5. Commands

A command in screen can either be bound to a key, invoked from a screenrc file, or called from the colon prompt (see section 4. Customizing Screen). As of version 3.3, all commands can be bound to keys, although some may be less useful than others. For a number of real life working examples of the most important commands see the files `etc/screenrc' and `etc/etcscreenrc' of your screen distribution.

In this manual, a command definition looks like this:

-- Command: command [-n] ARG1 [ARG2] ...

(keybindings)
This command does something, but I can't remember what.

An argument in square brackets (`[]') is optional. Many commands take an argument of `on' or `off', which is indicated as state in the definition.

5.1 Default Key Bindings

As mentioned previously, each keyboard command consists of a C-a followed by one other character. For your convenience, all commands that are bound to lower-case letters are also bound to their control character counterparts (with the exception of C-a a; see below). Thus, both C-a c and C-a C-c can be used to create a window.

The following table shows the default key bindings:

C-a '

(select)
Prompt for a window identifier and switch. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

C-a "

(windowlist -b)
Present a list of all windows for selection. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

C-a 0...9, -

(select 0...select 9, select -)
Switch to window number 0...9, or the blank window. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

C-a Tab

(focus)
Switch the input focus to the next region. See section 9. Regions.

C-a C-a

(other)
Toggle to the window displayed previously. If this window does no longer exist, other has the same effect as next. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

C-a a

(meta)
Send the command character (C-a) to window. See escape command. See section 14.3 Command Character.

C-a A

(title)
Allow the user to enter a title for the current window. See section 10.1 Naming Windows (Titles).

C-a b

C-a C-b

(break)
Send a break to the tty. See section 20.2 Break.

C-a B

(pow_break)
Close and reopen the tty-line. See section 20.2 Break.

C-a c

C-a C-c

(screen)
Create a new window with a shell and switch to that window. See section 6.2 Screen Command.

C-a C

(clear)
Clear the screen. See section 11.5 Clear.

C-a d

C-a C-d

(detach)
Detach screen from this terminal. See section 8.1 Detach.

C-a D D

(pow_detach)
Detach and logout. See section 8.2 Power Detach.

C-a f

C-a C-f

(flow)
Cycle flow among `on', `off' or `auto'. See section 15.2 Flow.

C-a F

(fit)
Resize the window to the current region size. See section 11.10 Window Size.

C-a C-g

(vbell)
Toggle visual bell mode. See section 11.4 Bell.

C-a h

(hardcopy)
Write a hardcopy of the current window to the file "hardcopy.n". See section 18.1 hardcopy.

C-a H

(log)
Toggle logging of the current window to the file "screenlog.n". See section 18.2 log.

C-a i

C-a C-i

(info)
Show info about the current window. See section 11.6 Info.

C-a k

C-a C-k

(kill)
Destroy the current window. See section 10.3 Kill.

C-a l

C-a C-l

(redisplay)
Fully refresh the current window. See section 11.7 Redisplay.

C-a L

(login)
Toggle the current window's login state. See section 10.4 Login.

C-a m

C-a C-m

(lastmsg)
Repeat the last message displayed in the message line. See section 17.3 Display Last Message.

C-a M

(monitor) Toggle monitoring of the current window. See section 10.6 Monitoring.

C-a SPC

C-a n

C-a C-n

(next)
Switch to the next window. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

C-a N

(number)
Show the number (and title) of the current window. See section 20.7 Number.

C-a p

C-a C-p

C-a C-h

C-a BackSpace

(prev)
Switch to the previous window (opposite of C-a n). See section 7. Selecting a Window.

C-a q

C-a C-q

(xon)
Send a ^Q (ASCII XON) to the current window. See section 15.3 XON and XOFF.

C-a Q

(only)
Delete all regions but the current one. See section 9. Regions.

C-a r

C-a C-r

(wrap)
Toggle the current window's line-wrap setting (turn the current window's automatic margins on or off). See section 11.8 Wrap.

C-a s

C-a C-s

(xoff)
Send a ^S (ASCII XOFF) to the current window. See section 15.3 XON and XOFF.

C-a S

(split)
Split the current region into two new ones. See section 9. Regions.

C-a t

C-a C-t

(time)
Show the load average and xref. See section 20.9 Time.

C-a v

(version)
Display the version and compilation date. See section 20.11 Version.

C-a C-v

(digraph)
Enter digraph. See section 11.3 Digraph.

C-a w

C-a C-w

(windows)
Show a list of active windows. See section 10.7 Windows.

C-a W

(width)
Toggle between 80 and 132 columns. See section 11.10 Window Size.

C-a x

C-a C-x

(lockscreen)
Lock your terminal. See section 8.3 Lock.

C-a X

(remove)
Kill the current region. See section 9. Regions.

