ok, I give in! Rebuilding a site and setting up node.js on windows IIS server. I installed node.js on the site manually, but guessing I should have let wappler install it? I believe its the newest version (node@24)?. My ftp connection to the server checks out. What is my next step?
using this as guide: https://alex.domenici.net/archive/deploying-a-node-js-application-on-windows-iis-using-a-reverse-proxy
Check what you have installed on your OS.
Open Power Shell and enter:
node -v
You should see something like this returned v22.15.0.
If not it is not installed correctly.
Then you need to (in Power Shell with Windows Package Manager) type winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS wait for it to finish and then:
node -v
npm -v
I've just done similar on a neighbors Windows box.
Sorry. Not a mac user so cant help much but obvious question, have you.
What does system check show?
You should see:
is that on the client side,ie my workstation or on the IIS server? This is what I get at the server:
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> node -v
v26.3.0
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> npm -v
11.16.0
I installed node by using chatgpt to walk me through installing it just cause I don’t know what I’m doing…. so maybe version is too new?
AHHH ME NEITHER and I just provided Windows instructions... 
Have you rebooted? If not worth a reboot.
work station or server?
Your local machine.
I’ll spin a reboot now. Could it be because my node version is 26.3.0, @Hyperbytes shows he is using version v24.12.0
same thing. But it asks which version of node I am running? Which is v24, but I don’t know how to repond to this?
Version shouldnt be an issue.
Sadly, as a Windows user, i cant really help more.
On Windows i can just install node from node website, reboot, job done!
I don’t think it is anything Mac related. It has to do something with the server config I think? I have the ftp set properly I believe? When I pick the test button it replies back with connection successful. I’ll keep digging I guess.
Installation of node on Windows is different to mac, brew is Mac specific, Windows uses Scoop hence my inability to assist further. 
Could try this:
brew install node@22
You don't have to be in the Project to install it though. I'm not sure why you are seeing Brew instructions on a Windows box though? To clarify are you trying to install Node on a Mac and your host is Windows? If so try the above command on the local machine (the Mac).
Workstation is mac. Server is windows 2016 running IIS with the reverse proxy setup.
Will try the command line on mac
Just to clarify — Node.js doesn’t need IIS at all. A Node project runs its own server by default (Express listens on a port like 3000), so IIS isn’t required to run the app.
The only time IIS is involved is when you choose to use it as a reverse proxy. That’s common on Windows Server environments where IIS is already hosting other sites. In that setup, IIS just forwards incoming traffic to the Node process running in the background.
So the Node app runs independently, and IIS is optional — it’s only there if you want it to handle things like SSL, URL rewriting, or routing multiple sites on the same machine.
Hi Baub,
If you’re trying to set up NodeJS apps on a Windows server, whether it’s with or without IIS, Wappler won’t be able to handle the installation. Instead, you’ll need to install it on the server and then upload your project files (specifically the public folder) to it using FTP or another method.
Here are two different approaches you can consider for running a NodeJS app on a Windows server:
If you’re already running other websites on IIS (listening on port 80/443): NodeJS, PM2 (which automatically starts the service when you reboot) and IIS (which listens on port 80/443, supports SSL and acts as a reverse proxy to your internal port 3000).
If you’re not already using IIS or prefer to move away from it entirely and let Nginx or Caddy handle port 80/443: NodeJS, PM2 (which automatically starts the service when you reboot) and Nginx / Caddy (which listens on port 80/443, supports SSL and forwards requests to your internal port 3000).
I have tried running a NodeJS app on a windows server in the past, but I realised that running a NodeJS app on a Windows server wasn’t the best use of my time and effort. I didn’t have the experience to fine-tune the NodeJS+PM2+IIS stack to work perfectly. Ultimately, I decided to deploy NodeJS apps in a Linux / Docker environment, and it turned out to be a better approach.
Well I took @cheese command line for installing node on the the mac, i used: brew install node@22 but used node@24 because thats what I had installed on the server. It ended up complaining that 3 of the dependencies wouldn’t run because the operating system was too old. So I’m guessing the OS I’m currently running on that mac is currently the hinderance. I am only at that job site once a week so will look more in depth next week. I could try to install node@22 maybe it would run as not the newest or otherwise look at getting a newer mac as its probably time….
I’ll get back with this next week and report where things are…
Install Ubuntu on it and give it a new lease of life @baub
Wappler needs Big Sur or later i believe.
I've installed MacOS Sequoia 15.7.7 on an iMac from 2011.
