The C# code to do this is as follows:
using (var scmHandle = NativeMethods.OpenSCManager("MachineName", null, NativeMethods.SCM_ACCESS.SC_MANAGER_CREATE_SERVICE))
{
if (scmHandle.IsInvalid)
{
throw new Win32Exception();
}
using (
var serviceHandle = NativeMethods.CreateService(
scmHandle,
"ServiceName",
"Service Display Name",
NativeMethods.SERVICE_ACCESS.SERVICE_ALL_ACCESS,
NativeMethods.SERVICE_TYPES.SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS,
NativeMethods.SERVICE_START_TYPES.SERVICE_AUTO_START,
NativeMethods.SERVICE_ERROR_CONTROL.SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL,
"Path to your service.exe",
null,
IntPtr.Zero,
null,
null,
null))
{
if (serviceHandle.IsInvalid)
{
throw new Win32Exception();
}
NativeMethods.StartService(serviceHandle, 0, null);
}
}
Safe Handle
When dealing with unmanaged handles, you should use SafeHandles which ensure that resources are freed correctly in C#.
[SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, UnmanagedCode = true)]
[SecurityPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, UnmanagedCode = true)]
public class ServiceControlHandle : SafeHandleZeroOrMinusOneIsInvalid
{
// Create a SafeHandle, informing the base class
// that this SafeHandle instance "owns" the handle,
// and therefore SafeHandle should call
// our ReleaseHandle method when the SafeHandle
// is no longer in use.
private ServiceControlHandle()
: base(true)
{
}
[ReliabilityContract(Consistency.WillNotCorruptState, Cer.MayFail)]
override protected bool ReleaseHandle()
{
// Here, we must obey all rules for constrained execution regions.
return NativeMethods.CloseServiceHandle(this.handle);
// If ReleaseHandle failed, it can be reported via the
// "releaseHandleFailed" managed debugging assistant (MDA). This
// MDA is disabled by default, but can be enabled in a debugger
// or during testing to diagnose handle corruption problems.
// We do not throw an exception because most code could not recover
// from the problem.
}
}
All of the signatures for the functions you need can be found on http://pinvoke.net, and the entire Service Control API can be found here on MSDN: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms685942(v=vs.85).aspx
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public static class NativeMethods
{
[DllImport("advapi32.dll")]
public static extern ServiceControlHandle OpenSCManager(string lpMachineName, string lpSCDB, SCM_ACCESS scParameter);
[DllImport("Advapi32.dll")]
public static extern ServiceControlHandle CreateService(
ServiceControlHandle serviceControlManagerHandle,
string lpSvcName,
string lpDisplayName,
SERVICE_ACCESS dwDesiredAccess,
SERVICE_TYPES dwServiceType,
SERVICE_START_TYPES dwStartType,
SERVICE_ERROR_CONTROL dwErrorControl,
string lpPathName,
string lpLoadOrderGroup,
IntPtr lpdwTagId,
string lpDependencies,
string lpServiceStartName,
string lpPassword);
[DllImport("advapi32.dll")]
public static extern bool CloseServiceHandle(IntPtr serviceHandle);
[DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
public static extern bool ControlService(IntPtr hService, SERVICE_CONTROL dwControl, ref SERVICE_STATUS lpServiceStatus);
[DllImport("advapi32.dll")]
public static extern int StartService(ServiceControlHandle serviceHandle, int dwNumServiceArgs, string lpServiceArgVectors);
[DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern ServiceControlHandle OpenService(ServiceControlHandle serviceControlManagerHandle, string lpSvcName, SERVICE_ACCESS dwDesiredAccess);
[DllImport("advapi32.dll")]
public static extern int DeleteService(ServiceControlHandle serviceHandle);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
public static extern int GetLastError();
[Flags]
public enum ACCESS_MASK : uint
{
DELETE = 0x00010000,
READ_CONTROL = 0x00020000,
WRITE_DAC = 0x00040000,
WRITE_OWNER = 0x00080000,
SYNCHRONIZE = 0x00100000,
STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED = 0x000F0000,
STANDARD_RIGHTS_READ = 0x00020000,
STANDARD_RIGHTS_WRITE = 0x00020000,
STANDARD_RIGHTS_EXECUTE = 0x00020000,
STANDARD_RIGHTS_ALL = 0x001F0000,
SPECIFIC_RIGHTS_ALL = 0x0000FFFF,
ACCESS_SYSTEM_SECURITY = 0x01000000,
MAXIMUM_ALLOWED = 0x02000000,
GENERIC_READ = 0x80000000,
GENERIC_WRITE = 0x40000000,
GENERIC_EXECUTE = 0x20000000,
GENERIC_ALL = 0x10000000,
DESKTOP_READOBJECTS = 0x00000001,
DESKTOP_CREATEWINDOW = 0x00000002,
DESKTOP_CREATEMENU = 0x00000004,
DESKTOP_HOOKCONTROL = 0x00000008,
DESKTOP_JOURNALRECORD = 0x00000010,
DESKTOP_JOURNALPLAYBACK = 0x00000020,
DESKTOP_ENUMERATE = 0x00000040,
DESKTOP_WRITEOBJECTS = 0x00000080,
DESKTOP_SWITCHDESKTOP = 0x00000100,
WINSTA_ENUMDESKTOPS = 0x00000001,
WINSTA_READATTRIBUTES = 0x00000002,
WINSTA_ACCESSCLIPBOARD = 0x00000004,
WINSTA_CREATEDESKTOP = 0x00000008,
WINSTA_WRITEATTRIBUTES = 0x00000010,
WINSTA_ACCESSGLOBALATOMS = 0x00000020,
WINSTA_EXITWINDOWS = 0x00000040,
WINSTA_ENUMERATE = 0x00000100,
WINSTA_READSCREEN = 0x00000200,
WINSTA_ALL_ACCESS = 0x0000037F
}
[Flags]
public enum SCM_ACCESS : uint
{
/// <summary>
/// Required to connect to the service control manager.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_CONNECT = 0x00001,
/// <summary>
/// Required to call the CreateService function to create a service
/// object and add it to the database.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_CREATE_SERVICE = 0x00002,
/// <summary>
/// Required to call the EnumServicesStatusEx function to list the
/// services that are in the database.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_ENUMERATE_SERVICE = 0x00004,
/// <summary>
/// Required to call the LockServiceDatabase function to acquire a
/// lock on the database.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_LOCK = 0x00008,
/// <summary>
/// Required to call the QueryServiceLockStatus function to retrieve
/// the lock status information for the database.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_QUERY_LOCK_STATUS = 0x00010,
/// <summary>
/// Required to call the NotifyBootConfigStatus function.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_MODIFY_BOOT_CONFIG = 0x00020,
/// <summary>
/// Includes STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED, in addition to all access
/// rights in this table.
