that works briefly and then dies while idle points toward proxy timeout settings or heartbeat behavior.
Common failure modes and fixes
“It works locally but not on Dokku”
Local development often uses a fixed port and a direct connection, bypassing the reverse proxy. Confirm that production code reads process.env.PORT, binds to a reachable interface, and starts through the Procfile’s web command. Then test the ordinary HTTP route through Dokku.
Polling works, WebSocket does not
This usually means the application is reachable but the upgrade is not being forwarded. Verify all three proxy requirements together: proxy_http_version 1.1, Upgrade $http_upgrade, and Connection "upgrade". Also check that a fronting proxy has not removed those headers before the request reaches Dokku.
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Socket.IO returns a 404
Check that the proxy location matches the Socket.IO path and that the request reaches the application’s Socket.IO server rather than a static-file or fallback route. Confirm the client and server use the same path configuration.
The process is healthy but the proxy reports 502
Recheck the internal port. Do not infer it from the public HTTP port or from an old mapping example. The Node process must listen on the port Dokku assigns, and the proxy’s upstream must target that same internal endpoint.
Idle clients disconnect
Raise the nginx read timeout for long-lived connections and compare it with the application’s heartbeat interval. If a different load balancer is in front of Dokku, inspect its idle timeout as well; the shortest timeout in the chain wins.
Scaling beyond one web process
A single web process is the simplest deployment because every handshake and subsequent request reaches the same Node process. Scaling to multiple instances introduces session-routing questions, especially when Socket.IO uses its long-polling fallback. The search summary for this procedure asserted that sticky sessions are needed when scaling out, but the available documentation did not establish how Dokku’s current scaling and affinity behavior implements them.
Therefore, treat multi-instance Socket.IO as a separate design task. Before increasing the process count, verify:
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- How WebSocket and polling traffic are balanced by the complete proxy chain.
- Whether your Socket.IO deployment uses an adapter or shared state for events between instances.
- How disconnects, deploys, and instance replacement affect connected clients.
If you cannot verify those behaviors, keep one web instance for the initial deployment and document the scaling limitation rather than assuming that adding processes is transparent.
A practical deployment checklist
- Application: Socket.IO is attached to the HTTP server that the start command launches.
- Procfile: the repository contains
web: npm startor an equivalent command that starts the production server. - Port: Node reads Dokku’s supplied
PORTvalue and listens on a reachable interface. - HTTP test: a normal route responds through the Dokku hostname.
- Proxy upgrade: nginx uses HTTP/1.1 and forwards both upgrade headers.
- Buffering: buffering is disabled for the WebSocket location when following Dokku’s dedicated-location pattern.
- Timeout: the proxy read timeout exceeds the expected idle period for your connections.
- Path: the client Socket.IO path matches the nginx location and server configuration.
- Logs: the web process remains running while a client connects and disconnects.
- Scaling: you have verified session affinity and shared-state behavior before running more than one instance.
Choosing the proxy layout
| Layout | When it fits | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
Dedicated /socket.io/ location |
You want WebSocket-specific buffering and timeout rules and an easily auditable configuration. | The location reaches the same upstream as the Node application and contains all upgrade directives. |
| Single location with an upgrade map | One upstream serves ordinary HTTP and WebSocket requests and you prefer one routing block. | The map is defined in the correct nginx context and the connection value changes when an upgrade header is present. |
| Multiple web instances | You need horizontal capacity after validating session and event-sharing behavior. | Sticky-session behavior, adapter/shared state, and Dokku’s current scaling implementation. |
Final validation before calling the deployment complete
Run a connection test from a client outside the VPS network, leave it idle for longer than your expected quiet period, and then generate traffic again. Confirm that the connection remains usable, that ordinary HTTP requests still work, and that a process restart produces a clean reconnect rather than a permanently stuck client. Repeat the check after every change to port mappings or proxy configuration, because those changes can regenerate nginx settings.
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