Linux Screen
Control Command
Command: “Ctrl-a”
Screen uses the command “Ctrl-a” that’s the control key and a lowercase “a” as a signal to send commands to screen instead of the shell.
For example, “Ctrl-a” then “?”. You should now have the screen help page.
Screen key bindings, page 1 of 4.
Command key: ^A Literal ^A: a
break ^B b only Q
clear C other ^A
colon : pow_break B
copy ^[ [ pow_detach D
detach ^D d prev ^P p ^?
digraph ^V readbuf <
displays * redisplay ^L l
fit F removebuf =
flow ^F f reset Z
focus ^I screen ^C c
hardcopy h select '
help ? silence _
Key bindings are the commands the screen accepts after you hit “Ctrl-a”. You can reconfigure these keys to your liking using a .screenrc file, but I just use the defaults.
Creating Windows
Command: “Ctrl-a” “c”.
To create a new window, you just use “Ctrl-a” “c”.
This will create a new window for you with your default prompt. Your old window is still active.
For example, I can be running top and then open a new window to do other things. Top stays running! It is still there. To try this for yourself, start up screen and then run top. (Note: I have truncated some screens to save space.)
Start top
top - 09:10:33 up 35 days, 17:26, 1 user, load averag
Tasks: 131 total, 1 running, 130 sleeping, 0 stoppe
Cpu(s): 0.4%us, 0.2%sy, 0.0%ni, 99.4%id, 0.0%wa, 0
Mem: 12302040k total, 6363652k used, 5938388k free,
Swap: 1052248k total, 12k used, 1052236k free,
Now open a new window with: “Ctrl-a” “c”
Your top window is still running you just have to switch back to it.
Switching Between Windows
Command: “Ctrl-a” “n”
Screen allows you to move forward and back. In the example above, you could use “Ctrl-a “n” to get back to top. This command switches you to the next window.
The windows work like a carousel and will loop back around to your first window.
You can create several windows and toggle through them with “Ctrl-a” “n” for the next window or “Ctrl-a” “p” for the previous window.
Each process will keep running until you kill that window.
https://www.rackaid.com/blog/linux-screen-tutorial-and-how-to/