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Can any node.js experts tell me how I might configure node JS to autostart a server when my machine boots? I'm on Windows

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    stackoverflow.com/questions/20426652/… How's this different than the last time you asked? Commented Dec 7, 2013 at 20:06
  • 1) Your last question is for Winblows, the answers will be radically different depending on platforms; 2) if on Linux, the easiest thing would probably be to use your distro's process manager (sysvinit, upstart, systemd) Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 14:44
  • Unfortunately on Winblows, edited to reflect this Commented Dec 18, 2013 at 17:43
  • 1
    He wasn't happy with the only answer on the last question, so he re-asked it with a bounty attached. Commented Feb 21, 2014 at 15:25
  • Winblows? Is this Slashdot in 1999? Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 0:11

13 Answers 13

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This isn't something to configure in node.js at all, this is purely OS responsibility (Windows in your case). The most reliable way to achieve this is through a Windows Service.

There's this super easy module that installs a node script as a windows service, it's called node-windows (npm, github, documentation). I've used before and worked like a charm.

var Service = require('node-windows').Service; // Create a new service object var svc = new Service({ name:'Hello World', description: 'The nodejs.org example web server.', script: 'C:\\path\\to\\helloworld.js' }); // Listen for the "install" event, which indicates the // process is available as a service. svc.on('install',function(){ svc.start(); }); svc.install();

p.s.

I found the thing so useful that I built an even easier to use wrapper around it (npm, github).

Installing it:

npm install -g qckwinsvc

Installing your service:

> qckwinsvc prompt: Service name: [name for your service] prompt: Service description: [description for it] prompt: Node script path: [path of your node script] Service installed

Uninstalling your service:

> qckwinsvc --uninstall prompt: Service name: [name of your service] prompt: Node script path: [path of your node script] Service stopped Service uninstalled
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12 Comments

I got an error, but it worked with npm install qckwinsvc -g
Fails on win 10 pro. Event viewer: "The node-expjs-dev service terminated unexpectedly."
Hmm, how can I debug my app without prompt? I know node-inspector might help, but debugging with CMD seems more intuitive.
I tried installing a node express app as a service, and it's running (I get the output from the console.log calls in the *.out.log file), but when I try to get a response from the server via my web browser, I just get a 404 back.
With qckwinsvc I got the messages that my service was installed and started, but using services.msc I don't see them. Also my service writes to a log at startup, but the log isn't created.
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If you are using Linux, macOS or Windows pm2 is your friend. It's a process manager that handle clusters very well.

You install it:

npm install -g pm2

Start a cluster of, for example, 3 processes:

 pm2 start app.js -i 3

And make pm2 starts them at boot:

 pm2 startup

It has an API, an even a monitor interface:

AWESOME

Go to github and read the instructions. It's easy to use and very handy. Best thing ever since forever.

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8 Comments

unfortunately on windows 8
Sir, this answer deserves more upvotes. Thanks. Also I want to say that pm2 startup needs one of this platform parameters: <ubuntu|centos|gentoo|systemd>, ie:
@Deerloper parameter is not needed. From their official page: $ pm2 startup # auto-detect platform $ pm2 startup [platform] # render startup-script for a specific platform, the [platform] could be one of: # ubuntu|centos|redhat|gentoo|systemd|darwin|amazon
This is amazing and deserves to be the top answer as well as have more up votes. Thanks for this!
@baptx If you are OK with the systemd UX the main appeal of pm2 it is that is more portable: non-systemd based distros, macOS and Windows.
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If I'm not wrong, you can start your application using command line and thus also using a batch file. In that case it is not a very hard task to start it with Windows login.

You just create a batch file with the following content:

node C:\myapp.js

and save it with .bat extention. Here myapp.js is your app, which in this example is located in C: drive (spcify the path).

Now you can just throw the batch file in your startup folder which is located at

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Just open it using %appdata% in run dailog box and locate to

>Roaming>Microsoft>Windows>Start Menu>Programs>Startup

The batch file will be executed at login time and start your node application from cmd.

