missing script: start & App crashed when deploying app to Heroku - node.js

Question

I'm new to coding but currently learning as i want to create a chatbot to my facebook page. Belows are the script i have inside each .js and errors that i came across after that. After i input heroku open, the web shows "Application error
An error occurred in the application and your page could not be served. If you are the application owner, check your logs for details."
Hope someone can help me out, a lot of thanks!
index.js
var express = require('express')
var bodyParser = require('body-parser')
var request = require('request')
var app = express()
app.set('port', (process.env.PORT || 5000))
// Process application/x-www-form-urlencoded
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended: false}))
// Process application/json
app.use(bodyParser.json())
// Index route
app.get('/', function (req, res) {
res.send('Hello world, I am a chat bot')
})
// for Facebook verification
app.get('/webhook/', function (req, res) {
if (req.query['hub.verify_token'] === 'my_voice_is_my_password_verify_me') {
res.send(req.query['hub.challenge'])
}
res.send('Error, wrong token')
})
// Spin up the server
app.listen(app.get('port'), function() {
console.log('running on port', app.get('port'))
})
package.json
{
"name": "node",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "facebook chatbot",
"main": "index.js",
"scripts": {
"start": "node index.js"
},
"author": "krix",
"license": "ISC",
"dependencies": {
"body-parser": "^1.18.1",
"express": "^4.15.4",
"request": "^2.81.0"
}
}
Procfile.json
web: node index.js
heroku logs:
2017-09-14T13:32:53.277012+00:00 app[api]: Release v2 created by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:32:53.277012+00:00 app[api]: Enable Logplex by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:32:53.049614+00:00 app[api]: Initial release by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:32:53.049614+00:00 app[api]: Release v1 created by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:33:16.000000+00:00 app[api]: Build started by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:33:44.501803+00:00 app[api]: Release v3 created by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:33:44.550885+00:00 app[api]: Scaled to web#1:Free by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:33:44.501803+00:00 app[api]: Deploy 30d98ae9 by user network.of.eden#gmail.com
2017-09-14T13:33:16.000000+00:00 app[api]: Build succeeded
2017-09-14T13:33:47.445193+00:00 heroku[web.1]: Starting process with command `npm start`
2017-09-14T13:33:51.208413+00:00 app[web.1]:
2017-09-14T13:33:51.208690+00:00 app[web.1]: npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
2017-09-14T13:33:51.208802+00:00 app[web.1]: npm ERR! /app/.npm/_logs/2017-09-14T13_33_51_189Z-debug.log
2017-09-14T13:33:51.186998+00:00 app[web.1]: npm ERR! missing script: start
2017-09-14T13:33:51.326957+00:00 heroku[web.1]: State changed from starting to crashed
2017-09-14T13:33:51.329410+00:00 heroku[web.1]: State changed from crashed to starting
2017-09-14T13:33:51.312231+00:00 heroku[web.1]: Process exited with status 1
2017-09-14T13:33:53.384440+00:00 heroku[web.1]: Starting process with command `npm start`
2017-09-14T13:33:56.553788+00:00 app[web.1]: npm ERR! missing script: start
2017-09-14T13:33:56.567775+00:00 app[web.1]:
2017-09-14T13:33:56.567944+00:00 app[web.1]: npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
2017-09-14T13:33:56.567995+00:00 app[web.1]: npm ERR! /app/.npm/_logs/2017-09-14T13_33_56_555Z-debug.log
2017-09-14T13:33:56.688362+00:00 heroku[web.1]: Process exited with status 1
2017-09-14T13:33:56.703579+00:00 heroku[web.1]: State changed from starting to crashed
2017-09-14T13:34:34.169385+00:00 heroku[router]: at=error code=H10 desc="App crashed" method=GET path="/" host=boiling-fortress-15768.herokuapp.com request_id=d93942a9-fddf-426c-8604-39aaf8abe6a7 fwd="58.153.46.198" dyno= connect= service= status=503 bytes= protocol=https
2017-09-14T13:34:34.510184+00:00 heroku[router]: at=error code=H10 desc="App crashed" method=GET path="/favicon.ico" host=boiling-fortress-15768.herokuapp.com request_id=8b2d01d7-56f8-453b-a355-d58c9fd6ca85 fwd="58.153.46.198" dyno= connect= service= status=503 bytes= protocol=https
2017-09-14T13:37:20.203744+00:00 heroku[router]: at=error code=H10 desc="App crashed" method=GET path="/" host=boiling-fortress-15768.herokuapp.com request_id=884f9ef7-b7f9-4f49-bd57-6b509ec90f6f fwd="58.153.46.198" dyno= connect= service= status=503 bytes= protocol=https
2017-09-14T13:37:20.530728+00:00 heroku[router]: at=error code=H10 desc="App crashed" method=GET path="/favicon.ico" host=boiling-fortress-15768.herokuapp.com request_id=3ae40dba-5f53-4436-a406-1c45b6bab5af fwd="58.153.46.198" dyno= connect= service= status=503 bytes= protocol=https
I have tried and read through quite a lot of questions others have been asking on github, but i still cannot fix the problem. I learnt the method in setting up the nodejs and heroku server from the following website: https://chatbotsmagazine.com/have-15-minutes-create-your-own-facebook-messenger-bot-481a7db54892
I sincerely hope someone can help me out with the problems, thank you so much!!

Answer 1

The Procfile file name should be just Procfile, and I see that yours seems to be named Procfile.json, could be it.
But as you package.json has the start script, just make sure you have git added all your files and committed them before pushing to Heroku

Answer 2

This may sound repetitive, but believe me it is not. I am doing a course where 100s if not thousands have the same question. Please review following things if you come across this error.
In your package.json file, make sure you have mentioned "start": "node app.js" in scripts and also the "engines under "licence". Here is example code for my package.json which is working now:
{
"name": "todolist-v1",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "todolist",
"main": "app.js",
"scripts": {
"start": "node app.js"
},
"author": "Armaghan",
"license": "ISC",
"engines": {
"node": "14.15.3"
},
"dependencies": {
"body-parser": "^1.19.0",
"ejs": "^3.1.5",
"express": "^4.17.1",
"jquery": "^3.5.1",
"lodash": "^4.17.20a",
"mongoose": "^5.11.14",
"nodemon": "^2.0.7"
}
}
To make sure you have added the right version of your node, use this command in terminal to reveal your present version of node. node --version
Please make sure your app is listening onto the correct port.
replace app.listen code with following code for heroku app deployement:
let port = process.env.PORT;
if (port == null || port == "") {
port = 3000;
}
app.listen(port, function() {
console.log("Server started succesfully");
});
Make sure you are committing the correct git branch. I was forgetfully commiting a different (expreimental) branch, which did not have the updated changes in package.json file. To check your present git repository branch, use git branch
Once branch revealed, you can switch between branches with git checkout branchname
In my case, I wanted to commit master, so I went inside master first by using git branch master and then actually added the files to git using
git add . (with dot included after a space).
then use git commit -m "your comment"
and finally use following command to push it on Heroku Server again.
git push heroku master
Once the push is completed, it is always a good idea to give it a few minutes before reaching the web app address on internet as it may take a moment to get things up and running.
For some people using MongoDB Atlas, the deployment still fails and the app crashes if you allowed only a single specific IP (your IP only) to access your database cluster at MongoDB Atlas. Therefore, try to change 'Network Access' settings in your atlas account to "Allow access from anywhere". This will get rid of the network-access error sometimes shown in Heroku error logs.
Kind regards,