Instead of npm run start you can also create a server.js
const strapi = require('@strapi/strapi');
strapi(/* {...} */).start();
you can extend this similar to this
// Add this to the VERY top of the first file loaded in your app
const apm = require('elastic-apm-node').start({
// Override service name from package.json
// Allowed characters: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -, _, and space
serviceName: '',
// Use if APM Server requires a token
secretToken: '',
// Use if APM Server uses API keys for authentication
apiKey: '',
// Set custom APM Server URL (default: http://localhost:8200)
serverUrl: '',
})
const strapi = require('@strapi/strapi');
strapi(/* {...} */).start();