Servy CLI

Servy includes a command-line interface (CLI) designed for full scripting, automated deployments, and seamless integration into CI/CD pipelines.

The CLI offers a lightweight, script-friendly alternative to the GUI, focusing on automation and headless use cases while leveraging the same core service management logic as the desktop application.

Once you install Servy, the CLI executable will be available at:

C:\Program Files\Servy\servy-cli.exe

Basic Usage

To get started, open a command prompt or PowerShell window, navigate to the CLI folder, and run:

PS C:\Program Files\Servy> .\servy-cli.exe help
Servy.CLI 1.0.0+8991a88b22fbe4e6ab547a6583da826efdfe2932
Copyright © 2025 Akram El Assas. All rights reserved.

  install      Install a new service.

  uninstall    Uninstall a service.

  start        Start a Windows service.

  stop         Stop a Windows service.

  status       Get the current status of a Windows service. Possible results: Stopped,
               StartPending, StopPending, Running, ContinuePending, PausePending, Paused.

  restart      Restart a Windows service.

  export       Export a Servy Windows service configuration to a configuration file.

  import       Import a Windows service configuration into Servy's database.

  help         Display more information on a specific command.

  version      Display version information.

Command Help

For detailed help on any command, append the command name after --help. For example, to get help for the start command:

PS C:\Program Files\Servy> .\servy-cli start --help
Servy.CLI 1.0.0+98dbe218852cc1ca08a0734aee4003a039dae976
Copyright © 2025 Akram El Assas. All rights reserved.

  -n, --name    Required. Name of the service to start.

  --help        Display this help screen.

  --version     Display version information.

Install Command

The main command for installing a Windows service is install. Here is its detailed usage:

S C:\Program Files\Servy> .\servy-cli install --help
Servy.CLI 1.0.0+d6103bb97232f378bcd5c3ac8ce4ccdc6a24d88f
Copyright © 2025 Akram El Assas. All rights reserved.

  -n, --name                  Required. Unique service name to install.

  -d, --description           Description of the service.

  -p, --path                  Required. Path to the executable process.

  --startupDir                Startup directory for the process.

  --params                    Additional parameters for the process.

  --startupType               Service startup type. Options: Automatic, Manual, Disabled.

  --priority                  Process priority level. Options: Idle, BelowNormal, Normal, AboveNormal,
                              High, RealTime.

  --stdout                    Path to stdout log file.

  --stderr                    Path to stderr log file.

  --enableRotation            Enable log rotation.

  --rotationSize              Log rotation size in bytes.

  --enableHealth              Enable health monitoring.

  --heartbeatInterval         Heartbeat interval in seconds.

  --maxFailedChecks           Maximum allowed failed health checks.

  --recoveryAction            Recovery action on failure. Options: None, RestartService,
                              RestartProcess, RestartComputer.

  --maxRestartAttempts        Maximum restart attempts on failure.

  --env                       Environment variables for the process. Enter variables in the format
                              varName=varValue, separated by semicolons (;). Use \= to escape '=' and
                              \; to escape ';'. To include a literal backslash before '=' or ';', use
                              double backslashes (\\).

  --deps                      Specify one or more Windows service names (not display names) that this
                              service depends on separated with semicolons (;). Use service key names
                              without spaces or special characters. Each dependency service must be
                              installed and running before this service can start. If a dependency's
                              start type is Automatic, Windows will try to start it automatically
                              before this service. If a dependency fails to start or is disabled, this
                              service will not start.

  --user                      The service account username (e.g., .\username, DOMAIN\username).

  --password                  The service account password.

  --preLaunchPath             The pre-launch executable path. Configure an optional script or
                              executable to run before the main service starts. This is useful for
                              preparing configurations, fetching secrets, or other setup tasks. If the
                              pre-launch script fails, the service will not start unless you enable
                              --preLaunchIgnoreFailure.

