X-Git-Url: http://git.iain.cx/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.txt;h=ae6ca33ed8387c343eaadc8a93dcf4272e0b7ecf;hb=d1c0d356f6ea58980a33f2fa2da1b6971dd9f909;hp=21718ba4a7b6414ba4be1a01ca4bb10f76e89225;hpb=167b3e74003ed8f2b61bda7037f31447c488c29b;p=nssm.git diff --git a/README.txt b/README.txt index 21718ba..ae6ca33 100644 --- a/README.txt +++ b/README.txt @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ NSSM: The Non-Sucking Service Manager -Version 2.0, 2006-09-09 +Version 2.24, 2014-08-31 NSSM is a service helper program similar to srvany and cygrunsrv. It can start any application as an NT service and will restart the service if it @@ -7,17 +7,84 @@ fails for any reason. NSSM also has a graphical service installer and remover. +Full documentation can be found online at + + http://nssm.cc/ + Since version 2.0, the GUI can be bypassed by entering all appropriate options on the command line. +Since version 2.1, NSSM can be compiled for x64 platforms. +Thanks Benjamin Mayrargue. + +Since version 2.2, NSSM can be configured to take different actions +based on the exit code of the managed application. + +Since version 2.3, NSSM logs to the Windows event log more elegantly. + +Since version 2.5, NSSM respects environment variables in its parameters. + +Since version 2.8, NSSM tries harder to shut down the managed application +gracefully and throttles restart attempts if the application doesn't run +for a minimum amount of time. + +Since version 2.11, NSSM respects srvany's AppEnvironment parameter. + +Since version 2.13, NSSM is translated into French. +Thanks François-Régis Tardy. + +Since version 2.15, NSSM is translated into Italian. +Thanks Riccardo Gusmeroli. + +Since version 2.17, NSSM can try to shut down console applications by +simulating a Control-C keypress. If they have installed a handler routine +they can clean up and shut down gracefully on receipt of the event. + +Since version 2.17, NSSM can redirect the managed application's I/O streams +to an arbitrary path. + +Since version 2.18, NSSM can be configured to wait a user-specified amount +of time for the application to exit when shutting down. + +Since version 2.19, many more service options can be configured with the +GUI installer as well as via the registry. + +Since version 2.19, NSSM can add to the service's environment by setting +AppEnvironmentExtra in place of or in addition to the srvany-compatible +AppEnvironment. + +Since version 2.22, NSSM can set the managed application's process priority +and CPU affinity. + +Since version 2.22, NSSM can apply an unconditional delay before restarting +an application which has exited. + +Since version 2.22, NSSM can rotate existing output files when redirecting I/O. + +Since version 2.22, NSSM can set service display name, description, startup +type, log on details and dependencies. + +Since version 2.22, NSSM can manage existing services. + +Since version 2.25, NSSM can execute commands in response to service events. + +Since version 2.25, NSSM can list services it manages. + +Since version 2.25, NSSM can dump the configuration of services it manages. + +Since version 2.25, NSSM can show the processes managed by a service. + Usage ----- -In the usage notes below, arguments to the program may be written in angle -brackets and/or square brackets. means you must insert the -appropriate string and [] means the string is optional. See the +In the usage notes below, arguments to the program may be written in angle +brackets and/or square brackets. means you must insert the +appropriate string and [] means the string is optional. See the examples below... +Note that everywhere appears you may substitute the +service's display name. + Installation using the GUI -------------------------- @@ -44,18 +111,726 @@ with the given options (if you specified any). Don't forget to enclose paths in "quotes" if they contain spaces! +If you want to include quotes in the options you will need to """quote""" the +quotes. + Managing the service -------------------- NSSM will launch the application listed in the registry when you send it a start signal and will terminate it when you send a stop signal. So far, so -much like srvany. But NSSM is the Non-Sucking service manager and will take +much like srvany. But NSSM is the Non-Sucking service manager and can take action if/when the application dies. -NSSM will try to restart itself if it notices that the application died but -you didn't send it a stop signal. NSSM will keep trying, pausing 30 seconds -between each attempt, until the service is successfully started or you send -it a stop signal. +With no configuration from you, NSSM will try to restart itself if it notices +that the application died but you didn't send it a stop signal. NSSM will +keep trying, pausing between each attempt, until the service is successfully +started or you send it a stop signal. + +NSSM will pause an increasingly longer time between subsequent restart attempts +if the service fails to start in a timely manner, up to a maximum of four +minutes. This