Windows Service¶
SWS can be also executed in a Windows Service context. Therefore it also provides a subcommand to install SWS as a Windows Service.
This feature is disabled by default and can be controlled by the boolean -s, --windows-service option or the equivalent SERVER_WINDOWS_SERVICE env.
Static Web Server running as a Windows Service and displayed by 'services.msc' application.
Important Notes¶
- This is an obvious Windows platform-specific feature.
- The SWS Windows Service option (
windows-service) doesn't create a Windows Service per se. It just tells SWS to run in a Windows Service context. So it's necessary to install the SWS Windows Service first. - Enabling the
windows-serviceoption via the configuration file is unnecessary if you use the install subcommand to create the service since it already enables it during the service installation. - However, you can enable the
windows-serviceoption for example if you plan to create your own Windows Service and use SWS with it.
Service privileges¶
To either install or uninstall the SWS Windows service requires administrator privileges, so make sure to open the terminal application as administrator or give your Powershell session enough privileges otherwise you will get an "Access is denied" error.
We recommend a Powershell session with administrator privileges.
Windows Firewall¶
You can serve content with SWS in a Windows network. However, if you face issues running SWS it could be due to missing firewall configuration. So you probably have to define an inbound rule to allow inbound network traffic on a specified TCP port of your choice.
Follow the steps below to adjust your firewall:
- Configure an Inbound Port Rule in your Windows firewall so clients can reach the server's port.
- In your SWS config file, use the server IP as a host or a non-routable address like
0.0.0.0if you prefer. - Create a Windows Service following https://static-web-server.net/features/windows-service/ and start it.
- Finally, restart the service to apply the changes.
Note that the steps above are general and you have to adjust your firewall rule(s) according to your needs.
Install the service¶
To install the SWS service use the install command along with a configuration file for further SWS options customization.
Make sure to provide a configuration file to run SWS service properly. In particular, configure the server address, port and root directory accordingly. If not then the service might not start.
The following command will create the SWS service called static-web-server with a "Static Web Server" display name.
static-web-server.exe -w C:\Users\MyUser\config.toml install
# Windows Service (static-web-server) is installed successfully!
# Start the service typing: sc.exe start "static-web-server" (it requires administrator privileges) or using the 'services.msc' application.
Interact with the service¶
SWS doesn't provide a way to interact with Windows services directly. Instead, use the Windows built-in tools to interact with the SWS service once created.
For that purpose, you can use either the Windows sc.exe or the services.msc application.
For example, using sc.exe you can show the SWS service configuration used once installed.
sc.exe qc "static-web-server"
# [SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS
# SERVICE_NAME: static-web-server
# TYPE : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
# START_TYPE : 3 DEMAND_START
# ERROR_CONTROL : 1 NORMAL
# BINARY_PATH_NAME : C:\Users\MyUser\static-web-server.exe
# --windows-service=true
# --config-file=C:\Users\MyUser\config.toml
# LOAD_ORDER_GROUP :
# TAG : 0
# DISPLAY_NAME : Static Web Server
# DEPENDENCIES :
# SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem
Remember that alternatively, you can also use the services.msc application if you prefer GUI service control.
Start¶
To start the service use the following sc.exe command.
sc.exe start "static-web-server"
# SERVICE_NAME: static-web-server
# TYPE : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
# STATE : 2 START_PENDING
# (NOT_STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
# WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# CHECKPOINT : 0x0
# WAIT_HINT : 0x7d0
# PID : 3068
# FLAGS :
Status¶
To show the service status use the following sc.exe command.
sc.exe query "static-web-server"
# SERVICE_NAME: static-web-server
# TYPE : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
# STATE : 4 RUNNING
# (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
# WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# CHECKPOINT : 0x0
# WAIT_HINT : 0x0
Stop¶
To stop the service use the following sc.exe command.
sc.exe stop "static-web-server"
# SERVICE_NAME: static-web-server
# TYPE : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
# STATE : 3 STOP_PENDING
# (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
# WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# CHECKPOINT : 0x2
# WAIT_HINT : 0xbb8
After stopping the service you can also show its status.
sc.exe query "static-web-server"
# SERVICE_NAME: static-web-server
# TYPE : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
# STATE : 1 STOPPED
# WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
# CHECKPOINT : 0x0
# WAIT_HINT : 0x0
Uninstall the service¶
To uninstall the SWS service just use the uninstall command. Note that the service should be first stopped before uninstalling it.
static-web-server.exe uninstall
# Windows Service (static-web-server) is uninstalled!
After uninstalling the service you can verify if removed.
sc.exe qc "static-web-server"
# [SC] OpenService FAILED 1060:
#
# The specified service does not exist as an installed service.