Corionis Service Manager.NET vs WinSW

Corionis Service Manager.NET (CSM) is a free Windows tray application for monitoring and managing Windows services chosen by the user. It can start or stop selected services and change their startup type. When a monitored service changes state, CSM displays a notification and logs it; file logging is optional. Users can reorder the service list by dragging items and edit the names displayed in the application. An optional updater can be set to check daily, weekly, or monthly. CSM installs for the current user, so each user on a system may have a separate copy. Monitoring works without administrator privileges, but service management controls are disabled unless those privileges are available. The maker says it was tested on Windows 7 through Windows Server 2016, supports 32-bit and 64-bit systems, and requires Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2. This version is a complete rewrite of the original, written in Microsoft C# and .NET. The release is MIT licensed and provided without warranty or guarantee. There is no restart button because the application cannot accurately determine when a service has finished shutting down and is safe to start again.

WinSW is a free, open-source Windows service wrapper licensed under MIT. It hosts any executable as a Windows service, with behavior defined in a required XML configuration file. Command-line controls cover installation, removal, starting, stopping, restarting, status checks, and configuration refreshes. The configuration can direct WinSW to restart a failed process or reboot Windows. It captures standard output and error streams, offering append, reset, ignore, and log-rotation modes. Before launch, it can download resources from URLs with authentication and proxy options. Service settings include service accounts and an SDDL security descriptor; documentation warns that Basic credentials over HTTP are sent in clear text. WinSW 3 runs with .NET Framework 4.6.1 or later, or through supplied native 32-bit and 64-bit .NET 7 executables. Binaries are distributed through GitHub Releases, with other packages and CI builds listed.