is so it does not consume an excessive amount of CPU time trying +to start a failed application over and over again. If you identify the cause +of the failure and don't want to wait you can use the Windows service console +(where the service will be shown in Paused state) to send a continue signal to +NSSM and it will retry within a few seconds. + +By default, NSSM defines "a timely manner" to be within 1500 milliseconds. +You can change the threshold for the service by setting the number of +milliseconds as a REG_DWORD value in the registry at +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppThrottle. + +Alternatively, NSSM can pause for a configurable amount of time before +attempting to restart the application even if it successfully ran for the +amount of time specified by AppThrottle. NSSM will consult the REG_DWORD value +at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppRestartDelay +for the number of milliseconds to wait before attempting a restart. If +AppRestartDelay is set and the application is determined to be subject to +throttling, NSSM will pause the service for whichever is longer of the +configured restart delay and the calculated throttle period. + +If AppRestartDelay is missing or invalid, only throttling will be applied. + +NSSM will look in the registry under +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppExit for +string (REG_EXPAND_SZ) values corresponding to the exit code of the application. +If the application exited with code 1, for instance, NSSM will look for a +string value under AppExit called "1" or, if it does not find it, will +fall back to the AppExit (Default) value. You can find out the exit code +for the application by consulting the system event log. NSSM will log the +exit code when the application exits. + +Based on the data found in the registry, NSSM will take one of three actions: + +If the value data is "Restart" NSSM will try to restart the application as +described above. This is its default behaviour. + +If the value data is "Ignore" NSSM will not try to restart the application +but will continue running itself. This emulates the (usually undesirable) +behaviour of srvany. The Windows Services console would show the service +as still running even though the application has exited. + +If the value data is "Exit" NSSM will exit gracefully. The Windows Services +console would show the service as stopped. If you wish to provide +finer-grained control over service recovery you should use this code and +edit the failure action manually. Please note that Windows versions prior +to Vista will not consider such an exit to be a failure. On older versions +of Windows you should use "Suicide" instead. + +If the value data is "Suicide" NSSM will simulate a crash and exit without +informing the service manager. This option should only be used for +pre-Vista systems where you wish to apply a service recovery action. Note +that if the monitored application exits with code 0, NSSM will only honour a +request to suicide if you explicitly configure a registry key for exit code 0. +If only the default action is set to Suicide NSSM will instead exit gracefully. + + +Application priority +-------------------- +NSSM can set the priority class of the managed application. NSSM will look in +the registry under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters +for the REG_DWORD entry AppPriority. Valid values correspond to arguments to +SetPriorityClass(). If AppPriority() is missing or invalid the +application will be launched with normal priority. + + +Processor affinity +------------------ +NSSM can set the CPU affinity of the managed application. NSSM will look in +the registry under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters +for the REG_SZ entry AppAffinity. It should specify a comma-separated listed +of zero-indexed processor IDs. A range of processors may optionally be +specified with a dash. No other characters are allowed in the string. + +For example, to specify the first; second; third and fifth CPUs, an appropriate +AppAffinity would be 0-2,4. + +If AppAffinity is missing or invalid, NSSM will not attempt to restrict the +application to specific CPUs. + +Note that the 64-bit version of NSSM can configure a maximum of 64 CPUs in this +way and that the 32-bit version can configure a maxium of 32 CPUs even when +running on 64-bit Windows. + + +Stopping the service +-------------------- +When stopping a service NSSM will attempt several different methods of killing +the monitored application, each of which can be disabled if necessary. + +First NSSM will attempt to generate a Control-C event and send it to the +application's console. Batch scripts or console applications may intercept +the event and shut themselves down gracefully. GUI applications do not have +consoles and will not respond to this method. + +Secondly NSSM will enumerate all windows created by the application and send +them a WM_CLOSE message, requesting a graceful exit. + +Thirdly NSSM will enumerate all threads created by the