This is a quick reference guide cheat sheet for the screen command.
$ screen
1. Press Ctrl-a d to detach session
2. List all screen sessions
$ screen -ls
3. Re-attach a screen Session
$ screen -r <name/pid>
| Options | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
-S |
screen -S debug | Start a new session with session name |
-ls |
screen -ls | List running sessions / screens |
-x |
screen -x | Attach to a running session |
-r |
screen -r debug | Attach to a running session with name |
-R |
screen -R debug | Attach to a session (Will create if it doesn't exist) |
-d |
screen -d -m wget xxxx.com/large.file | Start screen in detached mode |
-X |
screen -X -S debug kill | Kill a running session |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Ctrl-a ? |
See help (Lists keybindings) |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Ctrl-a c |
Create new window |
Ctrl-a Ctrl-a |
Change to last-visited active window |
Ctrl-a 0...9 |
Change to window by number |
Ctrl-a ' <0...9 or title> |
Change to window by number or name |
Ctrl-a n or Ctrl-a <space> |
Change to next window in list |
Ctrl-a p or Ctrl-a <backspace> |
Change to previous window in list |
Ctrl-a " |
See window list |
Ctrl-a w |
Show window bar |
Ctrl-a k |
Kill current window (not recommended) |
Ctrl-a \ |
Kill all windows (not recommended) |
Ctrl-a A |
Rename current window |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Ctrl-a d |
Detach |
Ctrl-a D D |
Detach and logout (quick exit) |
Ctrl-a : |
Exit all session |
Ctrl-a C-\ |
Force-exit screen (not recommended) |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Ctrl-a S |
Split display horizontally |
Ctrl-a V |
Split display vertically |
Ctrl-a | |
Split display vertically |
Ctrl-a TAB |
Jump to next display region |
Ctrl-a X |
Remove current region |
Ctrl-a Q |
Remove all regions but the current one |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Ctrl-a C-l |
Redraw window |
Ctrl-a [ |
Copy mode |
Ctrl-a <esc> |
Copy mode |
Ctrl-a ] |
Paste |
Ctrl-a M |
Monitor window for activity |
Ctrl-a _ |
Monitor window for silence |
Ctrl-a Ctrl-v |
Enter digraph (non-ASCII characters) |
Ctrl-a x |
Lock (password protect) display |
Ctrl-a : |
Enter screen command |
Ctrl-a H |
Enable logging in the screen session |
Ssh and attach in one line.
$ ssh -t [email protected] screen -x <name/pid>