Installation Guide

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. System Requirements
   1. Version Comparison
3. Installation Options
   1. Quick Install
   2. Add Servy to PATH
   3. Manual Installation
   4. Silent Install/Uninstall
      1. Silent Install
      2. Custom Silent Install
      3. Custom Installation Directory
      4. Silent Uninstall
      5. Switches Explained
4. Security & Antivirus Setup

Introduction

This guide covers the requirements and various methods for installing Servy on Windows systems.

Servy is provided in two distinct builds to ensure compatibility across modern and legacy Windows environments.

• Modern Build (.NET 10.0+): Best for Windows 10, 11, and modern Windows Server.
• Legacy Build (.NET Framework 4.8): Best for Windows 7, 8, and older Server editions.

System Requirements

Caution

Administrator privileges are required to install Servy and to manage Windows services.

Version Comparison

Feature	.NET 10.0+ Version (x64)	.NET 10.0+ Version (ARM64)	.NET Framework 4.8 Version (Legacy x64)
Filename	servy-x.x-x64-installer.exe	servy-x.x-arm64-installer.exe	servy-x.x-net48-x64-installer.exe
OS Support	Windows 10 (1809+), 11, Server 2016+	Windows 11 on ARM, Windows on ARM	Windows 7 SP1, 8.x, Server 2008 R2+
Dependencies	None (Self-contained)	None (Self-contained)	.NET Framework 4.8
Performance	Optimized (Modern Runtime)	Native ARM64 (Optimized Runtime)	Standard (Legacy Runtime)

Note on Legacy OS: While the .NET 10.0 build may run on Windows 7, it is unsupported. For Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you must use the .NET Framework 4.8 build to ensure stability.

Installation Options

You have two paths to install Servy: use a package manager if your environment supports it, or download the installer and install it manually when you need full control over the setup process.

Quick Install

WinGet

winget install servy

Chocolatey

choco install -y servy

Scoop

scoop bucket add extras
scoop install servy

Patch My PC

Servy is available in the official Patch My PC catalog for enterprise automated deployment and updates via Microsoft Intune and ConfigMgr (SCCM).

Note

Legacy OS Support (Windows 7 SP1 / 8.x / Server 2008 R2): Package managers carry the self-contained modern build. For older platforms, download servy-x.x-net48-x64-installer.exe or servy-x.x-net48-x64-portable.7z directly from GitHub Releases (requires .NET Framework 4.8).

Add Servy to PATH

The installer's Add Servy to PATH option (Additional Options page, enabled by default, requires the CLI component) adds the Servy directory to the system PATH, so servy-cli runs from any elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell session. Clear it to leave PATH untouched; uninstalling removes the entry only if the installer added it. The portable package makes no PATH change - add its directory yourself, or use Scoop, which puts servy-cli on PATH through its own shim.

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release.
2. Run the installer (you will be prompted for admin rights).
3. Launch Servy from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut.

Silent Install/Uninstall

Silent Install

You can install Servy silently (without any UI) from an administrator command prompt using the following commands:

# For .NET 10.0+ (x64)
.\servy-<version>-x64-installer.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL

# For .NET 10.0+ (ARM64)
.\servy-<version>-arm64-installer.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL

# For .NET Framework 4.8
.\servy-<version>-net48-x64-installer.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL

Using PowerShell:

# For .NET 10.0+ (x64)
Start-Process -FilePath ".\servy-<version>-x64-installer.exe" -ArgumentList '/VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL' -Verb RunAs -Wait

# For .NET 10.0+ (ARM64)
Start-Process -FilePath ".\servy-<version>-arm64-installer.exe" -ArgumentList '/VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL' -Verb RunAs -Wait

# For .NET Framework 4.8
Start-Process -FilePath ".\servy-<version>-net48-x64-installer.exe" -ArgumentList '/VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL' -Verb RunAs -Wait

# Refresh PATH in current session
$env:Path = (((
    [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'Machine'),
    [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'User')
) -join ';').Split(';', [StringSplitOptions]::RemoveEmptyEntries) |
    Select-Object -Unique) -join ';'

You need to wait a little while for Servy to finish installing.

