diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 8e77519d..7d618ea0 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -764,6 +764,20 @@ if(WIN32) # see options at: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/cpack_gen/nsis.h
         NoDelete:
         ")
 
+    # Adding an option for the start menu
+    set(CPACK_NSIS_MODIFY_PATH "OFF")
+    set(CPACK_NSIS_EXECUTABLES_DIRECTORY ".")
+    # This will be shown on the installed apps Windows settings
+    set(CPACK_NSIS_INSTALLED_ICON_NAME "${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}.exe")
+    set(CPACK_NSIS_CREATE_ICONS_EXTRA
+        "${CPACK_NSIS_CREATE_ICONS_EXTRA}
+        CreateShortCut '\$SMPROGRAMS\\\\$STARTMENU_FOLDER\\\\${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}.lnk' \
+            '\$INSTDIR\\\\${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}.exe' '--shortcut'
+        ")
+    set(CPACK_NSIS_DELETE_ICONS_EXTRA
+        "${CPACK_NSIS_DELETE_ICONS_EXTRA}
+        Delete '\$SMPROGRAMS\\\\$MUI_TEMP\\\\${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}.lnk'
+        ")
 
     # Checking for previous installed versions
     set(CPACK_NSIS_ENABLE_UNINSTALL_BEFORE_INSTALL "ON")
diff --git a/src/config.cpp b/src/config.cpp
index 60961cd6..820c32fc 100644
--- a/src/config.cpp
+++ b/src/config.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
 
 #include "platform/common.h"
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  #include <shellapi.h>
+#endif
+
 namespace fs = std::filesystem;
 using namespace std::literals;
 
@@ -1091,6 +1095,8 @@ namespace config {
   int
   parse(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     std::unordered_map<std::string, std::string> cmd_vars;
+    bool shortcut_launch = false;
+    bool service_admin_launch = false;
 
     for (auto x = 1; x < argc; ++x) {
       auto line = argv[x];
@@ -1099,6 +1105,12 @@ namespace config {
         print_help(*argv);
         return 1;
       }
+      else if (line == "--shortcut"sv) {
+        shortcut_launch = true;
+      }
+      else if (line == "--shortcut-admin"sv) {
+        service_admin_launch = true;
+      }
       else if (*line == '-') {
         if (*(line + 1) == '-') {
           sunshine.cmd.name = line + 2;
@@ -1156,6 +1168,51 @@ namespace config {
 
     apply_config(std::move(vars));
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    // We have to wait until the config is loaded to handle these launches,
+    // because we need to have the correct base port loaded in our config.
+    if (service_admin_launch) {
+      // This is a relaunch as admin to start the service
+      service_ctrl::start_service();
+
+      // Always return 1 to ensure Sunshine doesn't start normally
+      return 1;
+    }
+    else if (shortcut_launch) {
+      if (!service_ctrl::is_service_running()) {
+        // If the service isn't running, relaunch ourselves as admin to start it
+        WCHAR executable[MAX_PATH];
+        GetModuleFileNameW(NULL, executable, ARRAYSIZE(executable));
+
+        SHELLEXECUTEINFOW shell_exec_info {};
+        shell_exec_info.cbSize = sizeof(shell_exec_info);
+        shell_exec_info.fMask = SEE_MASK_NOASYNC | SEE_MASK_NO_CONSOLE | SEE_MASK_NOCLOSEPROCESS;
+        shell_exec_info.lpVerb = L"runas";
+        shell_exec_info.lpFile = executable;
+        shell_exec_info.lpParameters = L"--shortcut-admin";
+        shell_exec_info.nShow = SW_NORMAL;
+        if (!ShellExecuteExW(&shell_exec_info)) {
+          auto winerr = GetLastError();
+          std::cout << "Error: ShellExecuteEx() failed:"sv << winerr << std::endl;
+          return 1;
+        }
+
+        // Wait for the elevated process to finish starting the service
+        WaitForSingleObject(shell_exec_info.hProcess, INFINITE);
+        CloseHandle(shell_exec_info.hProcess);
+
+        // Wait for the UI to be ready for connections
+        service_ctrl::wait_for_ui_ready();
+      }
+
+      // Launch the web UI
+      launch_ui();
+
+      // Always return 1 to ensure Sunshine doesn't start normally
+      return 1;
+    }
+#endif
+
     return 0;
   }
 }  // namespace config
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index e87dabc3..5a7348fb 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@
 extern "C" {
 #include <libavutil/log.h>
 #include <rs.h>
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  #include <iphlpapi.h>
+#endif
 }
 
