Run batch file as a Windows service

Question

In order to run one application  a batch file has to be kicked off  which does things like start Jetty  display live logs  etc   The application will work only if this batch file is running  I am hence forced to have this batch file running and not logout from the Windows server   Can this batch file be run as a service  I am experimenting with one of the suggestions from a similar question

User · Answer

Why not simply set it up as a Scheduled Task that is scheduled to run at start up

User · Answer

No need for extra software  Use the task scheduler -  create task -  hidden  The checkbox for hidden is in the bottom left corner  Set the task to trigger on login  or whatever condition you like  and choose the task in the actions tab  Running it hidden ensures that the task runs silently in the background like a service   Note that you must also set the program to run  whether the user is logged in or not  or the program will still run in the foreground

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As Doug Currie says use RunAsService    From my past experience you must remember that the Service you generate will    have a completely different set of environment variables have to be carefully inspected for rights permissions issues  might cause havoc if it opens dialogs asking for any kind of input   not sure if the last one still applies     it was one big night mare in a project I worked on some time ago

User · Answer

Why not simply set it up as a Scheduled Task that is scheduled to run at start up

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While it is not free  but  39   FireDaemon has worked so well for me I have to recommend it  It will run your batch file but has loads of additional and very useful functionality such as scheduling  service up monitoring  GUI or XML based install of services  dependencies  environmental variables and log management    I started out using FireDaemon to launch JBoss application servers  run bat  but shortly after realized that the richness of the FireDaemon configuration abilities allowed me to ditch the batch file and recreate the intent of its commands in the FireDaemon service definition   There s also a SUPER FireDaemon called Trinity which you might want to look at if you have a large number of Windows servers on which to manage this service  or technically  any service

User · Answer

Why not simply set it up as a Scheduled Task that is scheduled to run at start up

User · Answer

No need for extra software  Use the task scheduler -  create task -  hidden  The checkbox for hidden is in the bottom left corner  Set the task to trigger on login  or whatever condition you like  and choose the task in the actions tab  Running it hidden ensures that the task runs silently in the background like a service   Note that you must also set the program to run  whether the user is logged in or not  or the program will still run in the foreground

User · Answer

While it is not free  but  39   FireDaemon has worked so well for me I have to recommend it  It will run your batch file but has loads of additional and very useful functionality such as scheduling  service up monitoring  GUI or XML based install of services  dependencies  environmental variables and log management    I started out using FireDaemon to launch JBoss application servers  run bat  but shortly after realized that the richness of the FireDaemon configuration abilities allowed me to ditch the batch file and recreate the intent of its commands in the FireDaemon service definition   There s also a SUPER FireDaemon called Trinity which you might want to look at if you have a large number of Windows servers on which to manage this service  or technically  any service

User · Answer

NSSM is totally free and hyper-easy  running command prompt   terminal as administrator   nssm install  YourCoolServiceNameLabel    then a dialog will appear so you can choose where is the file you want to run   to uninstall  nssm remove  YourCoolServiceNameLabel

User · Answer

As Doug Currie says use RunAsService    From my past experience you must remember that the Service you generate will    have a completely different set of environment variables have to be carefully inspected for rights permissions issues  might cause havoc if it opens dialogs asking for any kind of input   not sure if the last one still applies     it was one big night mare in a project I worked on some time ago

User · Answer

While it is not free  but  39   FireDaemon has worked so well for me I have to recommend it  It will run your batch file but has loads of additional and very useful functionality such as scheduling  service up monitoring  GUI or XML based install of services  dependencies  environmental variables and log management    I started out using FireDaemon to launch JBoss application servers  run bat  but shortly after realized that the richness of the FireDaemon configuration abilities allowed me to ditch the batch file and recreate the intent of its commands in the FireDaemon service definition   There s also a SUPER FireDaemon called Trinity which you might want to look at if you have a large number of Windows servers on which to manage this service  or technically  any service

User · Answer

NSSM is totally free and hyper-easy  running command prompt   terminal as administrator   nssm install  YourCoolServiceNameLabel    then a dialog will appear so you can choose where is the file you want to run   to uninstall  nssm remove  YourCoolServiceNameLabel

