@cross/service

Service is a JavaScript/TypeScript module for managing system services. It offers a convenient way to install, uninstall, and generate service configurations for various service managers. It can be used as either a command line tool, or a typescript library for direct integration in other Node/Deno/Bun programs.

Part of the @cross suite - check out our growing collection of cross-runtime tools at github.com/cross-org.

Features

• Easy-to-use CLI for managing services
• Library usage for custom integrations
• Install, uninstall, and generate service configurations
• Compatible with systemd, sysvinit, docker-init, upstart (Linux), launchd (macOS) and SCM (Windows) service managers
• Installs any script as service on any system.
• Cross-Runtime and Cross-Platform.

Installation

To use Service as a CLI program, you can install or upgrade it using Deno:

deno install -frA --global --name cross-service jsr:@cross/service/install

For library usage in Node, Deno or Bun - install according to the instructions at jsr.io/@cross/service and simply import the installService() function from the:

import { installService } from "@cross/service";

CLI Usage

To use the service library from the command line, follow these steps:

Install a command as a service:

# Using deno

cross-service install --name my-service --cmd "deno run --allow-net /full/path/to/server.ts"

# ... or a generic executable (with arguments and extra paths)

cross-service install --name my-service --cmd "/full/path/to/executable --optional-arg /full/path/to/config.ext" --path "/add/this/to/path:/and/this"

Uninstall a service:

cross-service uninstall --name my-service

Generate a service configuration file without installing it:

cross-service generate --name my-service --cmd "deno run --allow-net /full/path/to/server.ts --arg /full/path/to/config.ext"

Note:

• The deno install path (e.g. $HOME/.deno/bin) will automatically be added to path. Additional paths can be supplied by passing a colon separated list to--path.
• If you have any problems, always use full paths when registering a service. Services do not have the PATH that your shell have.
• Use generate before install, that way you can visually inspect the generated configuration before installing it.
• Steps requiring elevated access (like installing a system wide service) will not be performed automatically, you will insted get step by step instruction to make the required steps using sudo or the tool of your choice.
• You can force service to generate configuration for a manager that is not installed, using systemd as an example: generate --force systemd

Programmatic Usage

To use the service library programmatically, you can import and use the installService, generateConfig and uninstallService functions.

Install for your runtime according to the instructions at [https://jsr.io/@cross/service].

InstallServiceOptions

This is the interface for the options used by the installService function:

interface InstallServiceOptions {
  system: boolean;
  name: string;
  cmd: string;
  user?: string;
  home?: string;
  cwd?: string;
  path?: string[];
  env?: string[];
}

The interface for the uninstallService function is very similar:

interface UninstallServiceOptions {
  system: boolean;
  name: string;
  home?: string;
}

installService

The installService function installs a command as a service, using the current service manager:

import { installService } from "@cross/service";

await installService({
  system: false, // Use user mode if available (default) or force system mode
  name: "my-service",
  cmd: "deno run --allow-net server.ts",
  user: "username", // Optional, defaults to current user
  home: "/home/username", // Optional, defaults to current user's home
  cwd: "/path/to/working/directory", // Optional, defaults to current working directory
  path: ["/extra/path", "/extra/path/2"], // Optional
  env: ["KEY=VALUE", "KEY2=VALUE2"], // Optional
});

uninstallService

The uninstallService function uninstalls a command from a service, using the currently installed service manager:

import { uninstallService } from "@cross/service";

await uninstallService({
  system: false, // Use user mode if available (default) or force system mode
  name: "my-service",
  home: "/home/username", // Optional, defaults to current user's home, used in case of user services
});

generateConfig

The generateConfig function generates a service configuration string for the specified service:

import { generateConfig } from "@cross/service";

const config = await generateConfig({
  system: false, // Use user mode if available (default) or force system mode
  name: "my-service",
  cmd: "deno run --allow-net server.ts",
  user: "username", // Optional, defaults to current user
  home: "/home/username", // Optional, defaults to current user's home
  cwd: "/path/to/working/directory", // Optional, defaults to current working directory,
  path: ["/extra/path", "/extra/path/2"], // Optional
  env: ["KEY=VALUE", "KEY2=VALUE2"], // Optional
});

console.log(config);

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Before submitting a pull request, please ensure your code follows the project's coding style and passes all tests.

Template for a new service manager implementation

/**
 * @file lib/managers/name_of_manager.ts
 *
 * This module provides a template for implementing new manager classes
 * for various init systems. The template contains the structure and descriptions
 * of the required methods for a manager class. Replace 'ManagerTemplate' with the
 * name of the new manager class and implement the necessary methods according
 * to the target init system.
 *
 * When done, add this new implementation to lib/service.ts
 */

import { InstallServiceOptions, UninstallServiceOptions } from "../service.ts";

class ManagerTemplate {
  /**
   * Generates the configuration file content based on the given options.
   * @param config - The configuration options for the service.
   * @returns The generated configuration file content.
   */
  generateConfig(config: InstallServiceOptions): string {
    // TODO: Implement this method for the target init system.
    throw new Error("Not implemented");
  }

  /**
   * Installs the service based on the given options.
   * @param config - The configuration options for the service.
   * @param onlyGenerate - A flag indicating whether to only generate the configuration or
   * also install the service. The difference between install with onlyGenerate and the
   * generateConfig function, is that install with onlyGenerate should console.log additional
   * steps needed to finish the installation, such as `sudo systemctl daemon-reload`.
   * generateConfig do only output the base configuration file.
   */
  async install(config: InstallServiceOptions, onlyGenerate: boolean): Promise<InstallServiceOptions> {
    /*
     * ToDo: Implement this method for the target init system.
     *
    return {
      servicePath,
      serviceFileContent,
      manualSteps: null,
    }; */
    throw new Error("Not implemented");
  }

  /**
   * Uninstalls the service based on the given options.
   * @param config - The configuration options for uninstalling the service.
   */
  async uninstall(config: UninstallServiceOptions): Promise<UninstallServiceOptions> {
    /*
     * TODO: Implement this method for the target init system.
     *
    return {
      pathToServiceFile,
      manualSteps: null,
    };
    */
    throw new Error("Not implemented");
  }
}

export { ManagerTemplate };