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5 Comments

This works, but it is the poor man's way. The answer from talles below is better. Install it as a service.
@MindJuice I agree, though it's just an easy way out so I thought it was worth mentioning.
My application needs to run on both Linux and Windows, so this solution works better for me because it doesn't require me to require a Windows specific package in my app. Just because a solution is simple doesn't make it a bad one.
Actually, it works only if you log in the machine. But, for scaling/CI purposes (production env), this doesn't work.
Note that if you use relative paths in the script, the execution context will be in the startup folder. So you may wish to cd to the script directory before running it.
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This can easily be done manually with the Windows Task Scheduler.

  • First, install forever.

  • Then, create a batch file that contains the following:

    cd C:\path\to\project\root call C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\npm\forever.cmd start server.js exit 0

  • Lastly, create a scheduled task that runs when you log on. This task should call the batch file.

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I would recommend installing your node.js app as a Windows service, and then set the service to run at startup. That should make it a bit easier to control the startup action by using the Windows Services snapin rather than having to add or remove batch files in the Startup folder.

Another service-related question in Stackoverflow provided a couple of (apprently) really good options. Check out How to install node.js as a Windows Service. node-windows looks really promising to me. As an aside, I used similar tools for Java apps that needed to run as services. It made my life a whole lot easier. Hope this helps.

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3

you should try this

npm forever

https://www.npmjs.com/package/forever

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0

Here is another solution I wrote in C# to auto startup native node server or pm2 server on Windows.

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Use pm2 to start and run your nodejs processes on windows.

Be sure to read this github discussion of how to set up task scheduler to start pm2: https://github.com/Unitech/pm2/issues/1079

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I know there are multiple ways to achieve this as per solutions shared above. I haven't tried all of them but some third party services lack clarity around what are all tasks being run in the background. I have achieved this through a powershell script similar to the one mentioned as windows batch file. I have scheduled it using Windows Tasks Scheduler to run every minute. This has been quite efficient and transparent so far. The advantage I have here is that I am checking the process explicitly before starting it again. This wouldn't cause much overhead to the CPU on the server. Also you don't have to explicitly place the file into the startup folders. 

function CheckNodeService () { $node = Get-Process node -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue if($node) { echo 'Node Running' } else { echo 'Node not Running' Start-Process "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe" -ArgumentList "app.js" -WorkingDirectory "E:\MyApplication" echo 'Node started' } } CheckNodeService
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Simply use this, install, run and save current process list

https://www.npmjs.com/package/pm2-windows-startup

By my exp., after restart server, need to logon, in order to trigger the auto startup.

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0

Need to create a batch file inside project folder. Write this code in batch file

@echo off start npm start

save batch file with myprojectname.bat

Go to run command and press window + R

Enter this command :- shell:common startup

Press ok then folder will be open.

Folder path like as C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

You will be paste your myprojectname.bat file.

You can check also. Need to system restart.

enter image description here

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Here are the steps to set up PM2 to run on startup in Windows:

  1. Open Task Scheduler by typing "Task Scheduler" in the Start menu search bar and selecting it from the results.
  2. Click on "Create Task" in the "Actions" panel on the right.
  3. Give your task a name and description.
  4. Under the "General" tab, select "Run whether user is logged on or not" and "Run with highest privileges".
  5. Under the "Triggers" tab, click "New" and select "At startup" from the drop-down menu.
  6. Under the "Actions" tab, click "New" and select "Start a program" from the drop-down menu.
  7. In the "Program/script" field, enter the path to your PM2 installation followed by "\pm2.cmd".
  8. In the "Add arguments (optional)" field, enter "startup".
  9. Click "OK" to save your task.
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-2

Copied directly from this answer:

You could write a script in any language you want to automate this (even using nodejs) and then just install a shortcut to that script in the user's %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder

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1 Comment

In this case, flag the question as a duplicate instead of copy/paste answer here.

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