webhook-server/docs/installation.md

Installation

This page covers a fresh install. If you already have Webhook Server installed, see Upgrading. To remove it, see Uninstalling.

Requirements

• Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server 2019 / 2022 / 2025
• Administrator rights to install the service and to run the GUI
• .NET 8 runtimes (the installer downloads + installs them automatically if missing — see below)
• (Optional, only if you publish from source) .NET 8 SDK

The installer is x64 only. There is no x86 build.

.NET 8 runtimes

Webhook Server is published as framework-dependent (so the installer stays small) and needs two .NET 8 runtimes on the target machine:

Runtime	Used by	Auto-installed by setup
ASP.NET Core 8 Runtime (Microsoft.AspNetCore.App 8.x)	the Service / Kestrel	Yes
.NET Desktop Runtime 8 (Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App 8.x)	the WPF GUI	Yes

A clean Windows Server install has neither. The installer detects what's missing and downloads + installs each one silently before copying our files. If the machine has no internet access, install them manually first:

• ASP.NET Core 8 Runtime — https://aka.ms/dotnet/8.0/aspnetcore-runtime-win-x64.exe
• .NET Desktop Runtime 8 — https://aka.ms/dotnet/8.0/windowsdesktop-runtime-win-x64.exe

Run each with /install /quiet /norestart for unattended installs, or just double-click. A reboot is rarely required.

To check what's already installed:

dotnet --list-runtimes
# expect to see Microsoft.AspNetCore.App 8.x.y and Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App 8.x.y

1. Download

Grab the latest installer from the GitHub Releases page:

https://github.com/recklessop/webhook-server/releases/latest

Look for the asset named WebhookServer-Setup-X.Y.Z.exe.

2. Run the installer

Double-click the .exe. UAC will prompt — accept. The wizard:

• Copies the binaries to C:\Program Files\WebhookServer\
• Creates a Start Menu folder named Webhook Server with a GUI shortcut + Uninstall shortcut
• Optionally creates a desktop shortcut (checkbox; off by default)
• Registers the Windows Service named WebhookServer, runs it as LocalSystem, sets it to start automatically at boot, and configures it to restart on failure
• Starts the service
• Offers to launch the GUI when finished — leave the checkbox ticked

The first time the GUI opens, you'll see UAC prompt again because the GUI requires elevation (it talks to the service over a named pipe restricted to SYSTEM and the Administrators group). Accept it.

If the GUI's status bar shows a green dot and Connected — HTTP 8080, you're done.

Default ports: HTTP on 8080, HTTPS off. Both can be changed under Server → Settings. Port 8080 is rarely in use on a fresh server but conflicts with some other tools — if you see Connection refused later, this is the first thing to check.

3. Add your first endpoint

In the GUI:

1. File → New endpoint
2. Slug: ping
3. Auth → Mode: None
4. Executor → Type: Windows PowerShell
5. Executor → Inline command: Write-Output 'pong'
6. Click Save

The endpoint appears in the grid. Right-click it → Copy URL, paste into a browser. You should get back something like:

{ "runId": "...", "exitCode": 0, "durationMs": 134, "stdout": "pong\r\n", ... }

That's it. Real-world recipes start with Zerto ZVMA pre/post → notify + VM health check.

Silent / unattended install

For deploying to many machines via Group Policy, SCCM, Intune, Ansible, etc. — the installer is built with Inno Setup and supports its standard silent-mode flags:

WebhookServer-Setup-0.1.1.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART

Useful flags:

Flag	What it does
/SILENT	Show progress, no questions
/VERYSILENT	No UI at all
/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES	Suppress info / error popups (use with /SILENT or /VERYSILENT)
/NORESTART	Don't restart automatically — there's nothing here that needs it, but pair with /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES for total quiet
/DIR="C:\Tools\WebhookServer"	Override the install location
/LOG="C:\Temp\install.log"	Write a verbose installer log
/TASKS="desktopicon"	Pre-tick the optional desktop-icon task

The post-install service install runs the same install-service.ps1 script regardless of silent flags.

Manual install from source (if you don't want to trust the prebuilt installer)

# clone (or your fork)
git clone https://github.com/recklessop/webhook-server.git
cd webhook-server

# from an elevated PowerShell:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\deploy.ps1

deploy.ps1 publishes both projects, copies the binaries to C:\Program Files\WebhookServer\, registers the service, and starts it. Re-run after a git pull to upgrade.

To run the service under a non-default account (e.g. a gMSA for AD operations), pass -ServiceAccount:

.\scripts\deploy.ps1 -ServiceAccount 'CONTOSO\svc-webhookserver$'

See Service account & Active Directory for the full picture.

Where things live after install

Path	What
C:\Program Files\WebhookServer\	Binaries (WebhookServer.Service.exe, WebhookServer.Gui.exe, the icon, install/uninstall scripts)
C:\ProgramData\WebhookServer\config.json	The configuration. Backups in backups\, daily-rolling logs in logs\. Don't edit by hand — secrets are DPAPI-encrypted and the service won't pick up your changes without a reload. Use the GUI.
\\.\pipe\WebhookServerAdmin	The named pipe the GUI uses to talk to the service. ACL'd to SYSTEM + Administrators only.

The installer never touches C:\ProgramData\WebhookServer\. Uninstalling preserves your config and logs by default; see Uninstalling for how to wipe them too.