{"id":6815,"date":"2020-01-21T10:23:59","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T16:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/?p=6815"},"modified":"2019-12-04T16:44:01","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T22:44:01","slug":"how-to-get-the-most-out-of-the-linux-screen-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poweradmin.com\/blog\/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-the-linux-screen-command\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Get The Most Out Of The Linux Screen Command"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re logging onto a service or running remote command line operations over a network link via the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, the last thing you need is for your session to be cut off by a faulty connection. This scenario is all too common \u2013 but for Linux users, the Screen utility can prevent it from occurring.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The tool also enables you to create multiple screen windows from a single session, navigate between windows, detach and resume screen sessions, and customize your screen terminal. Here\u2019s how.<\/span><\/p>\n

Installing The Screen Utility<\/span><\/h2>\n

These days, the Screen or GNU Screen package comes already installed on most Linux distributions. At the $ prompt, you can type the following to check if the utility is on your distro:<\/span><\/p>\n

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$ screen \u2013version<\/span><\/p>\n

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The output might look something like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Screen version 4.06.02 (GNU) 23-Oct-17<\/span><\/p>\n

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If the \u201cwhich screen version\u201d query doesn\u2019t return any details, the utility probably isn\u2019t on your system. In this case you can usually install it using one of the following commands:<\/span><\/p>\n

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For Linux Screen on Ubuntu and Debian, type:<\/span><\/p>\n

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sudo apt install screen<\/span><\/p>\n

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For Linux Screen on CentOS and Fedora, the syntax is:<\/span><\/p>\n

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sudo yum install screen<\/span><\/p>\n

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Otherwise, consult the documentation for the package manager of your distro.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Starting A Screen Session<\/span><\/h2>\n

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To start a screen session within your SSH session, you simply type:<\/span><\/p>\n

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screen<\/span><\/p>\n

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This will open a screen session, create a new window, and start a shell in that window. To get a list of commands, type:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ctrl+a ?<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing Multiple Screen Sessions<\/span><\/h2>\n

Screen is a \u201cterminal multiplexer,\u201d allowing you to run many terminal sessions within a single SSH session, detach from them, and reattach them as required.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you intend to run more than one screen session, it\u2019s a good idea to give each of them a meaningful name, so that you can easily identify which tasks they are specifically handling. To create a named session, run the screen command with the following arguments:<\/span><\/p>\n

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screen -S session_name<\/span><\/p>\n

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So if you were starting a session you wanted to call \u201cslow build\u201d, at the $ prompt, you would use a command like this to name it:<\/span><\/p>\n

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$ screen -S slow-build<\/span><\/p>\n

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To create a new window with a shell in it, type Ctrl+a c, and the first available number from the range 0 to 9 will be assigned to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some Common Commands For The Screen Tool<\/span><\/h2>\n

Some of the most common commands for managing Linux Screen windows include:<\/span><\/p>\n

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