C-a z

C-a C-z

(suspend)
Suspend screen. See section 8.6 Suspend.

C-a Z

(reset)
Reset the virtual terminal to its "power-on" values. See section 11.9 Reset.

C-a .

(dumptermcap)
Write out a `.termcap' file. See section 16.2 Write out the window's termcap entry.

C-a ?

(help)
Show key bindings. See section 14.4 Help.

C-a C-\

(quit)
Kill all windows and terminate screen. See section 8.7 Quit.

C-a :

(colon)
Enter a command line. See section 4.3 Colon.

C-a [

C-a C-[

C-a ESC

(copy)
Enter copy/scrollback mode. See section 12.1 Copying.

C-a ]

C-a C-]

(paste .)
Write the contents of the paste buffer to the stdin queue of the current window. See section 12.2 Paste.

C-a {

C-a }

(history)
Copy and paste a previous (command) line. See section 12.5 History.

C-a >

(writebuf)
Write the paste buffer out to the screen-exchange file. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

C-a <

(readbuf)
Read the screen-exchange file into the paste buffer. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

C-a =

(removebuf)
Delete the screen-exchange file. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

C-a _

(silence)
Start/stop monitoring the current window for inactivity. See section 20.8 Silence,

C-a ,

(license)
Show the copyright page.

C-a *

(displays)
Show the listing of attached displays.

5.2 Command Summary

acladd usernames

Allow other users in this session. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

aclchg usernames permbits list

Change a user's permissions. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

acldel username

Disallow other user in this session. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

aclgrp usrname [groupname]

Inherit permissions granted to a group leader. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

aclumask [users]+/-bits ...

Predefine access to new windows. See section 8.4.7 aclumask.

activity message

Set the activity notification message. See section 10.6 Monitoring.

addacl usernames

Synonym to acladd. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

allpartial state

Set all windows to partial refresh. See section 11.7 Redisplay.

altscreen state

Enables support for the "alternate screen" terminal capability. See section 11.7 Redisplay.

at [ident][#|*|%] command [args]

Execute a command at other displays or windows. See section 20.1 At.

attrcolor attrib [attribute/color-modifier]

Map attributes to colors. See section 20.15 Attrcolor.

autodetach state

Automatically detach the session on SIGHUP. See section 8.1 Detach.

autonuke state

Enable a clear screen to discard unwritten output. See section 16.6 Autonuke.

backtick id lifespan autorefresh command [args]

Define a command for the backtick string escape. See section 20.19 Backtick.

bce [state]

Change background color erase. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

bell_msg [message]

Set the bell notification message. See section 11.4 Bell.

bind [-c class] key [command [args]]

Bind a command to a key. See section 14.1 The bind command.

bindkey [opts] [string [cmd args]]

Bind a string to a series of keystrokes. See section 14.5 Bindkey.

blanker

Blank the screen. See section 20.20 Screen Saver.

blankerprg

Define a blanker program. See section 20.20 Screen Saver.

break [duration]

Send a break signal to the current window. See section 20.2 Break.

breaktype [tcsendbreak | TCSBRK | TIOCSBRK]

Specify how to generate breaks. See section 20.2 Break.

bufferfile [exchange-file]

Select a file for screen-exchange. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

c1 [state]

Change c1 code processing. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

caption mode [string]

Change caption mode and string. See section 9. Regions.

chacl usernames permbits list

Synonym to aclchg. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

charset set

Change character set slot designation. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

chdir [directory]

Change the current directory for future windows. See section 6.1 Chdir.

clear

Clear the window screen. See section 11.5 Clear.

colon

Enter a screen command. See section 4.3 Colon.

command [-c class]

Simulate the screen escape key. See section 14.3 Command Character.

compacthist [state]

Selects compaction of trailing empty lines. See section 12.1.2 Scrollback.

console [state]

Grab or ungrab console output. See section 10.2 Console.

copy

Enter copy mode. See section 12.1 Copying.

copy_reg [key]

Removed. Use paste instead. See section 12.3 Registers.

crlf state

Select line break behavior for copying. See section 12.1.1 CR/LF.

debug state

Suppress/allow debugging output. See section 20.3 Debug.

defautonuke state

Select default autonuke behavior. See section 16.6 Autonuke.

defbce state

Select background color erase. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

defbreaktype [tcsendbreak | TCSBRK | TIOCSBRK]

Specify the default for generating breaks. See section 20.2 Break.

defc1 state

Select default c1 processing behavior. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

defcharset [set]

Change defaul character set slot designation. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

defencoding enc

Select default window encoding. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

defescape xy

Set the default command and meta characters. See section 14.3 Command Character.

defflow fstate

Select default flow control behavior. See section 15.2 Flow.

defgr state

Select default GR processing behavior. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

defhstatus [status]

Select default window hardstatus line. See section 10.8 Hardstatus.

