Deploy Node.js/Express App to Hetzner Server (Playbook Already Written)

*Paid Test-Task For Long Term Freelancer *Only Apply If You Can Finish The Project Within The Next 12 Hours We have a working Node.js/Express application (an AI-powered sales training tool with 3 modules, calling an LLM API for real-time role-play and scoring) that runs locally on port 3462. It is fully built and tested — we now need it deployed to a Hetzner Cloud server (VPS) so our team can access it via a URL instead of running it locally. We already have a deployment playbook document outlining the intended setup — you'll follow/validate it and handle anything it doesn't cover. Scope of work: Provision and configure a Hetzner Cloud VPS (Ubuntu) Set up Node.js runtime, process manager (PM2 or similar) for the Express server Configure Nginx as reverse proxy + SSL (Let's Encrypt) for a custom domain/subdomain Set environment variables / secrets securely (API keys — not shared in this post, provided privately) Set up basic firewall rules (UFW) and server hardening basics Test end-to-end that the deployed app works identically to local Document the final setup briefly (what was configured, how to restart/update the app) Nice to have: Experience deploying Express + Anthropic/OpenAI API-based apps Experience with simple auth/access control (the app should not be publicly indexed — basic password gate or IP allowlist is fine) Comfortable working async, clear communication in English or German Deliverable: Live, working app on a Hetzner server reachable via HTTPS SSH/access credentials handed back to us Short written summary of the setup Estimated scope: 2–4 hours of work for someone experienced with this stack. To apply, please answer: Have you deployed a Node/Express app to Hetzner (or a similar VPS provider) before? Link an example if possible. What's your approach to keeping API keys/secrets secure on the server?