application and send +them a WM_QUIT message, requesting a graceful exit. Not all applications' +threads have message queues; those which do not will not respond to this +method. + +Finally NSSM will call TerminateProcess() to request that the operating +system forcibly terminate the application. TerminateProcess() cannot be +trapped or ignored, so in most circumstances the application will be killed. +However, there is no guarantee that it will have a chance to perform any +tidyup operations before it exits. + +Any or all of the methods above may be disabled. NSSM will look for the +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppStopMethodSkip +registry value which should be of type REG_DWORD set to a bit field describing +which methods should not be applied. + + If AppStopMethodSkip includes 1, Control-C events will not be generated. + If AppStopMethodSkip includes 2, WM_CLOSE messages will not be posted. + If AppStopMethodSkip includes 4, WM_QUIT messages will not be posted. + If AppStopMethodSkip includes 8, TerminateProcess() will not be called. + +If, for example, you knew that an application did not respond to Control-C +events and did not have a thread message queue, you could set AppStopMethodSkip +to 5 and NSSM would not attempt to use those methods to stop the application. + +Take great care when including 8 in the value of AppStopMethodSkip. If NSSM +does not call TerminateProcess() it is possible that the application will not +exit when the service stops. + +By default NSSM will allow processes 1500ms to respond to each of the methods +described above before proceeding to the next one. The timeout can be +configured on a per-method basis by creating REG_DWORD entries in the +registry under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters. + + AppStopMethodConsole + AppStopMethodWindow + AppStopMethodThreads + +Each value should be set to the number of milliseconds to wait. Please note +that the timeout applies to each process in the application's process tree, +so the actual time to shutdown may be longer than the sum of all configured +timeouts if the application spawns multiple subprocesses. + +To skip applying the above stop methods to all processes in the application's +process tree, applying them only to the original application process, set the +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppKillProcessTree +registry value, which should be of type REG_DWORD, to 0. + + +Console window +-------------- +By default, NSSM will create a console window so that applications which +are capable of reading user input can do so - subject to the service being +allowed to interact with the desktop. + +Creation of the console can be suppressed by setting the integer (REG_DWORD) +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppNoConsole +registry value to 1. + + +I/O redirection +--------------- +NSSM can redirect the managed application's I/O to any path capable of being +opened by CreateFile(). This enables, for example, capturing the log output +of an application which would otherwise only write to the console or accepting +input from a serial port. + +NSSM will look in the registry under +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters for the keys +corresponding to arguments to CreateFile(). All are optional. If no path is +given for a particular stream it will not be redirected. If a path is given +but any of the other values are omitted they will be receive sensible defaults. + + AppStdin: Path to receive input. + AppStdout: Path to receive output. + AppStderr: Path to receive error output. + +Parameters for CreateFile() are providing with the "AppStdinShareMode", +"AppStdinCreationDisposition" and "AppStdinFlagsAndAttributes" values (and +analogously for stdout and stderr). + +In general, if you want the service to log its output, set AppStdout and +AppStderr to the same path, eg C:\Users\Public\service.log, and it should +work. Remember, however, that the path must be accessible to the user +running the service. + + +File rotation +------------- +When using I/O redirection, NSSM can rotate existing output files prior to +opening stdout and/or stderr. An existing file will be renamed with a +suffix based on the file's last write time, to millisecond precision. For +example, the file nssm.log might be rotated to nssm-20131221T113939.457.log. + +NSSM will look in the registry under +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters for REG_DWORD +entries which control how rotation happens. + +If AppRotateFiles is missing or set to 0, rotation is disabled. Any non-zero +value enables rotation. + +If AppRotateSeconds is non-zero, a file will not be rotated if its last write +time is less than the given number of seconds in the past. + +If AppRotateBytes is non-zero, a file will not be rotated if it is smaller +than the given number of bytes. 