node.js http server as a Windows service - windows

Question

I created a simple http server in Node.js.
I wanted to make it run permanently on my Windows 2008 machine, so that, if the computer reboots, it automatically restarts.
So I made it a service with this command:
C:\Users\Administrator>sc create translate binPath= "node D:\Apps\translate\machine-learning-server\servertranslate.js" DisplayName= "Translation Server"
Then started it with:
C:\Users\Administrator>sc start translate
and got the following error message:
[SC] StartService FAILED 1053:
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.
The program works OK when I start it from the command line (not as a service).
What is the easiest way to have a node.js web server that restarts automatically when the computer reboots?

Answer 1

In the past, I've used NSSM for running Node.js applications as services on Windows. It works quite well, and can be configured to automatically restart your application in the event of a crash.
http://nssm.cc/usage
nssm install YourService "C:\Program Files\Node.js\node.exe" "C:\something\something.js"

Answer 2

As I recall, the Service runtime environment isn't the same as running something under the command shell. In particular, Services are required to respond to messages from the system to indicate their running status, as you've seen :-)
This must be a solved problem, though...
Sure enough:
https://npmjs.org/package/windows-service
windows-service
Run Node.JS programs as native Windows Services.
npm install windows-service

Answer 3

Use this one, really simple
https://github.com/coreybutler/node-windows
Create two js file on your project. And run those as
node your_service.js
node your_service_remove.js
For install:
/**
* Created by sabbir on 08/18/2015.
*/
//ref: https://github.com/coreybutler/node-windows
var Service = require('node-windows').Service;
// Create a new service object
var svc = new Service({
name:'nodeDemoApp',
description: 'The nodejs.org example web server.',
script: 'D:\\NodeJS\\demoWeb\\bin\\www'
});
// Listen for the "install" event, which indicates the
// process is available as a service.
svc.on('install',function(){
svc.start();
});
svc.install();
For uninstall:
var Service = require('node-windows').Service;
// Create a new service object
var svc = new Service({
name:'nodeDemoApp',
script: require('path').join(__dirname,'bin\\www')
});
// Listen for the "uninstall" event so we know when it's done.
svc.on('uninstall',function(){
console.log('Uninstall complete.');
console.log('The service exists: ',svc.exists);
});
// Uninstall the service.
svc.uninstall();

Answer 4

At a guess, I'd say that the service doesn't know where to find the node binary. You've probably updated your profile's PATH variable. My recommendation is to ALWAYS hard code the full path in service scripts.

Answer 5

As mentioned in others questions about it, I'd like to share here (because it wasn't referred yet) a node.js module called WinSer that wraps NSSM and its usage is very simple, maybe it helps someone someday.
: )

Answer 6

You could try the package qckwinsvc. First install it globally:
npm install -g qckwinsvc
And then from the cmd:
qckwinsvc
prompt: Service name: [...]
prompt: Service description: [...]
prompt: Node script path: [/path/to/.js file]
To uninstall:
qckwinsvc --uninstall

Answer 7

Always a good idea to look at the number of downloads something is getting.
PM2 seems to be winning and is very easy.
https://medium.com/#harshamw/deploying-a-node-js-application-in-iis-using-a-reverse-proxy-process-management-using-pm2-3d59b83d7f76
You'll need to then use https://www.npmjs.com/package/pm2-windows-service to start it as a windows service on reboot.