NET console application as Windows service

Question

I have console application and would like to run it as Windows service  VS2010 has project template which allow to attach console project and build Windows service   I would like to not add separated service project and if possible integrate service code into console application to keep console application as one project which could run as console application or as windows service if run for example from command line using switches    Maybe someone could suggest class library or code snippet which could quickly and easily transform c  console application to service

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You can use  reg add HKEY CURRENT USER Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Run  v ServiceName  d  c  path to service file exe    And it will appear int the service list  I do not know  whether that works correctly though  A service usually has to listen to several events   There are several service wrapper though  that can run any application as a real service  For Example Microsofts SrvAny from the Win2003 Resource Kit

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I ve had great success with TopShelf   TopShelf is a Nuget package designed to make it easy to create  NET Windows apps that can run as console apps or as Windows Services  You can quickly hook up events such as your service Start and Stop events  configure using code e g  to set the account it runs as  configure dependencies on other services  and configure how it recovers from errors   From the Package Manager Console  Nuget       Install-Package Topshelf   Refer to the code samples to get started   Example   HostFactory Run x   gt                                         x Service lt TownCrier gt  s   gt                                       s ConstructUsing name  gt  new TownCrier                 s WhenStarted tc   gt  tc Start                          s WhenStopped tc   gt  tc Stop                                x RunAsLocalSystem                                     x SetDescription  Sample Topshelf Host                x SetDisplayName  Stuff                               x SetServiceName  stuff                                  TopShelf also takes care of service installation  which can save a lot of time and removes boilerplate code from your solution  To install your  exe as a service you just execute the following from the command prompt   myservice exe install -servicename  MyService  -displayname  My Service  -description  This is my service     You don t need to hook up a ServiceInstaller and all that - TopShelf does it all for you

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Firstly I embed the console application solution into the windows service solution and reference it   Then I make the console application Program class public       lt summary gt      Hybrid service console application      lt  summary gt  public class Program       I then create two functions within the console application           lt summary gt          Used to start as a service          lt  summary gt      public void Start                 Main                    lt summary gt          Used to stop the service          lt  summary gt      public void Stop                if  Application MessageLoop              Application Exit        windows app         else             Environment Exit 1      console app         Then within the windows service itself I instantiate the Program and call the Start and Stop functions added within the OnStart and OnStop   See below  class WinService   ServiceBase       readonly Program  application   new Program              lt summary gt          The main entry point for the application           lt  summary gt      static void Main                 ServiceBase   servicesToRun     new WinService              Run servicesToRun                   lt summary gt          Set things in motion so your service can do its work           lt  summary gt      protected override void OnStart string   args                Thread thread   new Thread      gt   application Start             thread Start                    lt summary gt          Stop this service           lt  summary gt      protected override void OnStop                 Thread thread   new Thread      gt   application Stop             thread Start              This approach can also be used for a windows application   windows service hybrid

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I use a service class that follows the standard pattern prescribed by ServiceBase  and tack on helpers to easy F5 debugging  This keeps service data defined within the service  making them easy to find and their lifetimes easy to manage   I normally create a Windows application with the structure below  I don t create a console application  that way I don t get a big black box popping in my face every time I run the app  I stay in in the debugger where all the action is  I use Debug WriteLine so that the messages go to the output window  which docks nicely and stays visible after the app terminates   I usually don t bother add debug code for stopping  I just use the debugger instead  If I do need to debug stopping  I make the project a console app  add a Stop forwarder method  and call it after a call to Console ReadKey   public class Service   ServiceBase       protected override void OnStart string   args                   Start logic here             protected override void OnStop                    Stop logic here             static void Main string   args                using  var service   new Service                  if  Environment UserInteractive                    service Start                    Thread Sleep Timeout Infinite                 else                 Run service                       public void Start     gt  OnStart null

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Here is a newer way of how to turn a Console Application to a Windows Service as a Worker Service based on the latest  Net Core 3 1   If you create a Worker Service from Visual Studio 2019 it will give you almost everything you need for creating a Windows Service out of the box  which is also what you need to change to the console application in order to convert it to a Windows Service   Here are the changes you need to do   Install the following NuGet packages  Install-Package Microsoft Extensions Hosting WindowsServices -Version 3 1 0 Install-Package Microsoft Extensions Configuration Abstractions -Version 3 1 0   Change Program cs to have an implementation like below   using Microsoft Extensions DependencyInjection  using Microsoft Extensions Hosting   namespace ConsoleApp       class Program               public static void Main string   args                        CreateHostBuilder args  UseWindowsService   Build   Run                       private static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder string   args    gt              Host CreateDefaultBuilder args                   ConfigureServices  hostContext  services    gt                                        services AddHostedService lt Worker gt                                   and add Worker cs where you will put the code which will be run by the service operations   using Microsoft Extensions Hosting  using System Threading  using System Threading Tasks   namespace ConsoleApp       public class Worker   BackgroundService               protected override async Task ExecuteAsync CancellationToken stoppingToken                          do some operation                    public override Task StartAsync CancellationToken cancellationToken                        return base StartAsync cancellationToken                      public override Task StopAsync CancellationToken cancellationToken                        return base StopAsync cancellationToken                       When everything is ready  and the application has built successfully  you can use sc exe to install your console application exe as a Windows Service with the following command   sc exe create DemoService binpath   path to your file exe

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I hear your point at wanting one assembly to stop repeated code but  It would be simplest and reduce code repetition and make it easier to reuse your code in other ways in future if       you to break it into 3 assemblies    One library assembly that does all the work  Then have two very very slim simple projects  one which is the commandline one which is the windows service

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So here s the complete walkthrough    Create new Console Application project  e g  MyService  Add two library references  System ServiceProcess and System Configuration Install Add the three files printed below Build the project and run  InstallUtil exe c  path to MyService exe  Now you should see MyService on the service list  run services msc     InstallUtil exe can be usually found here  C  windows Microsoft NET Framework v4 0 30319 InstallUtil ex  e  Program cs  using System  using System IO  using System ServiceProcess   namespace MyService       class Program               public const string ServiceName    MyService            static void Main string   args                        if  Environment UserInteractive                                   running as console app                 Start args                    Console WriteLine  Press any key to stop                       Console ReadKey true                    Stop                              else                                  running as service                 using  var service   new Service                                          ServiceBase Run service                                                      public static void Start string   args                        File AppendAllText   c  temp MyService txt   String Format   0  started 1    DateTime Now  Environment NewLine                       public static void Stop                         File AppendAllText   c  temp MyService txt   String Format   0  stopped 1    DateTime Now  Environment NewLine                        MyService cs  using System ServiceProcess   namespace MyService       class Service   ServiceBase               public Service                         ServiceName   Program ServiceName                     protected override void OnStart string   args                        Program Start args                      protected override void OnStop                         Program Stop                        MyServiceInstaller cs  using System ComponentModel  using System Configuration Install  using System ServiceProcess   namespace MyService        RunInstaller true       public class MyServiceInstaller   Installer               public MyServiceInstaller                         var spi   new ServiceProcessInstaller                var si   new ServiceInstaller                 spi Account   ServiceAccount LocalSystem              spi Username   null              spi Password   null               si DisplayName   Program ServiceName              si ServiceName   Program ServiceName              si StartType   ServiceStartMode Automatic               Installers Add spi               Installers Add si

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I usually use the following techinque to run the same app as a console application or as a service   public static class Program        region Nested classes to support running as service     public const string ServiceName    MyService        public class Service   ServiceBase               public Service                         ServiceName   Program ServiceName                     protected override void OnStart string   args                        Program Start args                      protected override void OnStop                         Program Stop                         endregion      static void Main string   args                if   Environment UserInteractive                 running as service             using  var service   new Service                    ServiceBase Run service           else                          running as console app             Start args                Console WriteLine  Press any key to stop                   Console ReadKey true                Stop                         private static void Start string   args                   onstart code here            private static void Stop                    onstop code here           Environment UserInteractive is normally true for console app and false for a service  Techically  it is possible to run a service in user-interactive mode  so you could check a command-line switch instead

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You need to seperate the functionality into a class or classes and launch that via one of two stubs  The console stub or service stub   As its plain to see  when running windows  the myriad services that make up the infrastructure do not  and can t directly  present console windows to the user  The service needs to communicate with the user in a non graphical way  via the SCM  in the event log  to some log file etc  The service will also need to communicate with windows via the SCM  otherwise it will get shutdown   It would obviously be acceptable to have some console app that can communicate with the service but the service needs to run independently without a requirement for GUI interaction   The Console stub can very useful for debugging service behaviour but should not be used in a  productionized  environment which  after all  is the purpose of creating a service   I haven t read it fully but this article seems to pint in the right direction

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Maybe you should define what you need  as far as I know  you can t run your app as Console or Service with command line  at the same time  Remember that the service is installed and you have to start it in Services Manager  you can create a new application wich starts the service or starts a new process running your console app  But as you wrote       keep console application as one project    Once  I was in your position  turning a console application into a service  First you need the template  in case you are working with VS Express Edition  Here is a link where you can have your first steps  C  Windows Service  this was very helpful for me  Then using that template  add your code to the desired events of the service   To improve you service  there s another thing you can do  but this is not quick and or easily  is using appdomains  and creating dlls to load unload  In one you can start a new process with the console app  and in another dll you can just put the functionality the service has to do   Good luck

[c#] .NET console application as Windows service

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