# Fingerprint Compare Server — Installation & Management Guide

## What It Is
A lightweight background Windows Service that listens on http://localhost:5050/verify.
It receives a fingerprint scan from a browser-based time clock app, compares it against
a stored template using the DigitalPersona SDK, and returns { "match": true/false }.
No UI, no configuration, no database.

---

## Prerequisites
1. DigitalPersona U.are.U RTE must be installed on the target machine.
   No fingerprint reader needs to be physically attached — just the runtime.
2. Run all install/uninstall commands in an Administrator PowerShell.
3. Open firewall port 5050 if accepting requests from other machines on the network.

---

## Files You Need
Copy these two files to a permanent folder on the server, e.g. C:\FingerprintCompareServer\

    FingerprintCompareServer.exe
    RegisterStartup.ps1

Both are produced by the SelfContained publish profile and land in:
    C:\Users\johnc\Source\Repos\dienekes9902\FingerprintCompareServer\publish\

---

## Install

```powershell
# 1. Open firewall port (skip this if the service will only accept localhost requests)
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="FingerprintCompareServer" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=5050

# 2. Install and start the Windows Service
Set-Location C:\FingerprintCompareServer
.\RegisterStartup.ps1
```

The service starts immediately and auto-starts on every reboot with no console window.

---

## Verify It Is Running

```powershell
# Check service status
Get-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"

# Live endpoint test — any JSON response means the server is up
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri http://localhost:5050/verify -Method POST `
    -ContentType "application/json" `
    -Body '{"capturedSample":"test","capturedFormat":"FMD","storedTemplate":"test"}' `
    -UseBasicParsing | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Content
```

---

## Day-to-Day Management

```powershell
# Stop
Stop-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"

# Start
Start-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"

# Restart
Restart-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"

# Check status
Get-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"
```

You can also open services.msc and find Fingerprint Compare Server in the list.

---

## Updating to a New Version

```powershell
Stop-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"
Copy-Item "\\your-dev-machine\path\FingerprintCompareServer.exe" C:\FingerprintCompareServer\ -Force
Start-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"
```

No need to re-run RegisterStartup.ps1 — the service registration stays in place.

---

## Uninstall

```powershell
Stop-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer" -Force
sc.exe delete "FingerprintCompareServer"
netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name="FingerprintCompareServer"
```

---

## Changing the Port

Default port is 5050. To change it after installing:

```powershell
Stop-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"
sc.exe config "FingerprintCompareServer" binpath= "C:\FingerprintCompareServer\FingerprintCompareServer.exe --urls http://localhost:8080"
Start-Service -Name "FingerprintCompareServer"
```

---

## Building a New Publish from Source

In Visual Studio:
  Right-click Fingerprint Compare Server project -> Publish -> SelfContained -> Publish

Output lands in:
    C:\Users\johnc\Source\Repos\dienekes9902\FingerprintCompareServer\publish\