 safe::mail_t mail::man;
@@ -141,6 +145,209 @@ namespace lifetime {
   }
 }  // namespace lifetime
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+namespace service_ctrl {
+  class service_controller {
+  public:
+    /**
+     * @brief Constructor for service_controller class
+     * @param service_desired_access SERVICE_* desired access flags
+     */
+    service_controller(DWORD service_desired_access) {
+      scm_handle = OpenSCManagerA(nullptr, nullptr, SC_MANAGER_CONNECT);
+      if (!scm_handle) {
+        auto winerr = GetLastError();
+        BOOST_LOG(error) << "OpenSCManager() failed: "sv << winerr;
+        return;
+      }
+
+      service_handle = OpenServiceA(scm_handle, "SunshineSvc", service_desired_access);
+      if (!service_handle) {
+        auto winerr = GetLastError();
+        BOOST_LOG(error) << "OpenService() failed: "sv << winerr;
+        return;
+      }
+    }
+
+    ~service_controller() {
+      if (service_handle) {
+        CloseServiceHandle(service_handle);
+      }
+
+      if (scm_handle) {
+        CloseServiceHandle(scm_handle);
+      }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @brief Asynchronously starts the Sunshine service
+     */
+    bool
+    start_service() {
+      if (!service_handle) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      if (!StartServiceA(service_handle, 0, nullptr)) {
+        auto winerr = GetLastError();
+        if (winerr != ERROR_SERVICE_ALREADY_RUNNING) {
+          BOOST_LOG(error) << "StartService() failed: "sv << winerr;
+          return false;
+        }
+      }
+
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @brief Query the service status
+     * @param status The SERVICE_STATUS struct to populate
+     */
+    bool
+    query_service_status(SERVICE_STATUS &status) {
+      if (!service_handle) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      if (!QueryServiceStatus(service_handle, &status)) {
+        auto winerr = GetLastError();
+        BOOST_LOG(error) << "QueryServiceStatus() failed: "sv << winerr;
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      return true;
+    }
+
+  private:
+    SC_HANDLE scm_handle = NULL;
+    SC_HANDLE service_handle = NULL;
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Check if the service is running
+   *
+   * EXAMPLES:
+   * ```cpp
+   * is_service_running();
+   * ```
+   */
+  bool
+  is_service_running() {
+    service_controller sc { SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS };
+
+    SERVICE_STATUS status;
+    if (!sc.query_service_status(status)) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    return status.dwCurrentState == SERVICE_RUNNING;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Start the service and wait for startup to complete
+   *
+   * EXAMPLES:
+   * ```cpp
+   * start_service();
+   * ```
+   */
+  bool
+  start_service() {
+    service_controller sc { SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS | SERVICE_START };
+
+    std::cout << "Starting Sunshine..."sv;
+
+    // This operation is asynchronous, so we must wait for it to complete
+    if (!sc.start_service()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    SERVICE_STATUS status;
+    do {
+      Sleep(1000);
+      std::cout << '.';
+    } while (sc.query_service_status(status) && status.dwCurrentState == SERVICE_START_PENDING);
+
+    if (status.dwCurrentState != SERVICE_RUNNING) {
+      BOOST_LOG(error) << SERVICE_NAME " failed to start: "sv << status.dwWin32ExitCode;
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    std::cout << std::endl;
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Wait for the UI to be ready after Sunshine startup
+   *
+   * EXAMPLES:
+   * ```cpp
+   * wait_for_ui_ready();
+   * ```
+   */
+  bool
+  wait_for_ui_ready() {
+    std::cout << "Waiting for Web UI to be ready...";
+
+    // Wait up to 30 seconds for the web UI to start
+    for (int i = 0; i < 30; i++) {
+      PMIB_TCPTABLE tcp_table = nullptr;
+      ULONG table_size = 0;
+      ULONG err;
+
+      auto fg = util::fail_guard([&tcp_table]() {
+        free(tcp_table);
+      });
+
+      do {
+        // Query all open TCP sockets to look for our web UI port
+        err = GetTcpTable(tcp_table, &table_size, false);
+        if (err == ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER) {
+          free(tcp_table);
+          tcp_table = (PMIB_TCPTABLE) malloc(table_size);
+        }
+      } while (err == ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER);
+
+      if (err != NO_ERROR) {
+        BOOST_LOG(error) << "Failed to query TCP table: "sv << err;
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      uint16_t port_nbo = htons(map_port(confighttp::PORT_HTTPS));
+      for (DWORD i = 0; i < tcp_table->dwNumEntries; i++) {
+        auto &entry = tcp_table->table[i];
+
+        // Look for our port in the listening state
+        if (entry.dwLocalPort == port_nbo && entry.dwState == MIB_TCP_STATE_LISTEN) {
+          std::cout << std::endl;
+          return true;
+        }
+      }
+
+      Sleep(1000);
+      std::cout << '.';
+    }
+
+    std::cout << "timed out"sv << std::endl;
+    return false;
+  }
+}  // namespace service_ctrl
+#endif
+
+/**
+ * @brief Launch the Web UI
+ *
+ * EXAMPLES:
+ * ```cpp
+ * launch_ui();
+ * ```
+ */
+void
+launch_ui() {
+  std::string url = "https://localhost:" + std::to_string(map_port(confighttp::PORT_HTTPS));
+  platf::open_url(url);
+}
+
 /**
  * @brief Flush the log.
  *
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 8e74c709..e046acb9 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ int
 write_file(const char *path, const std::string_view &contents);
 std::uint16_t
 map_port(int port);
+void
+launch_ui();
 
