elastic-beanstalk-deployment

Elastic Beanstalk Node.js Deployment

Overview

AWS Elastic Beanstalk automates Node.js application deployment but has specific behaviors around dependency installation that can cause issues, especially with monorepos. Understanding when EB installs dependencies vs when it skips installation is critical for successful deployments.

Core principle: Choose between letting EB install dependencies (smaller packages, slower) or bundling node_modules (larger packages, more reliable).

When to Use

Use when:

• Deploying Node.js applications to AWS Elastic Beanstalk
• Encountering "Cannot find package" errors during deployment
• Working with monorepo workspace packages
• Need reliable deployments without npm registry dependencies
• Deploying applications with private packages

Don't use for:

• Non-AWS deployments
• Docker-based deployments (different dependency strategy)
• Simple apps with only public npm packages (standard approach works fine)

Official AWS Documentation

Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/nodejs-platform-dependencies.html

Quick Reference: EB Dependency Installation Behavior

Condition	EB Action	npm Command
package.json exists, NO node_modules/	Installs dependencies	npm install --omit=dev (npm 7+)
node_modules/ directory present	Skips installation	None - uses bundled modules

Deployment Strategies

Strategy 1: Let EB Install Dependencies (Standard)

Best for: Simple apps, all packages in npm registry, no monorepo

# GitHub Actions workflow
- name: Build application
  run: npm run build

- name: Create deployment package
  run: |
    zip -r app.zip \
      dist/ \
      package.json \
      package-lock.json \
      .ebextensions/

Pros:

• Smaller deployment packages (5-10MB typical)
• Consistent with npm ecosystem
• Uses platform's npm version

Cons:

• Slower deployments (installs on every deploy)
• Requires all packages in npm registry
• Can fail with network/registry issues