Windows Service Wrapper in a permissive license

WinSW is an executable binary, which can be used to wrap and manage a custom process as a Windows service. Once you download the installation package, you can rename WinSW.exe to any name, e.g. MyService.exe.

We are actively developing WinSW 3. Please refer to the v2 branch for previous version documentation.

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Why?

See the project manifest.

Supported platforms

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 Core.

More executables can be added upon request.

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

.NET 5 system requirements
Supported on Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server (Core) 2012 R2 and Nano Server, version 1809.

Download

Latest release and pre-release WinSW binaries are available on GitHub Releases.

Alternative sources:

• CI builds are available on Azure Pipelines.
• NuGet. (2.x)
• Maven packaging for executables, hosted by the Jenkins project. Binaries are available here. (2.x)

Usage

WinSW is being managed by the XML configuration file.

Your renamed WinSW.exe binary also accepts the following commands:

Command	Description
install	Installs the service. This command requires some preliminary steps described in the installation guide.
uninstall	Uninstalls the service.
start	Starts the service.
stop	Stops the service.
restart	Stops and then starts the service.
status	Checks the status of the service.
test	Checks if the service can be started and then stopped without installation.
refresh	Refreshes the service properties without reinstallation.
customize	Customizes the wrapper executable.
dev	Experimental commands.

Experimental commands:

Command	Description
dev ps	Draws the process tree associated with the service.
dev kill	Terminates the service if it has stopped responding.

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

Documentation

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

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See the contributing guidelines for more information.

License

WinSW is licensed under the MIT license.