open-consul/website/source/docs/guides/windows-guide.html.md

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docs	Windows Service	docs-guides-windows-service	By using the _sc_ command either on Powershell or the Windows command line, you can make Consul run as a service. For more details about the _sc_ command the Windows page for [sc](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms682107(v=vs.85).aspx) should help you get started.

Overview

By using the sc command either on Powershell or the Windows command line, you can make Consul run as a service. For more details about the sc command the Windows page for sc should help you get started.

Please remember to create a permanent directory for storing the configuration files. It is always advisable to start Consul with the -config-dir option.

The steps presented here , we assume that the user has launched Powershell with Adminstrator capabilities.

Running Consul run as a service on Windows

Installing Consul as a Service

Download the Consul binary for your architecture.

Use the sc command to create a Service named Consul, which starts in the dev mode.

sc.exe create "Consul" binPath= "Path to the Consul.exe arg1 arg2 ...argN" start= auto
[SC] CreateService SUCCESS 

If you get an output that is similar to the one above, then your service is registered with the Service manager.

If you get an error, please check that you have specified the proper path to the binary and check if you've entered the arguments correctly for the Consul service.

Running Consul as a service

You have two ways to start the service.

• Go to the Windows Service Manager, and look for Consul under the service name. Click the start button to start the service.

• Using the sc command:

  sc.exe start "Consul"  
  
  SERVICE_NAME: Consul
         TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
         STATE              : 4  RUNNING
                                 (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
         WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
         SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
         CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
         WAIT_HINT          : 0x0
         PID                : 8008
         FLAGS              : 
  

The service automatically starts up during/after boot, so you don't need to launch Consul from the command-line again.