Tips for running in Windows as a service or always-on task?

[riotrah]

What's a good way to have kanata run on login and/or in the background without a console window on my windows desktop?

Powershell and background jobs might be an option? Task scheduler? Not sure.

Apologies if this already answered somewhere

[jtroo]

I personally start it manually every time, so unfortunately I have no advice to give 😅

[MoamenElahmdy]

it actually easy What i do is install katana gui exe and make shortcut of it and put the shortcut in startup folder
to go to the startup folder you have to press windows + r for run and type this: shell:common startup

[qupufu]

shell:common startup opens the system-wide startup folder. in most cases, just shell:startup to open the per-user startup folder is probably better.

[gerhard-h]

below in this comment are my unsuccessful tries to run kanata as a service. But I found an easy workaround:
use a terminal other than cmd.exe, that has the option "minimize to Tray Area(TSA)"**
for example wt.exe (Windows Terminal) or ConEmu (https://conemu.github.io) offer this option.
you may want to use a terminal different from the on you use for your daily buisness.

I tried to create a service from elevated command prompt (start on demand is choosen to not mess up system boot)
sc.exe create kanata start= demand binPath= "C:\path\kanata.exe" ... success

psservice query kanata

PsService v2.25 - Service information and configuration utility
Copyright (C) 2001-2010 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

SERVICE_NAME: kanata
DISPLAY_NAME: kanata
        TYPE              : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
        STATE             : 1  STOPPED
                               (NOT_STOPPABLE,NOT_PAUSABLE,IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE   : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT        : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT         : 2000 ms

this already looks iffy

sc queryex kananta
[SC] EnumQueryServicesStatus:OpenService FEHLER 1060:

or

sc start kananta

both complain Der angegebene Dienst ist kein installierter Dienst. meaning this service is not an installed service

`net start kanata` fails with service not replying to control command

Here https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3582108/create-windows-service-from-executable is mentioned that
the executable must implement "service main"

may be kanata needs to include something like https://crates.io/crates/windows-service but at that point I just don't understand the stuff anymore.

 

[ishchow]

I got this working using Task Scheduler. This runs kanata in the background without opening a console window.

Note: Can uncheck Run With Highest Priveleges if you don't need to run kanata as admin.

Put in the path to kanata exe in program/script. Put in directory where kanata.exe is stored in start in. Add --cfg kanata.kbd to program arguments to start your config (should be in the same folder where kanata is started).

These are some settings I use to make sure this will run on laptop battery:

These settings I set to make sure the task runs for a long time:

[ishchow]

Secret sauce to making this work is the settings "Hidden" and "Run whether user is logged in or not": https://www.howtogeek.com/tips/how-to-run-a-scheduled-task-without-a-command-window-appearing/.

[Weathercold]

It took me a few hours to figure out that this method only works with the interception variant, not the regular one

[Weathercold]

Update: it seems that macros are broken with this method. I use conhost now.

[ASong5]

This only seems to work for me when using the interception variant of kanata. If I try to use it with the regular "...cmd.exe" version it will show as running in task manager, but won't actually work. A way to fix this is to check "Run only when user is logged on" rather than "Run whether user is logged on or not." This works, but it will open the actual command prompt which I don't want (whether or not "Hidden" is checked - I don't think "Hidden" does what people here seem to think). If anyone know how to fix this I'd appreciate it. Seems weird that it would only work with the wintercept variant.

[Aqaao]

Maybe try this.
https://github.com/rexdf/CommandTrayHost
auto-startup, show window and hide window

[msolglu]

I use a headless conhost on Windows 10. Command is something like C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe --headless C:\kanata\kanata.exe --cfg C:\kanata\kanata.kbd

This can be run in a scheduled task with the "At log on" trigger, and using the "Run only when user logged in" security option.

Can also be launched via a shortcut in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Works with both variants.

(another option is to launch via C:\Windows\System32\wscript.exe, but that requires create a WSH script to run kanata)

[msolglu]

Since it's bothering me to leave this incomplete 😛, the WSH script is something like this saved into "kanata.js":

var shell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell");
shell.Run("C:\\kanata\\kanata.exe --cfg C:\\kanata\\kanata.kbd", 0 /* hide window */);

and is then launched via c:\Windows\System32\wscript.exe c:\kanata\kanata.js

[Lifell]

Thanks you both for sharing your scripts. I just wanted to add a note for anyone with the same problem I had. When I had Kanata active through the Task Scheduler this way, Kanata would fail to function in specific games. I have no idea why but it seems that you should not tick the "Run with highest privileges" when making the task in Task Scheduler. Leaving it off fixed the issue for me.

To elaborate, I got 2 games. "Horizon Forbidden West" and "Caribbean Legend". These games do not run any anti cheats. When running the task making Kanata start and playing these games, no keys would work except the ones that aren't "directly"(?) involved with the application. Alt tab worked and opening up an overlay with "Shift + Backspace" worked as well. But moving around, jumping, or any other action of some kind would simply not register in the game.

I figured this out after some frustration and figured I would share a potential solution if anyone is also having this issue or something similar.

