Question

I have a standard .NET windows service written in C#.

Can it install itself without using InstallUtil? Should I use the service installer class? How should I use it?

I want to be able to call the following:

MyService.exe -install 

And it will have the same effect as calling:

InstallUtil MyService.exe 

Answer 1

Yes, that is fully possible (i.e. I do exactly this); you just need to reference the right dll (System.ServiceProcess.dll) and add an installer class…

Here’s an example:

[RunInstaller(true)] public sealed class MyServiceInstallerProcess : ServiceProcessInstaller {     public MyServiceInstallerProcess()     {         this.Account = ServiceAccount.NetworkService;     } }  [RunInstaller(true)] public sealed class MyServiceInstaller : ServiceInstaller {     public MyServiceInstaller()     {         this.Description = 'Service Description';         this.DisplayName = 'Service Name';         this.ServiceName = 'ServiceName';         this.StartType = System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode.Automatic;     } }  static void Install(bool undo, string[] args) {     try     {         Console.WriteLine(undo ? 'uninstalling' : 'installing');         using (AssemblyInstaller inst = new AssemblyInstaller(typeof(Program).Assembly, args))         {             IDictionary state = new Hashtable();             inst.UseNewContext = true;             try             {                 if (undo)                 {                     inst.Uninstall(state);                 }                 else                 {                     inst.Install(state);                     inst.Commit(state);                 }             }             catch             {                 try                 {                     inst.Rollback(state);                 }                 catch { }                 throw;             }         }     }     catch (Exception ex)     {         Console.Error.WriteLine(ex.Message);     } }