Using Passenger Applications


Last modified: December 15, 2022

Overview

This document explains how to use Passenger applications with the ea-apache24-mod-passenger package.

Note:
  • You can only use this package on servers that run the Ubuntu® operating system. It is the only option available for systems that run Ubuntu.
  • For information on how to install an application on a Red Hat® Enterprise License® (RHEL)-based server, read our How to Install a Node.js Application documentation.

The Passenger package

The ea-apache24-mod-passenger package is our new package for Passenger. It serves as a replacement for the ea-ruby2*-mod_passenger packages. In the previous packages, in order to install Passenger, you also installed Ruby and the version of the package that you installed depended on your operating system.

With this package, Ruby is no longer installed with Passenger. When you install this Passenger package, the system uses the newest installed version of Ruby, NodeJS, and Python that exists on the system. This simplifies the installation process and ensures compatibility with future versions.

If you want your new application to use a different version, then you must configure it manually.

Install the package

You can install the ea-apache24-mod-passenger package in the EasyApache 4 interface (WHM » Home » Software » EasyApache 4) or on the command line with your package manager.

Using Passenger Applications

You can use cPanel’s Application Manager interface (Home » cPanel » Software » Application Manager) to install your Passenger applications. Any new applications will use the most recent version of Ruby, NodeJS, or Python installed on the system. Any previously-installed applications will continue to use their existing configuration.

Default application paths

You can set your Passenger default paths in the following files:

  • Ruby — /etc/cpanel/ea4/passenger.ruby
  • NodeJS — /etc/cpanel/ea4/passenger.nodejs
  • Python — /etc/cpanel/ea4/passenger.python

This package also sets the following symlinks for the newest installed version of Ruby, NodeJS, and Python that exists on the system:

  • Ruby — /etc/cpanel/ea4/passenger.ruby.system-default
  • NodeJS — /etc/cpanel/ea4/passenger.nodejs.system-default
  • Python — /etc/cpanel/ea4/passenger.python.system-default

Missing parameters error

If you receive an error that parameters are missing in cPanel’s Application Manager interface (Home » cPanel » Software » Application Manager), you can run the following command to reset your Passenger application settings:

/usr/local/bin/ea-passenger-runtime-applications-settings --fix

This script is only available with the ea-passenger-runtime package. Apache’s Passenger package and NGINX with Reverse Proxy both include this package in their installation. It verifies and, if necessary, resets the settings for your system’s Ruby, Python, and NodeJS. This ensures they work properly with your Passenger applications.

You can also view your Passenger application settings with the following command:

/usr/local/bin/ea-passenger-runtime-applications-settings

Additional Documentation