64-bit file sizes can be handled by setting +a non-zero value of AppRotateBytesHigh. + +If AppRotateDelay is non-zero, NSSM will pause for the given number of +milliseconds after rotation. + +If AppStdoutCopyAndTruncate or AppStderrCopyAndTruncate are non-zero, the +stdout (or stderr respectively) file will be rotated by first taking a copy +of the file then truncating the original file to zero size. This allows +NSSM to rotate files which are held open by other processes, preventing the +usual MoveFile() from succeeding. Note that the copy process may take some +time if the file is large, and will temporarily consume twice as much disk +space as the original file. Note also that applications reading the log file +may not notice that the file size changed. Using this option in conjunction +with AppRotateDelay may help in that case. + +Rotation is independent of the CreateFile() parameters used to open the files. +They will be rotated regardless of whether NSSM would otherwise have appended +or replaced them. + +NSSM can also rotate files which hit the configured size threshold while the +service is running. Additionally, you can trigger an on-demand rotation by +running the command + + nssm rotate + +On-demand rotations will happen after the next line of data is read from +the managed application, regardless of the value of AppRotateBytes. Be aware +that if the application is not particularly verbose the rotation may not +happen for some time. + +To enable online and on-demand rotation, set AppRotateOnline to a non-zero +value. + +Note that online rotation requires NSSM to intercept the application's I/O +and create the output files on its behalf. This is more complex and +error-prone than simply redirecting the I/O streams before launching the +application. Therefore online rotation is not enabled by default. + + +Environment variables +--------------------- +NSSM can replace or append to the managed application's environment. Two +multi-valued string (REG_MULTI_SZ) registry values are recognised under +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters. + +AppEnvironment defines a list of environment variables which will override +the service's environment. AppEnvironmentExtra defines a list of +environment variables which will be added to the service's environment. + +Each entry in the list should be of the form KEY=VALUE. It is possible to +omit the VALUE but the = symbol is mandatory. + +Environment variables listed in both AppEnvironment and AppEnvironmentExtra +are subject to normal expansion, so it is possible, for example, to update the +system path by setting "PATH=C:\bin;%PATH%" in AppEnvironmentExtra. Variables +are expanded in the order in which they appear, so if you want to include the +value of one variable in another variable you should declare the dependency +first. + +Because variables defined in AppEnvironment override the existing +environment it is not possible to refer to any variables which were previously +defined. + +For example, the following AppEnvironment block: + + PATH=C:\Windows\System32;C:\Windows + PATH=C:\bin;%PATH% + +Would result in a PATH of "C:\bin;C:\Windows\System32;C:\Windows" as expected. + +Whereas the following AppEnvironment block: + + PATH=C:\bin;%PATH% + +Would result in a path containing only C:\bin and probably cause the +application to fail to start. + +Most people will want to use AppEnvironmentExtra exclusively. srvany only +supports AppEnvironment. + +As of version 2.25, NSSM parses AppEnvironment and AppEnvironmentExtra +itself, before reading any other registry values. As a result it is now +possible to refer to custom environment variables in Application, +AppDirectory and other parameters. + + +Merged service environment +-------------------------- +All Windows services can be passed additional environment variables by +creating a multi-valued string (REG_MULTI_SZ) registry value named +HLKM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Environment. + +The contents of this environment block will be merged into the system +environment before the service starts. + +Note, however, that the merged environment will be sorted alphabetically +before being processed. This means that in practice you cannot set, +for example, DIR=%PROGRAMFILES% in the Environment block because the +environment passed to the service will not have defined %PROGRAMFILES% +by the time it comes to define %DIR%. Environment variables defined in +AppEnvironmentExtra do not suffer from this limitation. + +As of version 2.25, NSSM can get and set the Environment block using +commands similar to: + + nssm get Environment + +It is worth reiterating that the Environment block is available to all +Windows services, not just NSSM services. + + +Service startup environment +--------------------------- +The environment NSSM passes to the application depends on how various +registry values are configured. The following flow describes how the +environment is modified. + +By default: + The service inherits the system environment. + +If \Environment is defined: + The contents of Environment are MERGED into the environment. + +If \Parameters\AppEnvironment is defined: + The service inherits the environment specified in AppEnvironment. + +If \Parameters\AppEnvironmentExtra is defined: + The contents of AppEnvironmentExtra are APPENDED to the environment. + +Note that AppEnvironment overrides the system environment and the +merged Environment block. Note also that AppEnvironmentExtra is +guaranteed to be appended to the startup environment if it is defined. + + +Event hooks +----------- +NSSM can run user-configurable commands in response to application events. +These commands are referred to as "hooks" below. + +All hooks are optional. Any hooks which are run will be launched with the +environment configured for the service. NSSM will place additional +variables into the environment which hooks can query to learn how and why +they were called. + +Hooks are categorised by Event and Action. Some hooks are run synchronously +and some are run asynchronously. Hooks prefixed with an *asterisk are run +synchronously. NSSM will wait for these hooks to complete before continuing +its work. Note, however, that ALL hooks are subject to a deadline after which +they will be killed, regardless of whether they are run asynchronously +or not. + + Event: Start - Triggered when the service is requested to start. + *Action: Pre - Called before NSSM attempts to launch the application. + Action: Post - Called after the application successfully starts. + + Event: Stop - Triggered when the service is requested to stop. + *Action: Pre - Called before NSSM attempts to kill the application. + + Event: Exit - Triggered when the application exits. + *Action: Post - Called after NSSM has cleaned up the application. + + Event: Rotate - Triggered when online log rotation is requested. + *Action: Pre - Called before NSSM rotates logs. + Action: Post - Called after NSSM rotates logs. + + Event: Power + Action: Change - Called when the system power status has changed. + Action: Resume - Called when the system has resumed from standby. + +Note that there is no Stop/Post hook. This is because Exit/Post is called +when the application exits, regardless of whether it did so in response to +a service shutdown request. Stop/Pre is only called before a graceful +shutdown attempt. + +NSSM sets the environment variable NSSM_HOOK_VERSION to a positive number. +Hooks can check the value of the number to determine which other environment +variables are available to them. + +If NSSM_HOOK_VERSION is 1 or greater, these variables are provided: + + NSSM_EXE - Path to NSSM itself. + NSSM_CONFIGURATION - Build information for the NSSM executable, + eg 64-bit debug. + NSSM_VERSION - Version of the NSSM executable. + NSSM_BUILD_DATE - Build date of NSSM. + NSSM_PID - Process ID of the running NSSM executable. + NSSM_DEADLINE - Deadline number of milliseconds after which NSSM will + kill the hook if it is still running. + NSSM_SERVICE_NAME - Name of the service controlled by NSSM. + NSSM_SERVICE_DISPLAYNAME - Display name of the service. + NSSM_COMMAND_LINE - Command line used to launch the application. + NSSM_APPLICATION_PID - Process ID of the primary application process. + May be blank if the process is not running. + NSSM_EVENT - Event class triggering the hook. + NSSM_ACTION - Event action triggering the hook. + NSSM_TRIGGER - Service control triggering the hook. May be blank if + the hook was not triggered by a service control, eg Exit/Post. + NSSM_LAST_CONTROL - Last service control handled by NSSM. + NSSM_START_REQUESTED_COUNT - Number of times the application was + requested to start. + NSSM_START_COUNT - Number of times the application successfully started. + NSSM_THROTTLE_COUNT - Number of times the application ran for less than + the throttle period. Reset to zero on successful start or when the + service is explicitly unpaused. + NSSM_EXIT_COUNT - Number of times the application exited. + NSSM_EXITCODE - Exit code of the application. May be blank if the + application is still running or has not started yet. + NSSM_RUNTIME - Number of milliseconds for which the NSSM executable has + been running. + NSSM_APPLICATION_RUNTIME - Number of milliseconds for which the + application has been running since it was last started. May be blank + if the application has not been started yet. + +Future versions of NSSM may provide more environment variables, in which +case NSSM_HOOK_VERSION will be set to a higher number. + +Hooks are configured by creating string (REG_EXPAND_SZ) values in the +registry named after the hook action and placed under +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\AppEvents\. + +For example the service could be configured to restart when the system +resumes from standby by setting AppEvents\Power\Resume to: + + %NSSM_EXE% restart %NSSM_SERVICE_NAME% + +Note that NSSM will abort the startup of the application if a Start/Pre hook +returns exit code of 99. + +A service will normally run hooks in the following order: + + Start/Pre + Start/Post + Stop/Pre + Exit/Post + +If the application crashes and is restarted by NSSM, the order might be: + + Start/Pre + Start/Post + Exit/Post + Start/Pre + Start/Post + Stop/Pre + Exit/Post + + +If NSSM is redirecting