User · Answer

AlwaysUp will easily run your batch file as a service  It is similar to FireDaemon  mentioned above  and isn t free  but you may find the rich feature set to be an asset in a professional environment   Good luck

User · Answer

As Doug Currie says use RunAsService    From my past experience you must remember that the Service you generate will    have a completely different set of environment variables have to be carefully inspected for rights permissions issues  might cause havoc if it opens dialogs asking for any kind of input   not sure if the last one still applies     it was one big night mare in a project I worked on some time ago

User · Answer

AlwaysUp will easily run your batch file as a service  It is similar to FireDaemon  mentioned above  and isn t free  but you may find the rich feature set to be an asset in a professional environment   Good luck

User · Answer

While it is not free  but  39   FireDaemon has worked so well for me I have to recommend it  It will run your batch file but has loads of additional and very useful functionality such as scheduling  service up monitoring  GUI or XML based install of services  dependencies  environmental variables and log management    I started out using FireDaemon to launch JBoss application servers  run bat  but shortly after realized that the richness of the FireDaemon configuration abilities allowed me to ditch the batch file and recreate the intent of its commands in the FireDaemon service definition   There s also a SUPER FireDaemon called Trinity which you might want to look at if you have a large number of Windows servers on which to manage this service  or technically  any service

User · Answer

There s a built in windows cmd to do this  sc create  Not as fancy as nssm  but you don t have to download an additional piece of software   sc create  ServiceName  start  demand displayname   DisplayName  binpath   path to  bat file    Note   start demand means you must start the service yourself whitespace is required after   I did encounter an error on service start that the service did not respond in a timely manner  but it was clear the service had run the  bat successfully  Haven t dug into this yet but this thread experienced the same thing and solved it using nssm to install the service

User · Answer

As Doug Currie says use RunAsService    From my past experience you must remember that the Service you generate will    have a completely different set of environment variables have to be carefully inspected for rights permissions issues  might cause havoc if it opens dialogs asking for any kind of input   not sure if the last one still applies     it was one big night mare in a project I worked on some time ago

User · Answer

There s a built in windows cmd to do this  sc create  Not as fancy as nssm  but you don t have to download an additional piece of software   sc create  ServiceName  start  demand displayname   DisplayName  binpath   path to  bat file    Note   start demand means you must start the service yourself whitespace is required after   I did encounter an error on service start that the service did not respond in a timely manner  but it was clear the service had run the  bat successfully  Haven t dug into this yet but this thread experienced the same thing and solved it using nssm to install the service

User · Answer

On Windows 2019 Server  you can run a Minecraft java server with these commands   sc create minecraft-server DisplayName   minecraft-server  binpath   cmd exe  C C  Users Administrator Desktop rungui1151 lnk  type  own start  auto  The  lnk file is a standard windows shortcut to a batch file   ---  bat file begins ---  java -Xmx40960M -Xms40960M -d64 -jar minecraft server 1 15 1 jar  ---  bat file ends ---  All this because   service does not know how to start in a folder   cmd exe does not know how to start in a folder  Starting the service will produce  timely manner  error  but the log file reveals the server is running   If you need to shut down the server  just go into task manager and find the server java in background processes and end it  or terminate the server from in the game using the  stop command  or for other programs servers  use the methods relevant to the server

User · Answer

Install NSSM and run the  bat file as a windows service  Works as expected

User · Answer

Why not simply set it up as a Scheduled Task that is scheduled to run at start up

User · Answer

On Windows 2019 Server  you can run a Minecraft java server with these commands   sc create minecraft-server DisplayName   minecraft-server  binpath   cmd exe  C C  Users Administrator Desktop rungui1151 lnk  type  own start  auto  The  lnk file is a standard windows shortcut to a batch file   ---  bat file begins ---  java -Xmx40960M -Xms40960M -d64 -jar minecraft server 1 15 1 jar  ---  bat file ends ---  All this because   service does not know how to start in a folder   cmd exe does not know how to start in a folder  Starting the service will produce  timely manner  error  but the log file reveals the server is running   If you need to shut down the server  just go into task manager and find the server java in background processes and end it  or terminate the server from in the game using the  stop command  or for other programs servers  use the methods relevant to the server

User · Answer

Install NSSM and run the  bat file as a windows service  Works as expected

[windows] Run batch file as a Windows service

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