If you face any issues, enable logging by adding the following option:

/LOG="servy-install.log"

Custom Silent Install

To install the CLI only, use these options:

/SetupType=custom /Components=install_cli

To install the desktop app only, use these options:

/SetupType=custom /Components=install_main_app

To install the manager app only, use these options:

/SetupType=custom /Components=install_manager

To install the desktop app and CLI only, use these options:

/SetupType=custom /Components=install_main_app,install_cli

To install the manager app and CLI only, use these options:

/SetupType=custom /Components=install_manager,install_cli

Custom Installation Directory

To specify a custom installation directory, use the /DIR parameter from the command line:

.\servy-<version>-x64-installer.exe /VERYSILENT /DIR="C:\Your\Custom\Path" /NORESTART /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /SP- /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS /NOCANCEL

Using a custom path will not allow you to bypass the need for administrative rights. The installer executable is compiled with PrivilegesRequired=admin, which causes Windows to automatically trigger a UAC prompt and require elevated credentials before execution starts. Beyond writing files, the setup routine performs system-level configuration such as updating HKLM registry keys and setting strict ACLs on the %ProgramData%\Servy directory via icacls.exe.

If you also want to prevent the installer from modifying the system PATH environment variable, you can explicitly deselect the addpath task using /MERGETASKS="!addpath". If you want to skip all optional tasks entirely, including both the PATH update and desktop shortcuts, you can pass an empty task list using /TASKS="".

If you do not have administrative access on the target machine, you will not be able to use the .exe installer at all. In that scenario, you should use the portable package instead (servy-<version>-x64-portable.7z). The portable archive can be extracted and executed directly from any folder where your user account has standard write access, such as %LOCALAPPDATA% or a user folder, without requiring elevation or installer scripts.

Silent Uninstall

You can uninstall Servy silently (without any UI) from an administrator command prompt using the following command (PowerShell):

# Default location; adjust the path if Servy was installed to a custom directory
& "$env:ProgramFiles\Servy\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES

Switches Explained

Switch	Description
/VERYSILENT	Installs completely silently with no wizard or progress windows.
/NORESTART	Prevents automatic system restart after installation.
/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES	Suppresses all message boxes, including errors, during installation.
/SP-	Disables the "This will install..." startup prompt.
/CLOSEAPPLICATIONS	Asks running apps to close if they block files.
/NOCANCEL	Prevents the user from canceling the installation.

Security & Antivirus Setup

Servy's executables and installers are digitally signed by SignPath (see Security). It performs only standard installation tasks and does not contain malware, adware, or unwanted software. Release binaries are scanned on VirusTotal, and false-positive reports are submitted to Microsoft Security Intelligence and affected AV vendors. Servy is published in the Windows Package Manager (WinGet), Chocolatey, Scoop, and Patch My PC enterprise catalog. Before running a downloaded installer, you can check its signature under Properties > Digital Signatures.

To ensure smooth operation of the Servy Windows services, it is recommended to add the following folders to your Microsoft Defender or third-party antivirus exclusion list:

%ProgramData%\Servy
%ProgramFiles%\Servy

This prevents antivirus software from interfering with the execution of service binaries managed by Servy.

Starting with v9.1, Servy uses a hybrid single-file execution approach. Managed C# assemblies (like Servy.CLI.dll, Servy.dll, Servy.Manager.dll, Servy.Service.dll, and Servy.Restarter.dll) are no longer extracted to %TEMP%\.net. Instead, they are loaded directly into memory from the main executables (servy-cli.exe, Servy.Manager.exe, etc.), which are all fully Authenticode signed.

Servy only extracts unmanaged native C/C++ binaries to %TEMP% (which Windows LoadLibrary requires). This prevents security software from intercepting and flagging dynamically extracted DLLs.