An ASP.NET Core app can be hosted on Windows without using IIS as a [Windows Service](/dotnet/framework/windows-services/introduction-to-windows-service-applications). When hosted as a Windows Service, the app can automatically start after reboots and crashes without requiring human intervention.
[View or download sample code](https://github.com/aspnet/Docs/tree/master/aspnetcore/host-and-deploy/windows-service/samples) ([how to download](xref:tutorials/index#how-to-download-a-sample))
1. Add a package reference for [Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.WindowsServices](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.WindowsServices/).
* Call [UseContentRoot](xref:fundamentals/host/web-host#content-root) and use a path to the app's published location instead of `Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()`.
1. Publish the app. Use [dotnet publish](/dotnet/articles/core/tools/dotnet-publish) or a [Visual Studio publish profile](xref:host-and-deploy/visual-studio-publish-profiles). When using a Visual Studio, select the **FolderProfile**.
1. Use the [sc.exe](https://technet.microsoft.com/library/bb490995) command-line tool to create the service. The `binPath` value is the path to the app's executable, which includes the executable file name. **The space between the equal sign and the quote character at the start of the path is required.**
1. Use the [--output <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>](/dotnet/core/tools/dotnet-publish#options) option on the `dotnet publish` command. If using Visual Studio, configure the **Target Location** in the **FolderProfile** publish property page before selecting the **Publish** button.
1. Create the service with the `sc.exe` command using the output folder path. Include the name of the service's executable in the path provided to `binPath`.
The command takes a few seconds to start the service.
1. The `sc query <SERVICE_NAME>` command can be used to check the status of the service to determine its status:
*`START_PENDING`
*`RUNNING`
*`STOP_PENDING`
*`STOPPED`
Use the following command to check the status of the sample app service:
```console
sc query MyService
```
1. When the service is in the `RUNNING` state and if the service is a web app, browse the app at its path (by default, `http://localhost:5000`, which redirects to `https://localhost:5001` when using [HTTPS Redirection Middleware](xref:security/enforcing-ssl)).
It's easier to test and debug when running outside of a service, so it's customary to add code that calls `RunAsService` only under certain conditions. For example, the app can run as a console app with a `--console` command-line argument or if the debugger is attached:
Because ASP.NET Core configuration requires name-value pairs for command-line arguments, the `--console` switch is removed before the arguments are passed to [CreateDefaultBuilder](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.webhost.createdefaultbuilder).
> `isService` isn't passed from `Main` into `CreateWebHostBuilder` because the signature of `CreateWebHostBuilder` must be `CreateWebHostBuilder(string[])` in order for [integration testing](xref:test/integration-tests) to work properly.
To handle [OnStarting](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.hosting.windowsservices.webhostservice.onstarting), [OnStarted](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.hosting.windowsservices.webhostservice.onstarted), and [OnStopping](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.hosting.windowsservices.webhostservice.onstopping) events, make the following additional changes:
2. Create an extension method for [IWebHost](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.hosting.iwebhost) that passes the custom `WebHostService` to [ServiceBase.Run](/dotnet/api/system.serviceprocess.servicebase.run):
3. In `Program.Main`, call the new extension method, `RunAsCustomService`, instead of [RunAsService](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.hosting.windowsservices.webhostwindowsserviceextensions.runasservice):
> `isService` isn't passed from `Main` into `CreateWebHostBuilder` because the signature of `CreateWebHostBuilder` must be `CreateWebHostBuilder(string[])` in order for [integration testing](xref:test/integration-tests) to work properly.
If the custom `WebHostService` code requires a service from dependency injection (such as a logger), obtain it from the [IWebHost.Services](/dotnet/api/microsoft.aspnetcore.hosting.iwebhost.services) property:
Services that interact with requests from the Internet or a corporate network and are behind a proxy or load balancer might require additional configuration. For more information, see <xref:host-and-deploy/proxy-load-balancer>.
The current working directory returned by calling `Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()` for a Windows Service is the *C:\WINDOWS\system32* folder. The *system32* folder isn't a suitable location to store a service's files (for example, settings files). Use one of the following approaches to maintain and access a service's assets and settings files with [FileConfigurationExtensions.SetBasePath](/dotnet/api/microsoft.extensions.configuration.fileconfigurationextensions.setbasepath) when using an [IConfigurationBuilder](/dotnet/api/microsoft.extensions.configuration.iconfigurationbuilder):
* Use the content root path. The `IHostingEnvironment.ContentRootPath` is the same path provided to the `binPath` argument when the service is created. Instead of using `Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()` to create paths to settings files, use the content root path and maintain the files in the app's content root.
* Store the files in a suitable location on disk. Specify an absolute path with `SetBasePath` to the folder containing the files.
