Windows: run background services hidden/minimized (no console windows on "Start all services")

[markkerzner]

Problem

On Windows, pressing "Start all services" opens a separate console window per service (Solr, and any others FreeEed launches). They stay on screen, clutter the desktop, and confuse non-technical users (litigators). Goal: keep them minimized / hidden / in the background — ideally by default.

Reported by a user actively running the Windows build.

To confirm from the code

1. How are the services launched today on Windows? (a .bat, start, java -jar, Solr's bin\solr.cmd, etc. — repo + file). One window each, or one shared console?
2. Which approach below fits FreeEed's launcher, and what's the effort?

Candidate approaches (quick → robust)

• javaw.exe instead of java.exe for Java-based services — javaw runs with no console window at all. Redirect stdout/stderr to a log file so nothing is lost. (Usually the cleanest quick win.)
• start /min "" ... to launch each service minimized (still a taskbar item, but off the desktop).
• Hidden launcher wrapper — a tiny VBScript/PowerShell that runs the command with a hidden window (WScript.Shell.Run cmd, 0, False). Good when the service must be java.exe/.bat.
• Solr specifically — solr.cmd start already detaches; check whether FreeEed is instead running it in the foreground.
• Proper solution: run as Windows services (e.g. via NSSM) — true background, survives logout, manageable/stoppable from a tray or Services panel. Heavier lift; best long-term for non-technical users.

Suggested path

Quick win: switch the Java service launches to javaw (or start /min) with output redirected to logs, so no console windows appear. Track Windows-services (NSSM) + a small tray status indicator as the proper follow-up.

[markkerzner]

How the launcher works today

• The "Start All Services" button (freeeed-processing/.../ui/ControlPanelUI.java:60,68) calls
  runScript("start_all"), which on Windows runs the script via
  ProcessBuilder("cmd.exe","/c", start_all.bat) (ControlPanelUI.java:195).
• start_all.bat launched each service in its own new console window with
  start "title" cmd /c ... — Tomcat, Solr, Tika, FreeEed Player, and the Python backend, i.e.
  up to five console windows on the desktop. Solr/Tika used java.exe (a visible console).
• start_all.bat ships in the complete pack (release_freeeed_complete.sh:162,176), so a script
  edit reaches installed users.

What I did (quick win)

Edited start_all.bat (commit eddb6fab, on main/dev/mark):

• Launch every service with start /min → windows are minimized (off-desktop) by
  default, no toggle needed.
• Switch the Java services (Solr, Tika) from java to javaw → no Java console at all;
  stdout/stderr are still redirected to logs\solr.log / logs\tika.log.

Net: the desktop no longer fills with consoles when a litigator clicks "Start All Services."

Known remaining item / honest caveats

• Tomcat still spawns its own window. Tomcat's startup.bat internally does its own
  start "Tomcat" ..., which our /min on the wrapper doesn't control — so Tomcat may still show
  one (non-minimized) window. Fixing that cleanly means switching to catalina.bat run in the
  minimized wrapper, or the NSSM path below.
• Not yet Windows-tested — I implemented from Linux; this needs a quick Windows smoke test
  (click Start All Services, confirm services come up and windows are minimized) before shipping to
  the advisor. javaw + start /min are standard, but redirection/behavior should be eyeballed.

Follow-up (the proper solution)

Run the services as Windows services via NSSM (true background, survives logout,
start/stop from a tray indicator or the Services panel). That's the right long-term answer for
non-technical users and would also fully resolve the Tomcat-window caveat. Tracking that as the
next step under this issue.

[markkerzner]

Update — Tomcat handled too (5/5). Switched Tomcat from startup.bat (which spawned its own console window our /min couldn't govern) to catalina.bat run inside the minimized wrapper, output to logs\tomcat.log. stop_all.bat still stops it via shutdown.bat (shutdown port), unchanged. So all five services — Tomcat, Solr, Tika, Player, Python — now launch minimized with no desktop console clutter. Commit e73c6174 on main/dev/mark. Still wants a Windows smoke test before shipping; NSSM + tray remains the proper long-term follow-up.

[markkerzner]

Reverted the Tomcat catalina run change — it did not start Tomcat on Windows, so the review app on :8090 returned ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED (confirmed on a tester's machine). Back to the tested startup.bat (kept minimized via start /min). Solr/Tika remain hidden via javaw. So 4/5 services are console-free; Tomcat shows its own minimized window. A fully-hidden Tomcat is deferred to the NSSM follow-up — working beats hidden.