/// </summary>
SC_MANAGER_ALL_ACCESS =
ACCESS_MASK.STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED | SC_MANAGER_CONNECT | SC_MANAGER_CREATE_SERVICE | SC_MANAGER_ENUMERATE_SERVICE | SC_MANAGER_LOCK | SC_MANAGER_QUERY_LOCK_STATUS
| SC_MANAGER_MODIFY_BOOT_CONFIG,
GENERIC_READ = ACCESS_MASK.STANDARD_RIGHTS_READ | SC_MANAGER_ENUMERATE_SERVICE | SC_MANAGER_QUERY_LOCK_STATUS,
GENERIC_WRITE = ACCESS_MASK.STANDARD_RIGHTS_WRITE | SC_MANAGER_CREATE_SERVICE | SC_MANAGER_MODIFY_BOOT_CONFIG,
GENERIC_EXECUTE = ACCESS_MASK.STANDARD_RIGHTS_EXECUTE | SC_MANAGER_CONNECT | SC_MANAGER_LOCK,
GENERIC_ALL = SC_MANAGER_ALL_ACCESS,
}
[Flags]
public enum SERVICE_CONTROL : uint
{
STOP = 0x00000001,
PAUSE = 0x00000002,
CONTINUE = 0x00000003,
INTERROGATE = 0x00000004,
SHUTDOWN = 0x00000005,
PARAMCHANGE = 0x00000006,
NETBINDADD = 0x00000007,
NETBINDREMOVE = 0x00000008,
NETBINDENABLE = 0x00000009,
NETBINDDISABLE = 0x0000000A,
DEVICEEVENT = 0x0000000B,
HARDWAREPROFILECHANGE = 0x0000000C,
POWEREVENT = 0x0000000D,
SESSIONCHANGE = 0x0000000E
}
[Flags]
public enum SERVICE_ACCESS : uint
{
STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED = 0xF0000,
SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG = 0x00001,
SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG = 0x00002,
SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS = 0x00004,
SERVICE_ENUMERATE_DEPENDENTS = 0x00008,
SERVICE_START = 0x00010,
SERVICE_STOP = 0x00020,
SERVICE_PAUSE_CONTINUE = 0x00040,
SERVICE_INTERROGATE = 0x00080,
SERVICE_USER_DEFINED_CONTROL = 0x00100,
SERVICE_ALL_ACCESS =
(STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED | SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG | SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG | SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS | SERVICE_ENUMERATE_DEPENDENTS | SERVICE_START | SERVICE_STOP | SERVICE_PAUSE_CONTINUE
| SERVICE_INTERROGATE | SERVICE_USER_DEFINED_CONTROL)
}
[Flags]
public enum SERVICE_TYPES : int
{
SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER = 0x00000001,
SERVICE_FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER = 0x00000002,
SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS = 0x00000010,
SERVICE_WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS = 0x00000020,
SERVICE_INTERACTIVE_PROCESS = 0x00000100
}
public enum SERVICE_ERROR_CONTROL : int
{
/// <summary>
/// The startup program logs the error in the event log, if possible. If the last-known-good configuration is being started, the startup operation fails. Otherwise, the system is restarted with the last-known good configuration.
/// </summary>
SERVICE_ERROR_CRITICAL = 0x00000003,
/// <summary>
/// The startup program ignores the error and continues the startup operation.
/// </summary>
SERVICE_ERROR_IGNORE = 0x00000000,
/// <summary>
/// The startup program logs the error in the event log but continues the startup operation.
/// </summary>
SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL = 0x00000001,
/// <summary>
/// The startup program logs the error in the event log. If the last-known-good configuration is being started, the startup operation continues. Otherwise, the system is restarted with the last-known-good configuration.
/// </summary>
SERVICE_ERROR_SEVERE = 0x00000002,
}
public enum SERVICE_START_TYPES : int
{
/// <summary>
/// A service started automatically by the service control manager during system startup. For more information, see Automatically Starting Services.
/// </summary>
SERVICE_AUTO_START = 0x00000002,
/// <summary>
/// A device driver started by the system loader. This value is valid only for driver services.
/// </summary>
SERVICE_BOOT_START = 0x00000000,
/// <summary>
/// A service started by the service control manager when a process calls the StartService function. For more information, see Starting S
