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WinSW wraps and manages any application as a Windows service.

We are actively developing WinSW 3. Please refer to thev2 branch for previous version documentation.

See theproject manifest.

WinSW 3 can run on Windows platforms with .NET Framework 4.6.1 or later versions installed.For systems without .NET Framework, the project provides native 64-bit and 32-bit executables based on .NET 7.

More executables can be added upon request.

.NET Framework system requirements
Preinstalled since Windows 10, version 1511 and Windows Server 2016.
Installable since Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

.NET 7 system requirements
Supported since Windows 10, version 1607, Windows Server (Core) 2012 R2 and Nano Server, version 1809.

Latest release and pre-release WinSW binaries are available onGitHub Releases.

Alternative sources:

• CI builds are available onAzure Pipelines.
• NuGet. (2.x)
• Maven packaging for executables, hosted by theJenkins project.Binaries are availablehere. (2.x)

1. TakeWinSW.exe orWinSW.zip from the distribution.
2. Writemyapp.xml (see theXML config file specification andsamples for more details).
3. Runwinsw install myapp.xml [options] to install the service.
4. Runwinsw start myapp.xml to start the service.
5. Runwinsw status myapp.xml to see if your service is up and running.

1. TakeWinSW.exe orWinSW.zip from the distribution, and rename the.exe to your taste (such asmyapp.exe).
2. Writemyapp.xml (see theXML config file specification andsamples for more details).
3. Place those two files side by side, because that's how WinSW discovers its co-related configuration.
4. Runmyapp.exe install [options] to install the service.
5. Runmyapp.exe start to start the service.

You write the configuration file that defines your service.The example below is a primitive example being used in the Jenkins project:

<service>  <id>jenkins</id>  <name>Jenkins</name>  <description>This service runs Jenkins continuous integration system.</description>  <envname="JENKINS_HOME"value="%BASE%"/>  <executable>java</executable>  <arguments>-Xrs -Xmx256m -jar "%BASE%\jenkins.war" --httpPort=8080</arguments>  <logmode="roll"></log></service>

The full specification of the configuration file is availablehere.You can find more sampleshere.

WinSW is being managed by theXML configuration file.

Your renamedWinSW.exe binary also accepts the following commands:

Experimental commands:

Most commands require Administrator privileges to execute. WinSW will prompt for UAC in non-elevated sessions.

• Migrate to WinSW 3.x
• Configuration:
  • XML configuration file
  • Logging and error reporting
  • Extensions
• Use cases:
  • Self-restarting services
  • Deferred file operations

Contributions are welcome!See thecontributing guidelines for more information.

WinSW is licensed under theMIT license.