Run PM2 as service on Windows Server in modern way

Documentation

PM2 is an excellent tool for managing Node.js application processes.Unfortunately, PM2 has no built-in startup support for Windows.Running PM2 as a Windows service can be challenging.The traditional approach has five methods:

1. node-windows This version is still in beta and was last updated two years ago. Currently, only Node.js applications can be run as services, and the tool is overly simplistic, lacking a powerful PM2 daemon.
2. tjanczuk/iisnode or Azure/iisnode This tool enables hosting Node.js applications within IIS, but it has not been updated since 2017.
3. jon-hall/pm2-windows-service This project is no longer supported or maintained.
4. marklagendijk/node-pm2-windows-startup pm2-windows-startup adds an entry to the registry to start pm2 after user login. Because it does not create a service, PM2 will not be running until a user has logged into the user interface, and will halt when they log out. It has not been updated since 2015.
5. jessety/pm2-installer This project leverages the latest version of node-windows and a series of PowerShell scripts to create a custom Windows service. This provides an effective solution for running PM2 as a service.But it has two issues:
   • I encountered difficulties creating a service on newer Windows Server versions, like Windows Server 2022/2025. The process resulted in some error message, I gust that the “node-windows” library might be outdated and lacks compatibility with the latest Windows Server releases.
   • The automatically installed PM2 version is not the latest one.

Through studying the above solution, I have developed a method to optimise PM2 running as a service, using simple and reliable technology(only 100+ line powershell script).

1. Installing and Configuring PM2 and npm with a PowerShell 7 Script.
2. winsw/winsw,WinSW is compatible with the latest Windows Server versions, and its replacement, NSSM, is also a good option.

The PowerShell 7 Script

Requirements

1. Windows Server 2016/2019/2022/2025
2. Node.js 18+
3. PowerShell 7 LTS

download pm2-win-service-install.ps1 and execute.

To install PM2 as a Windows service using PowerShell 7, execute the pm2-win-service-install.ps1 script. Following execution, verify the installation by checking for both the “PM2” service within Windows Services and the “pm2” command within your PowerShell console.

./pm2-service-install.ps1

To start your Node.js application using PM2, execute the command pm2 start [your-application-name]. Once running, save the PM2 configuration by executing pm2 save. You can then reboot your Windows Server machine to verify that the PM2 service is functioning correctly.