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Use Systems Manager Parameter Store with Node.js on Elastic Beanstalk¶

This recipe shows how to read application configuration values from Systems Manager Parameter Store by using AWS SDK v3. It is useful when multiple environments should reference centrally managed configuration names instead of duplicating values.

Prerequisites¶

Running Node.js Elastic Beanstalk environment.
IAM permission for ssm:GetParameter and kms:Decrypt if using SecureString parameters.
@aws-sdk/client-ssm installed.
Existing parameter in Systems Manager Parameter Store.

What You'll Build¶

You will build an Express route that fetches a parameter value at runtime from Parameter Store.

flowchart LR
    A[Express App on Elastic Beanstalk] --> B[EC2 Instance Profile]
    B --> C[Systems Manager Parameter Store]
    C --> D[Application Configuration Value]

Steps¶

Step 1: Install the Systems Manager client¶

npm install @aws-sdk/client-ssm

Step 2: Create or identify a parameter¶

aws ssm put-parameter \
    --name "/$APP_NAME/config/api-base-url" \
    --type String \
    --value "https://api.example.internal" \
    --overwrite \
    --region "$REGION"

Step 3: Store the parameter name in environment properties¶

aws elasticbeanstalk update-environment \
    --application-name "$APP_NAME" \
    --environment-name "$ENV_NAME" \
    --option-settings Namespace=aws:elasticbeanstalk:application:environment,OptionName=API_BASE_URL_PARAMETER,Value="/$APP_NAME/config/api-base-url" \
    --region "$REGION"

Step 4: Fetch the parameter in Express¶

const express = require("express");
const { GetParameterCommand, SSMClient } = require("@aws-sdk/client-ssm");

const app = express();
const client = new SSMClient({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION });

app.get("/config-check", async (req, res) => {
    const response = await client.send(new GetParameterCommand({
        Name: process.env.API_BASE_URL_PARAMETER,
        WithDecryption: true
    }));

    res.json({ apiBaseUrl: response.Parameter.Value });
});

Step 5: Deploy and test¶

eb deploy --staged
curl --verbose "http://$CNAME/config-check"

Verification¶

Confirm the environment property contains the expected parameter name.
Confirm the route returns the Parameter Store value.
Confirm logs show successful Systems Manager access.

Clean Up¶

Delete the test parameter and remove any IAM policy statement or environment property added for the recipe if it is no longer needed.

See Also¶

Sources¶