 // namespaces
 namespace mail {
@@ -73,4 +75,17 @@ namespace lifetime {
   get_argv();
 }  // namespace lifetime
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+namespace service_ctrl {
+  bool
+  is_service_running();
+
+  bool
+  start_service();
+
+  bool
+  wait_for_ui_ready();
+}  // namespace service_ctrl
+#endif
+
 #endif  // SUNSHINE_MAIN_H
diff --git a/src/platform/common.h b/src/platform/common.h
index 62c1d60f..5914017f 100644
--- a/src/platform/common.h
+++ b/src/platform/common.h
@@ -423,6 +423,13 @@ namespace platf {
   std::unique_ptr<deinit_t>
   enable_socket_qos(uintptr_t native_socket, boost::asio::ip::address &address, uint16_t port, qos_data_type_e data_type);
 
+  /**
+   * @brief Open a url in the default web browser.
+   * @param url The url to open.
+   */
+  void
+  open_url(const std::string &url);
+
   input_t
   input();
   void
diff --git a/src/platform/linux/misc.cpp b/src/platform/linux/misc.cpp
index 62fe3b4d..118912d1 100644
--- a/src/platform/linux/misc.cpp
+++ b/src/platform/linux/misc.cpp
@@ -178,6 +178,28 @@ namespace platf {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * @brief Open a url in the default web browser.
+   * @param url The url to open.
+   */
+  void
+  open_url(const std::string &url) {
+    // set working dir to user home directory
+    auto working_dir = boost::filesystem::path(std::getenv("HOME"));
+    std::string cmd = R"(xdg-open ")" + url + R"(")";
+
+    boost::process::environment _env = boost::this_process::environment();
+    std::error_code ec;
+    auto child = run_command(false, cmd, working_dir, _env, nullptr, ec, nullptr);
+    if (ec) {
+      BOOST_LOG(warning) << "Couldn't open url ["sv << url << "]: System: "sv << ec.message();
+    }
+    else {
+      BOOST_LOG(info) << "Opened url ["sv << url << "]"sv;
+      child.detach();
+    }
+  }
+
   void
   adjust_thread_priority(thread_priority_e priority) {
     // Unimplemented
diff --git a/src/platform/macos/misc.mm b/src/platform/macos/misc.mm
index eff4bab1..46209dda 100644
--- a/src/platform/macos/misc.mm
+++ b/src/platform/macos/misc.mm
@@ -178,6 +178,27 @@ namespace platf {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * @brief Open a url in the default web browser.
+   * @param url The url to open.
+   */
+  void
+  open_url(const std::string &url) {
+    boost::filesystem::path working_dir;
+    std::string cmd = R"(open ")" + url + R"(")";
+
+    boost::process::environment _env = boost::this_process::environment();
+    std::error_code ec;
+    auto child = run_command(false, cmd, working_dir, _env, nullptr, ec, nullptr);
+    if (ec) {
+      BOOST_LOG(warning) << "Couldn't open url ["sv << url << "]: System: "sv << ec.message();
+    }
+    else {
+      BOOST_LOG(info) << "Opened url ["sv << url << "]"sv;
+      child.detach();
+    }
+  }
+
   void
   adjust_thread_priority(thread_priority_e priority) {
     // Unimplemented
diff --git a/src/platform/windows/misc.cpp b/src/platform/windows/misc.cpp
index 6b529cd9..de851325 100644
--- a/src/platform/windows/misc.cpp
+++ b/src/platform/windows/misc.cpp
@@ -651,6 +651,31 @@ namespace platf {
     return create_boost_child_from_results(ret, cmd, ec, process_info, group);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * @brief Open a url in the default web browser.
+   * @param url The url to open.
+   */
+  void
+  open_url(const std::string &url) {
+    // set working dir to Windows system directory
+    auto working_dir = boost::filesystem::path(std::getenv("SystemRoot"));
+
+    // this isn't ideal as it briefly shows a command window
+    // but start a command built into cmd, not an executable
+    std::string cmd = R"(cmd /C "start )" + url + R"(")";
+
+    boost::process::environment _env = boost::this_process::environment();
+    std::error_code ec;
+    auto child = run_command(false, cmd, working_dir, _env, nullptr, ec, nullptr);
+    if (ec) {
+      BOOST_LOG(warning) << "Couldn't open url ["sv << url << "]: System: "sv << ec.message();
+    }
+    else {
+      BOOST_LOG(info) << "Opened url ["sv << url << "]"sv;
+      child.detach();
+    }
+  }
+
   void
   adjust_thread_priority(thread_priority_e priority) {
     int win32_priority;
diff --git a/src/system_tray.cpp b/src/system_tray.cpp
index fde76c2e..c24c90aa 100644
--- a/src/system_tray.cpp
+++ b/src/system_tray.cpp
@@ -36,42 +36,6 @@ using namespace std::literals;
 // system_tray namespace
 namespace system_tray {
 
