# Topshelf/Topshelf

An easy service hosting framework for building Windows services using .NET

Repository: https://github.com/Topshelf/Topshelf
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/topshelf
Homepage: http://topshelf-project.com/
Language: C#
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2021-10-24T12:27:54+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5892, "days_push": 1774, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3588, forks 698 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:11.145606+00:00)

## What it is
Topshelf is a .NET framework for hosting Windows services, letting developers build services as simple console applications that can later be installed as Windows services. It simplifies service creation, debugging, and installation via NuGet.

## Use cases
- build a windows service in .net without boilerplate
- debug a service as a console application
- install a console app as a windows service
- deploy .net services with azure devops
- simplify windows service hosting framework

## When to choose
- you are building Windows services on .NET Framework and want easy install/debug workflow
- you prefer developing services as console apps for easier testing

## When to avoid
- you target Linux or cross-platform services (use systemd or worker services instead)
- you need a modern .NET Core/.NET 5+ service model
- the project needs active development - last release was 2021

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: maintenance
- function: deployment, cli, developer-tools
- domain: windows, backend, developer-tools
- platform: windows, dotnet, cli
- tags: windows-services, service-hosting, console-app, service-installer, dotnet-framework, automation

## Member repositories
- Topshelf/Topshelf (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:11.145606+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:33:53.264730+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/Topshelf/Topshelf (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:11.145606+00:00, sha 48ba266630f6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.