stdout or stderr it can be configured to redirect +the output of any hooks it runs. Set AppRedirectHooks to 1 to enable +that functionality. A hook can of course redirect its own I/O independently +of NSSM. + + +Managing services using the GUI +------------------------------- +NSSM can edit the settings of existing services with the same GUI that is +used to install them. Run + + nssm edit + +to bring up the GUI. + +NSSM offers limited editing capabilities for services other than those which +run NSSM itself. When NSSM is asked to edit a service which does not have +the App* registry settings described above, the GUI will allow editing only +system settings such as the service display name and description. + + +Managing services using the command line +---------------------------------------- +NSSM can retrieve or set individual service parameters from the command line. +In general the syntax is as follows, though see below for exceptions. + + nssm get + + nssm set + +Parameters can also be reset to their default values. + + nssm reset + +The parameter names recognised by NSSM are the same as the registry entry +names described above, eg AppDirectory. + +NSSM offers limited editing capabilities for Services other than those which +run NSSM itself. The parameters recognised are as follows: + + Description: Service description. + DisplayName: Service display name. + Environment: Service merged environment. + ImagePath: Path to the service executable. + ObjectName: User account which runs the service. + Name: Service key name. + Start: Service startup type. + Type: Service type. + +These correspond to the registry values under the service's key +HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\. + + +Note that NSSM will concatenate all arguments passed on the command line +with spaces to form the value to set. Thus the following two invocations +would have the same effect. + + nssm set Description "NSSM managed service" + + nssm set Description NSSM managed service + + +Non-standard parameters +----------------------- +The AppEnvironment, AppEnvironmentExtra and Environment parameters +recognise an additional argument when querying the environment. The +following syntax will print all extra environment variables configured +for a service + + nssm get AppEnvironmentExtra + +whereas the syntax below will print only the value of the CLASSPATH +variable if it is configured in the environment block, or the empty string +if it is not configured. + + nssm get AppEnvironmentExtra CLASSPATH + +When setting an environment block, each variable should be specified as a +KEY=VALUE pair in separate command line arguments. For example: + + nssm set AppEnvironment CLASSPATH=C:\Classes TEMP=C:\Temp + +Alternatively the KEY can be prefixed with a + or - symbol to respectively +add or remove a pair from the block. + +The following two lines set CLASSPATH and TEMP: + + nssm set AppEnvironment CLASSPATH=C:\Classes + nssm set AppEnvironment +TEMP=C:\Temp + +If the key is already present, specifying +KEY will override the value +while preserving the order of keys: + + nssm set AppEnvironment +CLASSPATH=C:\NewClasses + +The following syntax removes a single variable from the block while +leaving any other variables in place. + + nssm set AppEnvironment -TEMP + +Specifying -KEY=VALUE will remove the variable only if the existing +value matches. + +The following syntax would not remove TEMP=C:\Temp + + nssm set AppEnvironment -TEMP=C:\Work\Temporary + +The + and - symbols are valid characters in environment variables. +The syntax :KEY=VALUE is equivalent to KEY=VALUE and can be used to +set variables which start with +/- or to explicitly reset the block in +a script: + + nssm set AppEnvironment :CLASSPATH=C:\Classes + nssm set AppEnvironment +TEMP=C:\Temp + + +The AppExit parameter requires an additional argument specifying the exit +code to get or set. The default action can be specified with the string +Default. + +For example, to get the default exit action for a service you should run + + nssm get AppExit Default + +To get the exit action when the application exits with exit code 2, run + + nssm get AppExit 2 + +Note that if no explicit action is configured for a specified exit code, +NSSM will print the default exit action. + +To set configure the service to stop when the application exits with an +exit code of 2, run + + nssm set AppExit 2 Exit + + +The AppPriority parameter is used to set the priority class of the +managed application. Valid priorities are as follows: + + REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS + HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS + ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS + NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS + BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS + IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS + + +The DependOnGroup and DependOnService parameters are used to query or set +the dependencies for the service. When setting dependencies, each service +or service group (preceded with