Automated Deployment of a Go Web App on AWS EC2 with Daily Backups Using Ansible
From Code to Cloud: Deploying a Go Note App on EC2 with Ansible and Daily Backups
In this guide, we'll walk through deploying a simple Go-based note-taking web app on AWS EC2, with a local SQLite database and daily backup automation using Ansible and cron. You'll learn how to automate infrastructure, deploy cleanly with roles, and ensure your data is safely backed up using an attached EBS volume.
🚀 What You'll Learn
How to deploy a Go web app using Ansible on AWS EC2
Managing deployments with Ansible roles
Automating backups using
cronMounting and using an EBS volume for SQLite backups
🔧 Project Goals
Launch a web app written in Go
Use SQLite as the backend database
Automate app deployment with Ansible
Store daily database backups on an EBS volume mounted to the instance
🧭 Infrastructure Overview
EC2 Setup
Controller Instance:
Has Ansible installed
Stores the source code and roles
Executes deployment tasks remotely on the node
Node Instance:
Receives source code from controller
Runs the Go app
Hosts a mounted volume for backups (
/mnt/backup)
📁 Directory Structure
note-app/
├── app/ # Go source code
│ ├── main.go
│ └── go.mod
├── roles/
│ └── noteapp/
│ └── tasks/
│ └── main.yml # Main Ansible task list
├── deploy-noteapp.yml # Entry playbook
├── inventory.ini # Ansible inventory with node IP
├── README.md # Project readme
⚙️ Role Tasks (main.yml)
- name: Ensure Go is installed
yum:
name: golang
state: present
- name: Ensure app directory exists
file:
path: "}"
state: directory
owner: ec2-user
group: ec2-user
mode: '0755'
- name: Upload Go app source
copy:
src: ./app/
dest: "}/"
owner: ec2-user
group: ec2-user
mode: '0644'
- name: Initialize Go module
command: go mod init noteapp
args:
chdir: "}"
- name: Download dependencies
command: go mod tidy
args:
chdir: "}"
- name: Compile Go app
command: go build -o noteapp main.go
args:
chdir: "}"
- name: Run app in background using nohup
shell: nohup ./noteapp > app.log 2>&1 &
args:
chdir: "}"
- name: Ensure backup folder exists
file:
path: /mnt/backup
state: directory
owner: ec2-user
group: ec2-user
mode: '0755'
- name: Add daily SQLite backup cron job
cron:
name: "Daily SQLite Backup"
job: "cp }/notes.db /mnt/backup/notes_$(date +\\%F).db"
minute: "0"
hour: "1"
💾 Mounting the EBS Volume on Node
Format and Mount
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/xvdb
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/backup
sudo mount /dev/xvdb /mnt/backup
Persist the Mount with UUID
echo "UUID=$(sudo blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/xvdb) /mnt/backup ext4 defaults,nofail 0 2" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
Then run:
sudo mount -a
📦 Deploying the App with Ansible
Run from controller
ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini deploy-noteapp.yml
After Deployment
App is compiled and running in the background
Accessible on port 80 of the node instance
SQLite DB is saved in the app directory
Cron job for backup is scheduled daily at 1:00 AM
🔄 Verifying the Deployment
Check If app is running :
sudo lsof -i :80
Check logs :
tail -f app.log
View in Browser :
http://<public-ip> # or private IP if using a VPC and tunnel
We used private ip method better because we dont need to change public ip everytime
Make sure controller and node are both in same vpc and security group
Testing the backup :
Checking the cronjob :
crontab -l
- Make sure its in sudo mode , because we use become:true in ansible playbook
Check the backup files
ls /mnt/backup
Expected :
notes_2025-08-05.db
Troubleshooting :
Go not found? → Ensure Go is installed and in
$PATH.Cron not working? → Install
cronieand ensure cron service is running.Mount not persisting? → Double-check
/etc/fstab.
Conclusion
By combining Go, Ansible, and AWS EC2, you’ve built a simple but powerful infrastructure:
Clean deployment via Ansible roles
SQLite for local storage
Daily backups to EBS volume
Scalable and reproducible setup