[Younex-hq]

I am using Windows 11, and this is working perfectly
thank you

[GrvExplorer]

If you are trying to setup Kanata using conhost.exe in task schedule (Windows), then read this comment above setup task schedule and change this setting to "trigger column = at log on. and General Column = Run only when user logged in." that will lead to AutoStart on login.

I was facing issue because i have not set trigger = at log on i was doing at startup

[Sylvanling]

I couldn't get the task scheduler thing to work. I ended up installing this program and manually hiding it each time.
https://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/System/System-Enhancements/Minimize-ToTray.shtml

[Robin-Wils]

Another way is using the windows registry. Many applications seem to do it this way. Just check what is already there to see which applications already do it.

Registry key: HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
PowerShell to add kanata to the registry autorun:
https://www.robinwils.com/activities/programming/ergonomics/kanata-keyboard-mapping#automatically-start-kanata

[eugenesvk]

You could meanwhile test this GUI kanata native Windows tray app from this PR #990 and autostart it by simply adding a link to your Startup folder

[bogorad]

I run Kanata on win10 unlock, kill it on lock.

**** update:

made sure it runs under "windows terminal", not the old "conhost":
ago-unlock.ps1 (run with pwsh.exe):

$env:WT_SESSION = "0"
Start-Process -WindowStyle Minimized -UseNewEnvironment -FilePath "wt.exe" -ArgumentList "new-tab", "--startingDirectory", "C:\bin", "--", "C:\bin\kanata.exe", "-dnc", "C:\Users\bogorad\git\.dotfiles\kanata\.config\kanata\kanata.kbd", "-p", "0.0.0.0:5588"
exit

[ghost]

After researching and testing diffirence methods, I beleive this is the easiest and the best solution so far:

Just modify the following command to your use case and run it:
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /v "Kanata" /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe --headless [your path to kanata.exe] --cfg [your path to .kbd file]

For example this is what I use personally:
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /v "Kanata" /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe --headless C:\Windows\Kanata\kanata.exe --cfg C:\Windows\Kanata\kanata.kbd"

Add registry value to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run is what most applications do to run on startup, and start kanata.exe via C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe allow Kanata to run without the console window

Hope I can help, happy using Kanata guys!

[xudyang1]

After researching and testing diffirence methods, I beleive this is the easiest and the best solution so far:

Just modify the following command to your use case and run it: reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /v "Kanata" /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe --headless [your path to kanata.exe] --cfg [your path to .kbd file]

For example this is what I use personally: reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /v "Kanata" /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe --headless C:\Windows\Kanata\kanata.exe --cfg C:\Windows\Kanata\kanata.kbd"

Add registry value to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run is what most applications do to run on startup, and start kanata.exe via C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe allow Kanata to run without the console window

Hope I can help, happy using Kanata guys!

I would like to share my ps1 script to setup the registry key:

$StartupPath="HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
$ProgramName="Kanata"
# change the executable path
$KanataPath="your_kanata_path\kanata.exe"
# change the config path
$KanataConfigPath="your_kanata_config.kbd"
$StartupCommand="C:\Windows\system32\conhost.exe --headless $KanataPath --cfg $KanataConfigPath"
Set-ItemProperty -LiteralPath "$StartupPath" -Name "$ProgramName" -Value "$StartupCommand"

[bogorad]

I suggest using wt.exe instead of conhost.exe

[xudyang1]

I suggest using wt.exe instead of conhost.exe

Thank you for the advice. wt.exe opens a new tab to run kanata. Is there any way to run wt.exe in headless mode just like conhost.exe --headless?

[bogorad]

Maybe? Hever tried myself, I like the window :)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/customize-settings/startup

[wzl1993321]

Hello, sorry to bother you, is this how it is set up?

[DmitryTukeev]

My working settings:
C:\Users\tukee\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\kanata.vbs

Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objShell.Run "C:\Users\tukee\Documents\Kanata\kanata.exe --cfg C:\Users\tukee\Documents\Kanata\kanata.kbd", 0, false

[khanra17]

This is a part of my Windows 11 post installation scripts.

Run the following command in PowerShell (Administrator):

# Specify the repository and file name
$repo = 'jtroo/kanata'
$fileName = 'kanata_gui.exe'
$installDir = 'C:\Program Files\Kanata'
$installPath = Join-Path -Path $installDir -ChildPath $fileName

# Get the latest release information using GitHub API
$latestRelease = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.github.com/repos/$repo/releases/latest"
$version = $latestRelease.tag_name

# Create the download link by replacing the placeholder with the version
$downloadLink = "https://github.com/$repo/releases/download/$version/$fileName"

# Create the installation directory if it doesn't exist
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $installDir -Force

# Download
Write-Output "Downloading kanata_gui.exe..."
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $downloadLink -OutFile $installPath -ErrorAction Stop

# Create shortcut in the Startup folder
$startupFolder = [Environment]::GetFolderPath('Startup')
$shortcutPath = Join-Path -Path $startupFolder -ChildPath 'kanata_gui.lnk'

# Create WScript Shell Object
$WScriptShell = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell

# Create the shortcut
$Shortcut = $WScriptShell.CreateShortcut($shortcutPath)
$Shortcut.TargetPath = $installPath
$Shortcut.Description = "Kanata GUI"
$Shortcut.WorkingDirectory = $installDir
$Shortcut.Save()

Write-Output "Installation complete! Kanata GUI will start automatically with Windows."
Write-Output "Now copy the `kanata.kbd` in the `C:\Program Files\Kanata` folder."

