This element specifies the executable to be launched.
It can be either absolute path, or you can just specify the executable name and let it be searched from `PATH` (although note that the services often run in a different user account and therefore it might have different `PATH` than your shell does.)
For more information, see the [ChangeStartMode method](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/cimwin32prov/changestartmode-method-in-class-win32-service).
For more information, see [Startup Processes and Delayed Automatic Start](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/ask-the-performance-team/ws2008-startup-processes-and-delayed-automatic-start/ba-p/372692).
~~When the service is requested to stop, winsw simply calls [TerminateProcess function](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/processthreadsapi/nf-processthreadsapi-terminateprocess) to kill the service instantly.~~
However, if `<stopargument>`/`<stoparguments>` elements are present, winsw will instead launch another process of `<executable>` (or `<stopexecutable>` if that's specified) with the specified arguments, and expects that to initiate the graceful shutdown of the service process.
When you use the `<stopargument>`/`<stoparguments>`, you must use `<startargument>`/`<startarguments>` instead of `<argument>`. See the complete example below:
then winsw resorts to calling [TerminateProcess function](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/processthreadsapi/nf-processthreadsapi-terminateprocess) to kill the service instantly.
This optional element is to emit [simple tones](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/api/utilapiset/nf-utilapiset-beep) when the service shuts down.
For servers requiring authentication some parameters must be specified depending on the type of authentication. Only the basic authentication requires additional sub-parameters. Supported authentication types are:
The parameter `unsecureAuth` is only effective when the transfer protocol is HTTP - unencrypted data transfer. This is a security vulnerability because the credentials are send in clear text! For a SSPI authentication this is not relevant because the authentication tokens are encrypted.
For target servers using the HTTPS transfer protocol it is necessary, that the CA which issued the server certificate is trusted by the client. This is normally the situation when the server ist located in the Internet. When an organisation is using a self issued CA for the intranet this probably is not the case. In this case it is necessary to import the CA to the Certificate MMC of the Windows client. Have a look to the instructions on [Manage Trusted Root Certificates](https://docs.microsoft.com/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-R2-and-2008/cc754841(v=ws.11)). The self issued CA must be imported to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities for the computer.
Since v2.7, if the destination file exists, WinSW will send its last write time in the `If-Modified-Since` header and skip downloading if `304 Not Modified` is received.
For example, the above configuration causes the service to restart in 10 seconds after the first failure, restart in 20 seconds after the second failure, then Windows will reboot if the service fails one more time.
Each element contains a mandatory `action` attribute, which controls what Windows SCM will do, and optional `delay` attribute, which controls the delay until the action is taken.
The legal values for action are:
*`restart`: restart the service
*`reboot`: reboot Windows
*`none`: do nothing and leave the service stopped
The possible suffix for the delay attribute is sec/secs/min/mins/hour/hours/day/days. If missing, the delay attribute defaults to 0.
If the service keeps failing and it goes beyond the number of `<onfailure>` configured, the last action will be repeated.
Therefore, if you just want to always restart the service automatically, simply specify one `<onfailure>` element like this:
This optional element controls the timing in which Windows SCM resets the failure count.
For example, if you specify `<resetfailure>1 hour</resetfailure>` and your service continues to run longer than one hour, then the failure count is reset to zero.
This affects the behaviour of the failure actions (see `<onfailure>` above).
In other words, this is the duration in which you consider the service has been running successfully.
The security descriptor string for the service in SDDL form.
For more information, see [Security Descriptor Definition Language](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/secauthz/security-descriptor-definition-language).
The service is installed as the [LocalSystem account](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/services/localsystem-account) by default. If your service does not need a high privilege level, consider using the [LocalService account](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/services/localservice-account), the [NetworkService account](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/services/networkservice-account) or a user account.
To use a user account, specify a `<serviceaccount>` element like this:
To use [Group Managed Service Accounts](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-server/security/group-managed-service-accounts/group-managed-service-accounts-overview), append `$` to the account name and remove `<password>` element:
For more information, see [ProcessPriorityClass Enumeration](https://docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.diagnostics.processpriorityclass) in .NET docs.
