Giraffe as a service

1. Install the Giraffe template:

   dotnet new -i "giraffe-template::*"

2. Create the project from the template:

   mkdir c:\git\GiraffeAsAService
   cd c:\git\GiraffeAsAService
   dotnet new giraffe

3. Open GiraffeAsAService.fsproj file in an editor, and change:
   1. TargetFramework from netcoreapp2.0 to net461
   2. FrameworkVersion from 2.0.0 to 4.6.1
4. Add the Nuget package Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.WindowsServices to the project
5. Edit Program.fs, first to add:

   open Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.WindowsServices

6. Then change the contents of main to:

   let pathToAssembly = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location
   let contentRoot = Path.GetDirectoryName(pathToAssembly)
   let webRoot     = Path.Combine(contentRoot, "WebRoot")
   
   let host =
       WebHostBuilder()
           .UseKestrel()
           .UseContentRoot(contentRoot)
           .UseIISIntegration()
           .UseWebRoot(webRoot)
           .Configure(Action<IApplicationBuilder> configureApp)
           .ConfigureServices(configureServices)
           .ConfigureLogging(configureLogging)
           .Build()
   
   if Environment.UserInteractive then
       host.Run()
   else
       host.RunAsService()
   
   0

7. Publish the app:

   dotnet publish -c Release -r win10-x64

8. Copy the publish directory to an appropriate place from which to run the Windows service:

   mkdir c:\Services\GiraffeAsAService
   cp -r bin\Release\net461\win10-x64\publish\* c:\Services\GiraffeAsAService

9. Create the Windows service (this needs to be done as Administrator):

   New-Service `
       -Name GiraffeAsAService `
       -BinaryPathName c:\Services\GiraffeAsAService\GiraffeAsAService.exe `
       -DisplayName "Giraffe as a Windows Service" `
       -Description "Example of running a Giraffe application as a Windows Service"

10. Start the service (also needs to be done as Administrator):

    Start-Service GiraffeAsAService

11. Test the service:

    start http://localhost:5000/ # This should open in your default browser

References

1. Dustin Moris Gorski's Giraffe - "A native functional ASP.NET Core web framework for F# developers"
2. How to run and ASP.Net Core application as a Windows service