Difference between revisions of "HowTo Share A Terminal Session Using Screen"

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(Created page with 'The '''screen''' command can be particularly useful in the following circumstances: * When you want to leave a terminal session running even after logging out of the system. * W…')
 
(→‎Attaching To A Existing Screen)
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Once attached, all of your commands will be done within the screen named ''shared''. To detach yourself from the screen, use the ''Ctrl-a d'' command sequence.
 
Once attached, all of your commands will be done within the screen named ''shared''. To detach yourself from the screen, use the ''Ctrl-a d'' command sequence.
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= Killing A Screen Session =
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To cleanly shutdown a screen session, you can attach to it and then press the ''Ctrl-a k'' command sequence.
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= Sharing A Screen Session With Another User =
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To share a screen session with another user (for teaching or when there isn't enough bandwidth for VNC), you need to:
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* Attach to the screen session
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* Enable multi-user mode
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* Add the desired user(s)
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[pkb@rice ~]$ screen -r shared
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[pkb@rice tmp]$ <span style="color:green;">Ctrl-a :multiuser</span> <span style="color:green;">Ctrl-a :acladd megan</span>
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The other user should then be able to connect to the shared screen using the following command:
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= Screen Command Sequences =
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There are many screen commands which you can run. To enter a screen command you use the escape sequence following by the command.  For a full list of all of the available commands, run ''man screen''. The following table shows some of the commands which we find most useful:
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{| border="0"
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|-
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!align="left" valign="top"|Ctrl-a a
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|Passes a ''Ctrl-a'' through to the terminal session running within screen.
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|-
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!align="left" valign="top"|Ctrl-a d
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|Detaches from a screen session.
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|-
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!align="left" valign="top"|Ctrl-a k
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|Detaches from and kills (terminates) the screen session.
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|-
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!align="left" valign="top"|Ctrl-a :multiuser
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|Make the screen session a multi-user session (so other users can attach).
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|-
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!align="left" valign="top"|Ctrl-a :acladd USER
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|Allow the user specified (''USER'') to connect to a multi-user screen session.
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|}

Revision as of 13:39, 4 September 2011

The screen command can be particularly useful in the following circumstances:

  • When you want to leave a terminal session running even after logging out of the system.
  • When you want to share a terminal session with another user (sort of like VNC but for the terminal).

Setting Up A Shared Screen

The following command sequence sets up a shared screen session named shared: 

[pkb@rice ~]$ screen -d -m -S shared
[pkb@rice ~]$

Listing Your Screen Sessions

The following shows what screen sessions you currently have running: 

[pkb@rice ~]$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
	8632.shared	(Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-pkb.

[pkb@rice ~]$

Attaching To A Existing Screen

The following allows you to attach to a existing screen session named shared: 

[pkb@rice ~]$ screen -r shared

Once attached, all of your commands will be done within the screen named shared. To detach yourself from the screen, use the Ctrl-a d command sequence.

Killing A Screen Session

To cleanly shutdown a screen session, you can attach to it and then press the Ctrl-a k command sequence.

Sharing A Screen Session With Another User

To share a screen session with another user (for teaching or when there isn't enough bandwidth for VNC), you need to:

  • Attach to the screen session
  • Enable multi-user mode
  • Add the desired user(s)
[pkb@rice ~]$ screen -r shared
[pkb@rice tmp]$ Ctrl-a :multiuser Ctrl-a :acladd megan

The other user should then be able to connect to the shared screen using the following command:


Screen Command Sequences

There are many screen commands which you can run. To enter a screen command you use the escape sequence following by the command. For a full list of all of the available commands, run man screen. The following table shows some of the commands which we find most useful:

Ctrl-a a Passes a Ctrl-a through to the terminal session running within screen.
Ctrl-a d Detaches from a screen session.
Ctrl-a k Detaches from and kills (terminates) the screen session.
Ctrl-a :multiuser Make the screen session a multi-user session (so other users can attach).
Ctrl-a :acladd USER Allow the user specified (USER) to connect to a multi-user screen session.
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