  --preLaunchStartupDir       Specifies the directory in which the pre-launch executable will start. 
                              Defaults to the service working directory.

  --preLaunchParams           Additional parameters for the pre-launch executable.

  --preLaunchEnv              Environment variables for the pre-launch executable. Enter variables in
                              the format varName=varValue, separated by semicolons (;). Use \= to
                              escape '=' and \; to escape ';'. To include a literal backslash before
                              '=' or ';', use double backslashes (\\).

  --preLaunchStdout           Path to stdout log file of the pre-launch executable.

  --preLaunchStderr           Path to stderr log file of the pre-launch executable.

  --preLaunchTimeout          Timeout for the pre-launch executable.

  --preLaunchRetryAttempts    Number of retry attempts for the pre-launch executable if it fails. 
                              Must be greater or equal to 0.

  --preLaunchIgnoreFailure    Ignore failure and start service even if pre-launch executable fails.

  --help                      Display this help screen.

  --version                   Display version information.

Below is an example usage of the install command:

.\servy-cli install `
  --name "My NodeJS Service" `
  --description "My NodeJS Server" `
  --path "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe" `
  --startupDir "C:\Apps\App" `
  --params "C:\Apps\App\index.js" `
  --startupType Automatic `
  --priority Normal `
  --stdout "C:\Apps\App\stdout.log" `
  --stderr "C:\Apps\App\stderr.log" `
  --enableRotation true `
  --rotationSize 10485760 `
  --enableHealth true `
  --heartbeatInterval 10 `
  --maxFailedChecks 3 `
  --recoveryAction RestartService `
  --maxRestartAttempts 5 `
  --env "ENV_VAR1=VAL1; ENV_VAR2=VAL2;" `
  --deps "MongoDB; MySQL80" `
  --user ".\username" `
  --password "secret"

Below is an example usage of the install command with a pre-launch script:

.\servy-cli install `
  -n MyLegacyService `
  -d "Runs legacy app with dynamic config" `
  -p "C:\Apps\LegacyApp\LegacyApp.exe" `
  --startupDir "C:\Apps\LegacyApp" `
  --params "--mode=production" `
  --preLaunchPath "C:\Scripts\GenerateConfig.ps1" `
  --preLaunchStartupDir "C:\Scripts" `
  --preLaunchParams "-VaultUrl https://vault.example.com -SecretName AppSecrets" `
  --preLaunchEnv "ENV=production;API_KEY=abcdef123" `
  --preLaunchStdout "C:\Logs\prelaunch_stdout.log" `
  --preLaunchStderr "C:\Logs\prelaunch_stderr.log" `
  --preLaunchTimeout "60" `
  --preLaunchRetryAttempts "2" `
  --preLaunchIgnoreFailure `
  --user ".\serviceuser" `
  --password "P@ssw0rd!" `
  --enableHealth `
  --heartbeatInterval "30" `
  --maxFailedChecks "3" `
  --recoveryAction "RestartService" `
  --maxRestartAttempts "5" `
  --stdout "C:\Logs\service_stdout.log" `
  --stderr "C:\Logs\service_stderr.log" `
  --enableRotation `
  --rotationSize "10485760"

Additional Commands

uninstall — Uninstall an existing service by name.
start — Start a Windows service by name.
stop — Stop a Windows service by name.
restart — Restart a Windows service by name.
export — Export a Servy Windows service configuration to a configuration file.
import — Import a Windows service configuration into Servy's database.
version — Show CLI version.

Tips

Always run the CLI with Administrator privileges when executing commands that modify Windows services.
Use the --help flag with any command to display detailed usage information and available options.
When automating with scripts or CI/CD pipelines, rely on the CLI's exit codes: 0 indicates success, any other value indicates failure.
Ensure that log file paths are writable by the user account under which the service runs to avoid permission issues.

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Servy CLI

Basic Usage

Command Help

Install Command

Additional Commands

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