Why I built Servy – a modern open-source alternative to NSSM/WinSW

#microsoft #productivity #devops #discuss

For years, whenever I needed to run an app as a Windows service, I used either sc.exe or NSSM. They work, but both had limitations that became painful in real projects:

sc.exe always defaults to C:\Windows\System32 as the working directory, which breaks apps that rely on relative paths or local configs.
NSSM is lightweight but lacks monitoring, logging rotation, and has only a minimal UI.
WinSW is configurable, but XML-based and not very user-friendly for quick setups.

After running into these issues one too many times, I decided to build my own tool: Servy.

The goals

I wanted a solution that was:

Easy to use with a clean UI, but also scriptable via CLI for automation.
Flexible enough to run any app (Node.js, Python, .NET, scripts, etc.).
Robust with logging, health checks, recovery, and restart policies built-in.
Compatible with a wide range of Windows versions (from Windows 7 up to 11, plus Server editions).

Challenges along the way

Working directory handling: Ensuring services run with the correct startup folder without hacks.
Log management: Redirecting stdout/stderr to files, but with rotation to avoid unbounded growth.
Health monitoring: Adding checks so the service can automatically restart or recover if something goes wrong.
UI design: Balancing simplicity (for casual use) with advanced options (for professionals).

The result

The result is Servy, an open-source tool that turns any app into a native Windows service, combining both a modern GUI and a CLI for automation. It's designed to be both approachable and powerful enough for production use.

GitHub: github.com/aelassas/servy

Demo video

Getting Started

You have two options to install Servy. Download and install manually or use a package manager such as WinGet or Chocolatey.

Make sure you have WinGet or Chocolatey installed.

Run one of the following commands as administrator from Command Prompt or PowerShell:

WinGet

winget install servy

Chocolatey

choco install -y servy

Quick Links

Features

Clean, simple UI
Quickly monitor and manage all installed services with Servy Manager
CLI for full scripting and automated deployments
Run any executable as a Windows service
Set service name, description, startup type, priority, working directory, environment variables, dependencies, and parameters
Environment variable expansion supported in both environment variables and process parameters
Run services as Local System, local user, or domain account
Redirect stdout/stderr to log files with automatic size-based rotation
Run pre-launch script execution before starting the service, with retries, timeout, logging and failure handling
Prevent orphaned/zombie processes with improved lifecycle management and ensuring resource cleanup
Health checks and automatic service recovery
Monitor and manage services in real-time
Browse and search logs by level, date, and keyword for faster troubleshooting from Servy Manager
Export/Import service configurations
Service Event Notification alerts on service failures via Windows notifications and email
Compatible with Windows 7–11 x64 and Windows Server editions

Contributing

Servy is fully open-source, and we welcome contributions of all kinds! Whether it's fixing bugs, adding new features, improving documentation, or sharing ideas, your help makes Servy better for everyone.

You can contribute by: