Starting Server by Zaweba with Windows and from the tray

If you work on PHP sites most days, it makes sense for the local server to be ready before you are. Server by Zaweba has three Start-up options in Settings for that. It can start when you sign in to Windows, going straight to the notification area with the services running. It can start the services as soon as the app opens. And closing the window can hide the app to the tray instead of exiting.

Starting when you sign in

With the start with Windows option on, Server by Zaweba writes a value under the current user's Run key, the standard place Windows looks for programs to start at sign-in. It applies to your account only, not every user on the PC. When you sign in, the app starts quietly in the notification area with Apache, MariaDB and Mailpit already running, so your sites answer from the first moment.

Living in the tray

When closing the window hides the app to the tray, the services keep running and the window is a click away. The tray menu opens the window or the dashboard, starts or stops everything, or exits. Exiting from the tray stops the services, because they belong to the app.

That last point is worth understanding. The services are not Windows services. They run while Server by Zaweba is open or in the tray, and each runs in its own Windows job, so when the app exits, they stop with it. Nothing keeps running in the background once you have quit, and nothing is registered with the Windows service manager.

Choosing a routine

There are a few common patterns. A developer who works on sites daily turns on start with Windows and hiding to the tray, and never thinks about the server again. Someone who only needs it now and then leaves both off and uses Start all or the start-on-open option when they open the app. A student on a shared or low powered laptop might prefer the second, to keep memory free when not studying.

Start-on-open on its own is a good middle ground. The app does nothing until you open it, and then it is ready without a click.

When something else needs the ports

If start with Windows is on and another program grabs port 80 or 3306 before Server starts, the usual port check still runs. It names the program holding the port and offers a free alternative. Setting your own ports in the Ports card in Settings avoids the question altogether if you share the PC with another local server.

Turning it off

Untick the options in Settings, Start-up. Because the only thing written to Windows is that one value under your user's Run key, there is nothing else to clean up. That fits the way Server by Zaweba is built: it runs from one folder, and apart from things you choose, such as hosts lines, starting with Windows and trusting its certificate authority, it installs nothing in Windows.