-  /**
- * @brief Open a url in the default web browser.
- * @param url The url to open.
- */
-  void
-  open_url(const std::string &url) {
-    boost::filesystem::path working_dir;
-
-    // if windows
-  #if defined(_WIN32)
-    // set working dir to Windows system directory
-    working_dir = boost::filesystem::path(std::getenv("SystemRoot"));
-
-    // this isn't ideal as it briefly shows a command window
-    // but start a command built into cmd, not an executable
-    std::string cmd = R"(cmd /C "start )" + url + R"(")";
-  #elif defined(__linux__) || defined(linux) || defined(__linux)
-    // set working dir to user home directory
-    working_dir = boost::filesystem::path(std::getenv("HOME"));
-    std::string cmd = R"(xdg-open ")" + url + R"(")";
-  #elif defined(__APPLE__) || defined(__MACH__)
-    std::string cmd = R"(open ")" + url + R"(")";
-  #endif
-
-    boost::process::environment _env = boost::this_process::environment();
-    std::error_code ec;
-    auto child = platf::run_command(false, cmd, working_dir, _env, nullptr, ec, nullptr);
-    if (ec) {
-      BOOST_LOG(warning) << "Couldn't open url ["sv << url << "]: System: "sv << ec.message();
-    }
-    else {
-      BOOST_LOG(info) << "Opened url ["sv << url << "]"sv;
-      child.detach();
-    }
-  }
-
   /**
  * @brief Callback for opening the UI from the system tray.
  * @param item The tray menu item.
@@ -79,12 +43,7 @@ namespace system_tray {
   void
   tray_open_ui_cb(struct tray_menu *item) {
     BOOST_LOG(info) << "Opening UI from system tray"sv;
-
-    // create the url with the port
-    std::string url = "https://localhost:" + std::to_string(map_port(confighttp::PORT_HTTPS));
-
-    // open the url in the default web browser
-    open_url(url);
+    launch_ui();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -93,7 +52,7 @@ namespace system_tray {
  */
   void
   tray_donate_github_cb(struct tray_menu *item) {
-    open_url("https://github.com/sponsors/LizardByte");
+    platf::open_url("https://github.com/sponsors/LizardByte");
   }
 
   /**
@@ -102,7 +61,7 @@ namespace system_tray {
  */
   void
   tray_donate_mee6_cb(struct tray_menu *item) {
-    open_url("https://mee6.xyz/m/804382334370578482");
+    platf::open_url("https://mee6.xyz/m/804382334370578482");
   }
 
   /**
@@ -111,7 +70,7 @@ namespace system_tray {
  */
   void
   tray_donate_patreon_cb(struct tray_menu *item) {
-    open_url("https://www.patreon.com/LizardByte");
+    platf::open_url("https://www.patreon.com/LizardByte");
   }
 
   /**
@@ -120,7 +79,7 @@ namespace system_tray {
  */
   void
   tray_donate_paypal_cb(struct tray_menu *item) {
-    open_url("https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ReenigneArcher");
+    platf::open_url("https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ReenigneArcher");
   }
 
   /**