the + symbol) should be specified in +separate command line arguments. For example: + + nssm set DependOnService RpcSs LanmanWorkstation + +Alternatively the dependency name can be prefixed with a + or - symbol to +respectively add or remove a dependency. + +The following two lines set dependencies on RpcSs and LanmanWorkstation: + + nssm set DependOnService RpcSs + nssm set DependOnService +LanmanWorkstation + +The follwing syntax removes the dependency on RpcSs: + + nssm set DependOnService -RpcSs + +Service groups should, strictly speaking, be prefixed with the + symbol. +To specify a single dependency on a group, the + symbol can be prefixed +with the : symbol. + +The following lines are equivalent, and each set a dependency ONLY on +NetBIOSGroup: + + nssm set DependOnGroup NetBIOSGroup + nssm set DependOnGroup :NetBIOSGroup + nssm set DependOnGroup :+NetBIOSGroup + +Whereas these lines add to any existing dependencies: + + nssm set DependOnGroup +NetBIOSGroup + nssm set DependOnGroup ++NetBIOSGroup + + +The Name parameter can only be queried, not set. It returns the service's +registry key name. This may be useful to know if you take advantage of +the fact that you can substitute the service's display name anywhere where +the syntax calls for . + + +The ObjectName parameter requires an additional argument only when setting +a username. The additional argument is the password of the user. + +To retrieve the username, run + + nssm get ObjectName + +To set the username and password, run + + nssm set ObjectName + +Note that the rules of argument concatenation still apply. The following +invocation is valid and will have the expected effect. + + nssm set ObjectName correct horse battery staple + +The following well-known usernames do not need a password. The password +parameter can be omitted when using them: + + "LocalSystem" aka "System" aka "NT Authority\System" + "LocalService" aka "Local Service" aka "NT Authority\Local Service" + "NetworkService" aka "Network Service" aka "NT Authority\Network Service" + + +The Start parameter is used to query or set the startup type of the service. +Valid service startup types are as follows: + + SERVICE_AUTO_START: Automatic startup at boot. + SERVICE_DELAYED_START: Delayed startup at boot. + SERVICE_DEMAND_START: Manual service startup. + SERVICE_DISABLED: The service is disabled. + +Note that SERVICE_DELAYED_START is not supported on versions of Windows prior +to Vista. NSSM will set the service to automatic startup if delayed start is +unavailable. + + +The Type parameter is used to query or set the service type. NSSM recognises +all currently documented service types but will only allow setting one of two +types: + + SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS: A standalone service. This is the default. + SERVICE_INTERACTIVE_PROCESS: A service which can interact with the desktop. + +Note that a service may only be configured as interactive if it runs under +the LocalSystem account. The safe way to configure an interactive service +is in two stages as follows. + + nssm reset ObjectName + nssm set Type SERVICE_INTERACTIVE_PROCESS + + +Controlling services using the command line +------------------------------------------- +NSSM offers rudimentary service control features. + + nssm start + + nssm restart + + nssm stop + + nssm status Removing services using the GUI @@ -77,22 +852,158 @@ To remove a service without confirmation from the GUI, run Try not to remove essential system services... +Logging +------- +NSSM logs to the Windows event log. It registers itself as an event log source +and uses unique event IDs for each type of message it logs. New versions may +add event types but existing event IDs will never be changed. + +Because of the way NSSM registers itself you should be aware that you may not +be able to replace the NSSM binary if you have the event viewer open and that +running multiple instances of NSSM from different locations may be confusing if +they are not all the same version. + + +Listing managed services +------------------------ +The following command will print the names of all services managed by NSSM: + + nssm list + +To see all services on the system, not just NSSM's, use list all: + + nssm list all + + +Showing processes started by a service +-------------------------------------- +The following command will print the process ID and executable path of +processes started by a given service: + + nssm processes + +Note that if 32-bit NSSM is run on a 64-bit system running an older version of +Windows than Vista it will not be able to query the paths of 64-bit processes. + + +Exporting service configuration +------------------------------- +NSSM can dump commands which would recreate the configuration of a service. +The output can be pasted into a batch script to back up the service or +transfer to another computer. + + nssm dump + +Because the service configuration may contain characters which need to be +quoted or escaped from the command prompt, NSSM tries hard to produce +output which will work