Icecast Server/Setup Windows Service

Most users that run Icecast on Windows want the ability to run it as a service, which was possible with older Icecast versions, but was removed in recent ones. This page details the needed steps to run it as a service using NSSM.

Install NSSM

First, we need to download and install NSSM, the service manager that we are going to use.

Go to the NSSM Downloads Page and download the latest stable version. Extract the zip archive. It will have two or three folders:

1. src
2. win32
3. win64

If you are running a 32bit Windows version, open the win32 folder, else the win64 folder. (If you don't know, follow the steps on this page to find out)

Copy the contents of the respective folder to C:\Program Files\NSSM (or any other path you want). Usually it is just the nssm.exe file.

Set up NSSM

To set Icecast up in NSSM, open the Command Line by pressing the Windows Key + R and entering cmd in the execute Window.
Note, if you are not logged in as Admin or your Windows Version has UAC, you need to run it as Administrator. Do so by either searching for cmd or going to Start, All Programs, Accessories and right-clicking Command prompt and choosing Run as administrator.

Now we have to move to the right location where NSSM is installed, so if you put it in the above location you would need to execute:

cd "C:\Program Files\NSSM"

Now we have to setup the Icecast service. To do so, type the following:

nssm install Icecast

which should open a GUI where you can setup the Icecast service:

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Click the three dots right of the Path field and open the icecast.bat file, usually at C:\Program Files\Icecast\icecast.bat.

After confirming, it should automatically fill in the Startup Directory path (with the directory where the icecast.bat file is located). Switch to the Shutdown tab and uncheck both "Send WM_CLOSE to windows" and "Post WM_QUIT to threads".

If you want, move to the Details tab and enter a proper name and description for the service. Confirm with the Install Service button when you are done.

Start the Icecast service

Since we have set up the service, let us start it. To do so, type the following in the command line window:

nssm start Icecast

Other commands

Stop

nssm stop Icecast

Restart

nssm restart Icecast

Show Status

nssm status Icecast

Remove Service

nssm remove Icecast

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