Windows service
lastmod 2025-12-23created 2025-08-193 edits
A Windows service is an executable that runs for a long time and performs a specific function, and is not designed to require user intervention. Windows services usually start when the Microsoft Windows operating system boots and run in background mode as long as Windows is running. This is similar in concept to a Unix daemon. You can also see Windows services running as processes in Windows Task Manager; for example, in the User name column of the Processes tab of Windows Task Manager, some entries show "SYSTEM, LOCAL SERVICE, NETWORK". However, not every process with the user name SYSTEM is a service. The remaining services are loaded into memory as DLLs and run through svchost.exe.
See also
- Windows
- NSSM
- Servy - A fully managed NSSM alternative that can run any app as a Windows service
- WinSW - A wrapper executable that can run any executable as a Windows service, in a permissive license.
- sc
- Service (linux)
- Daemon
- systemctl