Understanding application hosting

Application hosting runs your Node.js or Python code on a managed platform, without giving you system access. You do not manage OS updates, the firewall or system processes: you provide a project that starts and listens on the assigned port. Understanding that boundary prevents you from looking for an apt command that does not exist.

What the platform handles

The panel is at https://game.neoheberg.fr (Pterodactyl). It provides:

• the runtime: Node.js 24, 22 LTS, 20 or 18; Python 3.12, 3.11, 3.10 or 3.9;
• installation of declared dependencies;
• starting, stopping and restarting the process;
• the console and output logs;
• network port allocation;
• environment variables;
• databases and backups depending on the plan.

What you provide

A project that follows four simple rules:

1. dependencies are declared in package.json or requirements.txt;
2. the main file exists: index.js by default for Node.js, main.py for Python;
3. the start command works (node index.js, python main.py);
4. the server listens on 0.0.0.0 and on the port provided by the platform, never a hard-coded port.

A project that ignores rule 4 starts correctly and then stays unreachable: it is the most common mistake.

What you do not get

• no root access, therefore no apt, systemctl or system package changes;
• no kernel modules and no Docker;
• no free choice of port: use the one assigned in the panel;
• no system crontab: schedule inside the application (for example with node-cron) or trigger it externally;
• no SSH.

Native modules that need compilation may fail because build tools are absent. Prefer pure JavaScript libraries or prebuilt binaries for the platform.

Resource limits

Each plan sets RAM, CPU and disk. Exceeding RAM gets the process killed, often followed by a restart loop visible in the console. Watch usage in the panel and adapt:

• in Node.js, cap the heap with --max-old-space-size to stay under the quota;
• reduce the number of workers if your code starts several;
• avoid loading a whole file into memory to process it.

Application hosting or VPS

Need	App hosting	VPS
Root and system packages	no	yes
Node.js or Python runtime	provided	you install it
Port and web proxy	assigned port	you configure 80/443
OS maintenance	platform	you
Docker, daemons, system cron	no	yes

If your project needs root, a system service or a full web server, take a VPS. Otherwise, application hosting removes a large part of the maintenance. Plans and their limits are detailed on the Pricing page.