deflog state

Select default window logging behavior. See section 18.2 log.

deflogin state

Select default utmp logging behavior. See section 10.4 Login.

defmode mode

Select default file mode for ptys. See section 10.5 Mode.

defmonitor state

Select default activity monitoring behavior. See section 10.6 Monitoring.

defnonblock state|numsecs

Select default nonblock mode. See section 20.6 Nonblock.

defobuflimit limit

Select default output buffer limit. See section 16.7 Obuflimit.

defscrollback num

Set default lines of scrollback. See section 12.1.2 Scrollback.

defshell command

Set the default program for new windows. See section 6.4 Shell.

defsilence state

Select default idle monitoring behavior. See section 20.8 Silence.

defslowpaste msec

Select the default inter-character timeout when pasting. See section 12.2 Paste.

defutf8 state

Select default character encoding. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

defwrap state

Set default line-wrapping behavior. See section 11.8 Wrap.

defwritelock on|off|auto

Set default writelock behavior. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

defzombie [keys]

Keep dead windows. See section 20.12 Zombie.

detach [-h]

Disconnect screen from the terminal. See section 8.1 Detach.

digraph

Enter digraph sequence. See section 11.3 Digraph.

dinfo

Display terminal information. See section 11.6 Info.

displays

List currently active user interfaces. See section 8.4.6 Displays.

dumptermcap

Write the window's termcap entry to a file. See section 16.2 Write out the window's termcap entry.

echo [-n] message

Display a message on startup. See section 19. Startup.

encoding enc [denc]

Set the encoding of a window. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

escape xy

Set the command and meta characters. See section 14.3 Command Character.

eval command1 [command2 ...]

Parse and execute each argument. See section 20.17 Eval.

exec [[fdpat] command [args ...]]

Run a subprocess (filter). See section 13.1 Exec.

fit

Change window size to current display size. See section 11.10 Window Size.

flow [fstate]

Set flow control behavior. See section 15.2 Flow.

focus

Move focus to next region. See section 9. Regions.

gr [state]

Change GR charset processing. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

hardcopy [-h] [file]

Write out the contents of the current window. See section 18.1 hardcopy.

hardcopy_append state

Append to hardcopy files. See section 18.1 hardcopy.

hardcopydir directory

Place, where to dump hardcopy files. See section 18.1 hardcopy.

hardstatus [state]

Use the hardware status line. See section 17.2 Hardware Status Line.

height [lines [cols]]

Set display height. See section 11.10 Window Size.

help [-c class]

Display current key bindings. See section 14.4 Help.

history

Find previous command beginning .... See section 12.5 History.

hstatus status

Change the window's hardstatus line. See section 10.8 Hardstatus.

idle [timeout [cmd args]]

Define a screen saver command. See section 20.20 Screen Saver.

ignorecase [state]

Ignore character case in searches. See section 12.1.7 Searching.

info

Display window settings. See section 11.6 Info.

ins_reg [key]

Removed, use paste instead. See section 12.3 Registers.

kill

Destroy the current window. See section 10.3 Kill.

lastmsg

Redisplay the last message. See section 17.3 Display Last Message.

license

Display licensing information. See section 19. Startup.

lockscreen

Lock the controlling terminal. See section 8.3 Lock.

log [state]

Log all output in the current window. See section 18.2 log.

logfile filename

Place where to collect logfiles. See section 18.2 log.

login [state]

Log the window in `/var/run/utmp'. See section 10.4 Login.

logtstamp [state]

Configure logfile time-stamps. See section 18.2 log.

mapdefault

Use only the default mapping table for the next keystroke. See section 14.7 Bindkey Control.

mapnotnext

Don't try to do keymapping on the next keystroke. See section 14.7 Bindkey Control.

maptimeout timo

Set the inter-character timeout used for keymapping. See section 14.7 Bindkey Control.

markkeys string

Rebind keys in copy mode. See section 12.1.3 markkeys.

maxwin n

Set the maximum window number. See section 20.18 Maxwin.

meta

Insert the command character. See section 14.3 Command Character.

monitor [state]

Monitor activity in window. See section 10.6 Monitoring.

msgminwait sec

Set minimum message wait. See section 17.4 Message Wait.

msgwait sec

Set default message wait. See section 17.4 Message Wait.

multiuser state

Go into single or multi user mode. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

nethack state

Use nethack-like error messages. See section 20.5 Nethack.

next

Switch to the next window. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

nonblock [state|numsecs]

Disable flow control to the current display. See section 20.6 Nonblock.|numsecs]

number [n]

Change/display the current window's number. See section 20.7 Number.

obuflimit [limit]

Select output buffer limit. See section 16.7 Obuflimit.

only

Kill all other regions. See section 9. Regions.

