Master GNU Screen: Session Sharing, Persistence, and Split Screens

Overview

screen is a GNU‑developed terminal multiplexer that allows multiple terminal windows to attach to the same shell session. Processes started inside a screen session continue running even if the network drops or a window is closed.

Installation

On Debian/Ubuntu based systems: sudo apt install screen -y On CentOS/RHEL you must enable the EPEL repository before installing:

sudo yum install epel-release   # or: sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo yum install screen       # or: sudo dnf install screen

Session sharing

1. Create a named session on the host that will be shared (host A): screen -S it 2. From another host (host B) SSH into host A and list existing sessions:

ssh [email protected]
screen -ls

3. Attach to the shared session: screen -x it Both terminals now see the same shell. To leave the session without terminating the processes, detach with Ctrl‑A D . To end the session for all participants, type exit in any attached window.

Keeping tasks alive after disconnection

Start a long‑running command inside a screen session, for example:

screen -S test
ping 10.10.10.1

From a second terminal you can verify the process is running: ps aux | grep ping If the original window is closed, the ping continues because it is owned by the detached screen session. Later you can list sessions with screen -ls and re‑attach: screen -r test When only one session exists, the session name can be omitted ( screen -r).

Vertical split layout

Screen can split the terminal into multiple regions:

Start a new session: screen -S split_demo Enter split mode: press Ctrl‑A S . This creates a horizontal split (upper and lower regions).

Switch focus to the lower region: press Ctrl‑A Tab .

Create a new window in the active region: press Ctrl‑A C . Each region now runs its own shell.

Toggle between regions again with Ctrl‑A Tab .

To close a region, exit the shell inside it ( exit). The split layout persists until the entire screen session ends.

Example screenshots (originally from the article):