How to make a Windows Service from .NET Core 2.1/2.2

Question

Recently I had a need to convert a .NET Core 2.1 or 2.2 console application into a Windows Service.

As I didn\'t have a requirement to port this process to Linux, I c

Answer 1

You no longer need to copy-paste a lot of code to do it. All you need is to install the package Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting.WindowsServices

Then:

• Append UseWindowsService() to the HostBuilder. This will also configure your application to use the EventLog logger.
• Change the SDK in your project to Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Worker ().
• Make sure that the output project type is EXE file (Exe)
• Append win7-x64 to the project file.

Debug your service like a regular console application, and then run dotnet publish, sc create ..., etc.

That's it. This also works for .NET Core 3.0/3.1. Read more here.

The minimal code example is shown below.

.csproj file:

  
    Exe
    win7-x64
    netcoreapp2.1
  

  
    
  

File Program.cs:

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;

namespace NetcoreWindowsService
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            new HostBuilder()
                .ConfigureServices(services => services.AddHostedService())
                .UseWindowsService()
                .Build()
                .Run();
        }
    }
}

File MyService.cs:

using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace NetcoreWindowsService
{
    internal class MyService : IHostedService
    {
        private readonly ILogger _logger;

        public MyService(ILogger logger) => _logger = logger;

        public Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            _logger.LogInformation("The service has been started");
            return Task.CompletedTask;
        }

        public Task StopAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            _logger.LogInformation("The service has been stopped");
            return Task.CompletedTask;
        }
    }
}