startup.md

copyright	lastupdated
years 2015, 2017	2017-05-30

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Use the startup command

{: #startup_commmand}

The recommended ways to specify a start command for your {{site.data.keyword.Bluemix}} Node.js application are to use either a Procfile or a package.json file. {: shortdesc}

1. Specify a startup command in your Procfile in the form that follows. Here, app.js is the startup js script for your application.

web: node app.js

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1. Save the Procfile in the root directory of your application.

If a Procfile is not present, the IBM Bluemix Node.js buildpack checks for a scripts.start entry in the package.json file. Again in the example below, app.js is the startup js script for your application.

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

{: codeblock}

If a start script entry is present in the package.json, a Procfile is generated automatically. The content of the auto-generated Procfile is:

    web: npm start

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For more information on the Procfile and package.json file see Tips for Node.js Applications .