correctly when run as a script, by adding quotes +and caret escapes as appropriate. + +To facilitate copying a service, the dump command accepts a second +argument which specifies the name of the service to be used in the output. + + nssm dump + +Lines in the dump will reference the service while showing the +configuration of . + + Example usage ------------- To install an Unreal Tournament server: nssm install UT2004 c:\games\ut2004\system\ucc.exe server +To run the server as the "games" user: + + nssm set UT2004 ObjectName games password + +To configure the server to log to a file: + + nssm set UT2004 AppStdout c:\games\ut2004\service.log + +To restrict the server to a single CPU: + + nssm set UT2004 AppAffinity 0 + To remove the server: nssm remove UT2004 confirm +To find out the service name of a service with a display name: + + nssm get "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" Name + Building NSSM from source ------------------------- -NSSM is known to compile with Visual Studio 6 and Visual Studio 2005. +NSSM is known to compile with Visual Studio 2008 and later. Older Visual +Studio releases may or may not work if you install an appropriate SDK and +edit the nssm.vcproj and nssm.sln files to set a lower version number. +They are known not to work with default settings. + +NSSM will also compile with Visual Studio 2010 but the resulting executable +will not run on versions of Windows older than XP SP2. If you require +compatiblity with older Windows releases you should change the Platform +Toolset to v90 in the General section of the project's Configuration +Properties. +Credits +------- +Thanks to Bernard Loh for finding a bug with service recovery. +Thanks to Benjamin Mayrargue (www.softlion.com) for adding 64-bit support. +Thanks to Joel Reingold for spotting a command line truncation bug. +Thanks to Arve Knudsen for spotting that child processes of the monitored +application could be left running on service shutdown, and that a missing +registry value for AppDirectory confused NSSM. +Thanks to Peter Wagemans and Laszlo Keresztfalvi for suggesting throttling +restarts. +Thanks to Eugene Lifshitz for finding an edge case in CreateProcess() and for +advising how to build messages.mc correctly in paths containing spaces. +Thanks to Rob Sharp for pointing out that NSSM did not respect the +AppEnvironment registry value used by srvany. +Thanks to Szymon Nowak for help with Windows 2000 compatibility. +Thanks to François-Régis Tardy and Gildas le Nadan for French translation. +Thanks to Emilio Frini for spotting that French was inadvertently set as +the default language when the user's display language was not translated. +Thanks to Riccardo Gusmeroli and Marco Certelli for Italian translation. +Thanks to Eric Cheldelin for the inspiration to generate a Control-C event +on shutdown. +Thanks to Brian Baxter for suggesting how to escape quotes from the command +prompt. +Thanks to Russ Holmann for suggesting that the shutdown timeout be configurable. +Thanks to Paul Spause for spotting a bug with default registry entries. +Thanks to BUGHUNTER for spotting more GUI bugs. +Thanks to Doug Watson for suggesting file rotation. +Thanks to Арслан Сайдуганов for suggesting setting process priority. +Thanks to Robert Middleton for suggestion and draft implementation of process +affinity support. +Thanks to Andrew RedzMax for suggesting an unconditional restart delay. +Thanks to Bryan Senseman for noticing that applications with redirected stdout +and/or stderr which attempt to read from stdin would fail. +Thanks to Czenda Czendov for help with Visual Studio 2013 and Server 2012R2. +Thanks to Alessandro Gherardi for reporting and draft fix of the bug whereby +the second restart of the application would have a corrupted environment. +Thanks to Hadrien Kohl for suggesting to disable the console window's menu. +Thanks to Allen Vailliencourt for noticing bugs with configuring the service to +run under a local user account. +Thanks to Sam Townsend for noticing a regression with TerminateProcess(). +Thanks to Barrett Lewis for suggesting the option to skip terminating the +application's child processes. +Thanks to Miguel Angel Terrón for suggesting copy/truncate rotation. +Thanks to Yuriy Lesiuk for suggesting setting the environment before querying +the registry for parameters. +Thanks to Gerald Haider for noticing that installing a service with NSSM in a +path containing spaces was technically a security vulnerability. +Thanks to Scott Ware for reporting a crash saving the environment on XP 32-bit. +Thanks to Stefan and Michael Scherer for reporting a bug writing the event messages source. +Thanks to Paul Baxter for help with Visual Studio 2015. +Thanks to Mathias Breiner for help with Visual Studio and some registry fixes. +Thanks to David Bremner for general tidyups. +Thanks to Nabil Redmann for suggesting redirecting hooks' output. +Thanks to Bader Aldurai for suggesting the process tree. + Licence ------- NSSM is public domain. You may unconditionally use it and/or its source code