Keep SSH Sessions Alive: Prevent Disconnects

Understanding and Utilizing Screen for Terminal Management

Screen functions as a terminal multiplexer, effectively acting as a window manager for your console environment. This utility enables the concurrent operation of multiple terminal sessions and facilitates seamless transitions between them.

A key benefit of using screen is its resilience to disconnections. Your active session will persist even if your connection to the server is interrupted, preventing data loss or process termination.

Before utilizing screen, ensure it is installed on your server. For systems based on Ubuntu or Debian, installation is straightforward:

sudo apt-get install screen

Starting and Detaching Screen Sessions

Initiate a new screen session simply by typing screen at the command line. Upon execution, informational details regarding screen will be displayed.

Pressing the Enter key will then present you with a standard command prompt.

To disconnect from a session while maintaining its active state, perform the following key sequence:

Press Ctrl + A, immediately followed by Ctrl + D. Confirmation will be provided via the message "[detached]".

Reconnecting to Existing Sessions

To re-establish a connection to a previously running screen session, use this command:

screen -r

Alternatively, to reconnect to an existing session, or to initiate a new session if none are currently active, employ the following command:

screen -D -r

Managing Windows Within a Screen Session

Creating a new window within an already running screen session is achieved by pressing Ctrl + A, followed immediately by C. A new prompt will then appear, indicating the new window.

Switching between open screen windows is accomplished with the key combination: Ctrl + A, immediately followed by Ctrl + A.

Listing Open Screen Windows

To view a list of all currently open screen windows, use this key sequence:

Press Ctrl + A, immediately followed by W.

While screen offers a comprehensive range of commands, the functionalities detailed above represent those most frequently utilized for efficient terminal management.