Create Windows Service In .NET Core

Introduction

Creating a Windows Service in .NET Core involves several steps. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create a Windows Service using .NET Core:

Step 1: Create a .NET Core Console Application

1. Open a terminal or command prompt.
2. Navigate to the directory where you want to create your project.
3. Run the following command to create a new .NET Core Console Application:

   dotnet new console -n MyWindowsService

4. Navigate into the newly created project directory:

   cd MyWindowsService

Step 2: Modify the Program.cs File

1. Open the Program.cs file in your preferred code editor.
2. Replace the content with the following code:

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Threading;

namespace MyWindowsService
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            if (args.Length == 0)
            {
                RunAsConsole();
            }
            else
            {
                RunAsService();
            }
        }

        private static void RunAsConsole()
        {
            // Your console application logic goes here.
            Console.WriteLine("Press Ctrl+C to exit.");
            Thread.Sleep(Timeout.Infinite);
        }

        private static void RunAsService()
        {
            ServiceBase.Run(new ServiceBase[]
            {
                new MyService()
            });
        }
    }

    class MyService : ServiceBase
    {
        private readonly ManualResetEvent _shutdownEvent = new ManualResetEvent(false);

        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
        {
            // Your service startup logic goes here.
            Console.WriteLine("Service started.");
        }

        protected override void OnStop()
        {
            // Your service stop logic goes here.
            Console.WriteLine("Service stopped.");
            _shutdownEvent.Set();
        }
    }
}

Step 3: Install the System.ServiceProcess Package

1. In the terminal, navigate to the project directory (MyWindowsService).
2. Run the following command to install the System.ServiceProcess package:

   dotnet add package System.ServiceProcess

Step 4: Build and Install the Service

1. Build the project by running the following command:

   dotnet build

2. Install the service using the sc command-line tool (requires administrator privileges):

   sc create MyWindowsService binPath= "path\to\MyWindowsService.exe"

Replace "path\to\MyWindowsService.exe" with the actual path to your compiled executable.

Step 5: Start and Manage the Service

1. Start the service using the sc command:

   sc start MyWindowsService

2. Stop the service using the sc command:

   sc stop MyWindowsService

3. View the service status:

   sc query MyWindowsService

Congratulations! You’ve created a basic Windows Service using .NET Core. You can customize the MyService class with your specific logic for the service’s behavior. Remember that the provided example is minimal; you can add error handling, logging, and more sophisticated features as needed.