Code: How To Run a .Net Windows Service as a Console Application

Attempting to debug a windows service can be a nightmare, especially if you are trying to debug the OnStart event by attaching to a local process.  To get around this you can configure the windows service to launch as a console application.  To do this go to the property pages of your service and select the Application tab.  Change the output type to Console Application:

Next modify the program.cs file by adding an args input parameter to the Main method and surrounding the logic in the method with an if statement like so:

Code Snippet

1. static void Main(string[] args)
2. {
3.     if (args.Length == 0)
4.     {
5.         ServiceBase[] ServicesToRun;
6.         ServicesToRun = new ServiceBase[]
7.         {
8.         new Service1()
9.         };
10.         ServiceBase.Run(ServicesToRun);
11.     }
12.     else
13.     {
14.         //DoWork();
15.     }
16. }

Now modify your service1.cs file to call the same worker method on start:

Code Snippet

1. public partial class Service1 : ServiceBase
2. {
3.     public Service1()
4.     {
5.         InitializeComponent();
6.     }
7.  
8.     protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
9.     {
10.         //DoWork();
11.     }
12.  
13.     protected override void OnStop()
14.     {
15.     }
16. }

Finally go to the Debug tab on the property pages and add a word to the Command line arguments text box:

Now just start debugging and your breakpoint will be hit!