other

Switch to the window you were in last. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

partial state

Set window to partial refresh. See section 11.7 Redisplay.

password [crypted_pw]

Set reattach password. See section 8.1 Detach.

paste [src_regs [dest_reg]]

Paste contents of paste buffer or registers somewhere. See section 12.2 Paste.

pastefont [state]

Include font information in the paste buffer. See section 12.2 Paste.

pow_break

Close and Reopen the window's terminal. See section 20.2 Break.

pow_detach

Detach and hang up. See section 8.2 Power Detach.

pow_detach_msg [message]

Set message displayed on pow_detach. See section 8.2 Power Detach.

prev

Switch to the previous window. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

printcmd [cmd]

Set a command for VT100 printer port emulation. See section 20.13 Printcmd.

process [key]

Treat a register as input to screen. See section 12.3 Registers.

quit

Kill all windows and exit. See section 8.7 Quit.

readbuf [-e encoding] [filename]

Read the paste buffer from the screen-exchange file. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

readreg [-e encoding] [reg [file]]

Load a register from paste buffer or file. See section 12.3 Registers.

redisplay

Redisplay the current window. See section 11.7 Redisplay.

register [-e encoding] key string

Store a string to a register. See section 12.3 Registers.

remove

Kill current region. See section 9. Regions.

removebuf

Delete the screen-exchange file. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

reset

Reset the terminal settings for the window. See section 11.9 Reset.

resize [(+/-)lines]

Grow or shrink a region

screen [opts] [n] [cmd [args]]

Create a new window. See section 6.2 Screen Command.

scrollback num

Set size of scrollback buffer. See section 12.1.2 Scrollback.

select [n]

Switch to a specified window. See section 7. Selecting a Window.

sessionname [name]

Name this session. See section 8.5 Session Name.

setenv [var [string]]

Set an environment variable for new windows. See section 6.3 Setenv.

setsid state

Controll process group creation for windows. See section 20.16 Setsid.

shell command

Set the default program for new windows. See section 6.4 Shell.

shelltitle title

Set the default name for new windows. See section 6.4 Shell.

silence [state|seconds]

Monitor a window for inactivity. See section 20.8 Silence.

silencewait seconds

Default timeout to trigger an inactivity notify. See section 20.8 Silence.

sleep num

Pause during startup. See section 19. Startup.

slowpaste msec

Slow down pasting in windows. See section 12.2 Paste.

source file

Run commands from a file. See section 4.2 Source.

sorendition [attr [color]]

Change text highlighting. See section 20.14 Sorendition.

split

Split region into two parts. See section 9. Regions.

startup_message state

Display copyright notice on startup. See section 19. Startup.

stuff string

Stuff a string in the input buffer of a window. See section 12.2 Paste.

su [username [password [password2]]]

Identify a user. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

suspend

Put session in background. See section 8.6 Suspend.

term term

Set $TERM for new windows. See section 6.5 Term.

termcap term terminal-tweaks [window-tweaks]

Tweak termcap entries for best performance. See section 16.3 The termcap command.

terminfo term terminal-tweaks [window-tweaks]

Ditto, for terminfo systems. See section 16.3 The termcap command.

termcapinfo term terminal-tweaks [window-tweaks]

Ditto, for both systems. See section 16.3 The termcap command.

time [string]

Display time and load average. See section 20.9 Time.

title [windowtitle]

Set the name of the current window. See section 10.1.1 Title Command.

umask [users]+/-bits ...

Synonym to aclumask. See section 8.4.7 aclumask.

unsetenv var

Unset environment variable for new windows. See section 6.3 Setenv.

utf8 [state [dstate]]

Select character encoding of the current window. See section 11.11 Character Processing.

vbell [state]

Use visual bell. See section 11.4 Bell.

vbell_msg [message]

Set vbell message. See section 11.4 Bell.

vbellwait sec

Set delay for vbell message. See section 11.4 Bell.

version

Display screen version. See section 20.11 Version.

wall message

Write a message to all displays. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

width [cols [lines]]

Set the width of the window. See section 11.10 Window Size.

windowlist [-b] | string [string] | title [title]

Present a list of all windows for selection. See section 7.4 Windowlist.

windows

List active windows. See section 10.7 Windows.

wrap [state]

Control line-wrap behavior. See section 11.8 Wrap.

writebuf [-e encoding] [filename]

Write paste buffer to screen-exchange file. See section 12.4 Screen Exchange.

writelock on|off|auto

Grant exclusive write permission. See section 8.4 Multiuser Session.

xoff

Send an XOFF character. See section 15.3 XON and XOFF.

xon

Send an XON character. See section 15.3 XON and XOFF.

zmodem [off|auto|catch|pass]

Define how screen treats zmodem requests. See section 20.21 Zmodem.

zombie [keys]

Keep dead windows. See section 20.12 Zombie.