Node.js Agent Installation Setup

The Atatus Node.js agent helps you in troubleshooting your Node.js application problems and also identifies performance issues before it becomes apparent to your users. It also captures unhandled exceptions and HTTP failures in production to determine which part of your Node.js application is slower or producing lots of errors. Create a free account to start monitoring your Node.js apps.

Installation & Setup

Step 1: Install Atatus Node.js Package

npm install --save atatus-nodejs

Step 2: Create `atatus.js` Initialization File

Create an atatus.js file in your project root with the following code:

// atatus.js - Atatus Agent Initialization
// Place this file in your project root

// For JavaScript (ES Modules):
import atatus from 'atatus-nodejs';

// For TypeScript:
// import * as atatus from 'atatus-nodejs';


// Option 1: Hardcoded configuration
atatus.start({
    licenseKey: "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY",
    notifyHost: "YOUR_ON_PREMISE_URL",
    appName: "YOUR_APP_NAME"
});

// Option 2: Read from environment variables
// atatus.start({
//     licenseKey: process.env.ATATUS_LICENSE_KEY,
//     appName: process.env.ATATUS_APP_NAME
// });

// Option 3: Load from .env file using dotenv (ES module way)
// import 'dotenv/config';
// atatus.start({
//     licenseKey: process.env.ATATUS_LICENSE_KEY,
//     appName: process.env.ATATUS_APP_NAME
// });

export default atatus;

Important: For TypeScript, use import * as atatus from 'atatus-nodejs' instead of the default import.

Step 3: Start Your Application

Use the -r flag to preload the atatus.js file when starting your Node.js application:

node -r ./atatus.js ./app/server.js

An example Docker command:

CMD ["node", "-r", "./atatus.js", "server.js"]

Step 4: Restart Your Server

Just restart your server and access it. You will visualize your application’s metrics within minutes.

Configuration Options

You can configure the Atatus agent in three ways:

Option	Description
Hardcoded	Set `licenseKey` and `appName` directly in the `atatus.start()` call
Environment Variables	Use `process.env.ATATUS_LICENSE_KEY` and `process.env.ATATUS_APP_NAME`
dotenv	Load configuration from a `.env` file using `import 'dotenv/config'`

Using Environment Variables

export ATATUS_LICENSE_KEY="YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"
export ATATUS_APP_NAME="YOUR_APP_NAME"
export ATATUS_NOTIFY_HOST="YOUR_ON_PREMISE_URL"

# To enable analytics feature
export ATATUS_ANALYTICS=true
export ATATUS_LOG_BODY=all
export ATATUS_ANALYTICS_CAPTURE_OUTGOING=true

Using dotenv

Install the dotenv package and create a .env file:

npm install dotenv

# .env file
ATATUS_LICENSE_KEY=your_actual_license_key
ATATUS_APP_NAME=your_app_name
ATATUS_NOTIFY_HOST=YOUR_ON_PREMISE_URL

For more advanced options on installing your monitoring code, view customizing agent.

Refer to the Troubleshooting Guide for help.

Error Handling For ES Modules(Babel) & TypeScript

If you are using Atatus Node.js agent, for instance along with Babel, TypeScript for Node.js, you need to create and import atatus-promise-error-handler.js file.

// Atatus Promise Error Handling
// atatus-promise-error-handler.js

import atatus from 'atatus-nodejs';

let unhandledRejectionHandler = function (err) {
    // console.debug('Atatus agent caught unhandled rejections: ', err.message)

    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
        atatus.notifyError(err)
        resolve()
    });
}

let load = function() {
    // Prepend the listener if we can (Node 6+)
    if (process.prependListener) {
      process.prependListener('unhandledRejection', unhandledRejectionHandler)
    } else {
      process.on('unhandledRejection', unhandledRejectionHandler)
    }
}

load();

exports.destroy = function() {
    process.removeListener('unhandledRejection', unhandledRejectionHandler)
}

​Installation & Setup

​Step 1: Install Atatus Node.js Package

​Step 2: Create atatus.js Initialization File

​Step 3: Start Your Application

​Step 4: Restart Your Server

​Configuration Options

​Using Environment Variables

​Using dotenv

​Error Handling For ES Modules(Babel) & TypeScript

Installation & Setup

Step 1: Install Atatus Node.js Package

Step 2: Create `atatus.js` Initialization File

Step 3: Start Your Application

Step 4: Restart Your Server

Configuration Options

Using Environment Variables

Using dotenv

Error Handling For ES Modules(Babel) & TypeScript