R beakr script as Rscript Windows 10 service - r

Question

I'm trying to setup a simple beakr service in Windows that implements the example at https://github.com/MazamaScience/beakr. I'm able to run the script from the command line successfully and I've been able to add the service in Windows using NSSM, but I am unable to start the service.
When I dig into the service error logs I see that Rscript.exe cannot be executed due to a non-specific permissions problem.
My Rscript.exe is running out of C:\Program Files\R<Version>\bin and my beakr.R script is running out of my User home directory.
If anyone has had success implementing a similar service (Web page based REST endpoint) using R in Windows, I would love to know how you did it.

Answer 1

This is what I did to run an R script as Service using latest pre-release version of NSSM on Windows 10:
Create a directory to store the files
In this example : C:\R\ServiceTest
Create in this directory a never ending script : ServiceTest.R
library(beepr)
# Test script : beeps every 10 seconds
while (T) {
beepr::beep(1)
if (interactive()) {
# Shows spin cursor to facilitate test in interactive mode
for (i in 1:10) {
if (i%%4==0) {cursor <- '/'}
if (i%%4==1) {cursor <- '-'}
if (i%%4==2) {cursor <- '\\'}
if (i%%4==3) {cursor <- '|'}
cat('\r',cursor)
flush.console()
Sys.sleep(1)
}
} else {
Sys.sleep(10)
}
}
I used to let this kind of script run in a console open on my desktop to check various alarms regularly.
Create a batch file to run the script : ServiceTest.bat
Rscript ServiceTest.R
Open an Admin console and make sure the batch file runs correctly:
C:\R\ServiceTest>ServiceTest.bat
C:\R\ServiceTest>Rscript ServiceTest.R
|
Cancel the batch (Ctrl+C)
Using the Admin console, install the batch file as service using NSSM :
nssm install
Set Service name : ServiceTest
Set Application path : C:\R\ServiceTest\ServiceTest.bat
Set Working directory : C:\R\ServiceTest\
Set Logon : Windows User + Password
Install Service
Open Windows Services Manager, find ServiceTest and start it : if everything went well, that's it!
If you get an error message, check Windows Event Log / Services : you can find there hints on the cause of the problem. Most common problems I encountered :
error on path
used local user instead of own user account / password to run the service
If you want to remove the service :
nssm remove ServiceTest
This replaced very nicely the many R consoles I left running in the background on my Desktop.
I see no reasons it wouldn't work with a REST endpoint.