# Open `C:\Program Files\Kanata` folder
Start-Process -FilePath $installDir

Copy the kanata.kbd in the C:\Program Files\Kanata folder.

[rosscondie]

This worked for installing the kanata_gui.exe but failed for creating the shortcut for me.

I edited the script to handle this if anyone was having issues.

# Specify the repository and file name
$repo = 'jtroo/kanata'
$fileName = 'kanata_gui.exe'
$installDir = 'C:\Program Files\Kanata'
$installPath = Join-Path -Path $installDir -ChildPath $fileName

# Get the latest release information using GitHub API
$latestRelease = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.github.com/repos/$repo/releases/latest"
$version = $latestRelease.tag_name

# Create the download link by replacing the placeholder with the version
$downloadLink = "https://github.com/$repo/releases/download/$version/$fileName"

# Create the installation directory if it doesn't exist
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $installDir -Force

# Download
Write-Output "Downloading kanata_gui.exe..."
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $downloadLink -OutFile $installPath -ErrorAction Stop

# Create shortcut in the Startup folder with error handling
try {
    $startupFolder = [System.Environment]::GetFolderPath([System.Environment+SpecialFolder]::Startup)
    
    if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($startupFolder)) {
        # Fallback method
        $startupFolder = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup"
    }
    
    Write-Output "Startup folder: $startupFolder"
    
    # Ensure startup folder exists
    if (-not (Test-Path $startupFolder)) {
        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $startupFolder -Force
    }
    
    $shortcutPath = Join-Path -Path $startupFolder -ChildPath 'kanata_gui.lnk'
    
    # Create WScript Shell Object
    $WScriptShell = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
    
    # Create the shortcut
    $Shortcut = $WScriptShell.CreateShortcut($shortcutPath)
    $Shortcut.TargetPath = $installPath
    $Shortcut.Description = "Kanata GUI"
    $Shortcut.WorkingDirectory = $installDir
    $Shortcut.Save()
    
    Write-Output "Startup shortcut created successfully at: $shortcutPath"
    Write-Output "Installation complete! Kanata GUI will start automatically with Windows."
}
catch {
    Write-Warning "Failed to create startup shortcut: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    Write-Output "You can manually create a shortcut to $installPath in your Startup folder if needed."
    Write-Output "Startup folder location: $startupFolder"
}

Write-Output "Now copy the kanata.kbd in the C:\Program Files\Kanata folder."

# Open C:\Program Files\Kanata folder
Start-Process -FilePath $installDir

[MoamenElahmdy]

it actually easy What i do is install katana gui exe and make shortcut of it and put the shortcut in startup folder
to go to the startup folder you have to press windows + r for run and type this: shell:common startup

[Xander-Coetzee]

This worked perfectly, thanks. I didn't know there was a "kanata_gui.exe" that launches Kanata in the system tray until now.

[azizsayfiddin]

Is it possible to run kanata as on linux like systemd service?

[jtroo]

It's a pinned discussion
#130

[azizsayfiddin]

It's a pinned discussion #130

I meant like systemd service, but on Windows 11, because I have dualboot setup

[Nico-Mayer]

I recall reading that there's now a native Tray/GUI solution for Kanata on Windows. Is there any documentation on this, or am I mistaken? :)

[Xander-Coetzee]

This is all i found: Kanata native Windows GUI tray app #990

[Weathercold]

Since there is now an official way to run Kanata in systray on Windows, can this question be marked as answered?

[rpnfan]

The best way for Windows IMO is indeed using the gui-version, which has a taskbar item. To start it automatically with admin rights (if wanted/ needed) the Task Scheduler is best. Adding a slight delay of a few seconds might be needed that the tray icon shows up correctly. Without Kanata is running, but the tray icon not necessarily shown.

[nivzelber]

I've created a .bat file under Windows startup folder (run shell:startup in the run window to find it).

cd "[kanata.exe-root-folder-full-path]"
START /MIN C:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe --headless kanata.exe <flags-and-other-config>

It takes a while until it loads (like every startup task/service in windows) depending on how many startup items you run.
Overall I find it to be the most flexible.

[sebastianstudniczek]

Do you encounter slow startup of kanata_gui?
I just put shortcut in shell:startup folder but it always take a good amount of time until taskbar icon is shown

[rpnfan]

It is slow on many machines. On my ARM laptop it is quite a bit faster, because the startup process is leaner than on x86 machines. I recommend to use the task scheduler, because that assures you can run it with admin rights and also add a short delay to not launch to early which could affect a) some triggers not working and/ or b) the taskbar icon not becoming visible.

I am uploading a short explanation how to do so in the know-how section of https://rpnfan.github.io/keyboard-heaven/