Linux multi window terminal Screen and Tmux
Screen allows for multi window connection using a single ssh session. It also allows to detach from the session screen while still running a remote session.
Screen
sudo apt-get install screen
Key terms
- window -it's a separate window that you can switch between
- region -your terminal screen can be divided in regions where each can hold multiple windows
Useful commands and key bindings
$ screen -ls #list detached sessions $ screen -r #re attach
C^a c -create new prompt C^a tab -move to a next window C^a | -split vertically C^a S -split horizontly C^a \ -kill all windows, terminate any ssh sessions and exit GNU Screen program
Key | Action | Notes |
---|---|---|
Ctrl+a c | new window | |
Ctrl+a n | next window | I bind F12 to this |
Ctrl+a p | previous window | I bind F11 to this |
Ctrl+a " | select window from list | I have window list in the status line |
Ctrl+a Ctrl+a | previous window viewed | |
Ctrl+a S | split terminal horizontally into regions | Ctrl+a c to create new window there |
split terminal vertically into regions | Requires screen >= 4.1 | |
Ctrl+a :resize | resize region | |
Ctrl+a :fit | fit screen size to new terminal size | Ctrl+a F is the same. Do after resizing xterm |
Ctrl+a :remove | remove region | Ctrl+a X is the same |
Ctrl+a tab | Move to next region | |
Ctrl+a d | detach screen from terminal | Start screen with -r option to reattach |
Ctrl+a A | set window title | |
Ctrl+a x | lock session | Enter user password to unlock |
Ctrl+a [ | enter scrollback/copy mode | Enter to start and end copy region. Ctrl+a ] to leave this mode |
Ctrl+a ] | paste buffer | Supports pasting between windows |
Ctrl+a > | write paste buffer to file | useful for copying between screens |
Ctrl+a < | read paste buffer from file | useful for pasting between screens |
Ctrl+a ? | show key bindings/command names | Note unbound commands only in man page |
Ctrl+a : | goto screen command prompt | up shows last command entered |
Scroll back - a copy mode
In GNU Screen press Ctrl + a + [
or C^a C^ESC
to enter Copy Mode, then scroll PgUp/PgDown or up/down using keys j or k. Use Enter key to start and end selection coping to registry/buffer. Below are some other navigation keys:
h - Move the cursor left by one character j - Move the cursor down by one line k - Move the cursor up by one line l - Move the cursor right by one character 0 - Move to the beginning of the current line $ - Move to the end of the current line. G - Moves to the specified line (defaults to the end of the buffer). C-u - Scrolls a half page up. C-b - Scrolls a full page up. C-d - Scrolls a half page down. C-f - Scrolls the full page down. PgUp / PgDown - Scrolls a page up/down
Define scrollback buffer size start screen with the following key (5000 lines in this example):
screen -h 5000
Update: You can use activate copy mode of GNU Screen also by Ctrl + Esc that might be more useful than Ctrl + a + [ shortcut (thanks to Yu-Jie Lin for this tip).
Custom configuration
By default the config is kept in ~/.screenrc
file but using -c option we can pass a custom config
~$ screen -c screen-4regions.screen
Example of a config file:
~$ cat screen-4regions.screen layout FourScreens #it's a new feature, makes screen aware of regions layout # Region 0 screen -t mail1-queue #creates new terminal/prompt select 0 #select window0 stuff "echo Window0^M" #echo a string between quotes, ^M translates to EOL means enter-return key stuff "sshpass -p 'password' ssh -o PubkeyAuthentication=no root@example.com^M" #ssh interactively split #split horizontally split -v #split vertically # Region 1 select 1 focus #get focus on a selected region screen -t mail2-queue sshpass -p 'password' ssh -o PubkeyAuthentication=no root@example.com #create a new terminal/prompt -t mail2-queue in the focus window and #executes the command stuff "echo Window1^M" # Region 2 select 2 focus screen -t mail1 stuff "echo Window2^M" split -v # Region 3 select 3 focus screen -t mail2 stuff "echo Window3^M" altscreen on term screen-256color bind ',' prev bind '.' next # #change the hardstatus settings to give an window list at the bottom of the #screen, with the time and date and with the current window highlighted hardstatus alwayslastline #hardstatus string '%{= kG}%-Lw%{= kW}%50> %n%f* %t%{= kG}%+Lw%< %{= kG}%-=%c:%s%{-}' hardstatus string '%{= kG}[ %{G}%H %{g}][%= %{= kw}%?%-Lw%?%{r}(%{W}%n*%f%t%?(%u)%?%{r})%{w}%?%+Lw%?%?%= %{g}][%{B} %m-%d %{W}%c %{g}]' #layout save default #makes regions saved when you re-attach a session
Tmux
sudo apt-get install tmux #Linux
In Windows
- Install Git for Windows SDK
- run
/bin/pacman -S tmux
Sessions, windows, panes
- Session is a set of windows, plus a notion of which window is current.
- Window is a single screen covered with panes. (Once might compare it to a ‘virtual desktop’ or a ‘space’.)
- Pane is a rectangular part of a window that runs a specific command, e.g. a shell.
It’s tmux, a so-called terminal multiplexer. Simply speaking, tmux acts as a window manager within your terminal1 and allows you to create multiple windows and panes within a single terminal window. Within one terminal window you can open multiple windows and split-views (called “panes” in tmux lingo). Each pane will contain its own, independently running terminal instance. This allows you to have multiple terminal commands and applications running visually next to each other without the need to open multiple terminal emulator windows.
Useful key bindings
C^b c -create a window aka new virtual desktop, it creates a full size window on top of your panes C^b " -split a pane horizontly C^b % -split a pane vertically C^d -cloase a pane, also type exit C^b up,down,left,right arrow -move to neighbouring pane C^b 0-9 -move to the window based on index C^b {} -swap panes { to left or to } right swap C^b , -rename the current window C^b d -detach the current session C^D D -gives you a choice what session you wish to detach
- Screen navigation
Function vi emacs -------- -- ----- Half page down C-d M-Down Half page up C-u M-Up Next page C-f Page down Previous page C-b Page up Scroll down C-Down or C-e C-Down Scroll up C-Up or C-y C-Up Search again n n Search again in reverse N N Search backward ? C-r Search forward / C-s
- Copy/paste in the default Emacs style
C^b,[ # enter copy mode # navigate to beginning of text, you want to select C^Space # to activate highlighting # move around using arrow keys to select region Alt+w # copy the region C^b,] # paste the selection
Managging sessions
C-b ( previous session C-b ) next session C-b L 'last' (previously used) session C-b s choose a session from a list
tmux new -s database #creates a new session named database tmux rename-session -t 0 database tmux switch -t session_name tmux ls #lists all detached sessions tmux attach -t 0 #attach to terminal 0 session
Terminator
Terminator is user frendly, gui scalable terminal with layouts, multi windows, tabs and broadcast function
$ sudo apt install terminator
Useful key bindings
Alt+Arrow Move to another terminal C^+Shift+X Maximise current window, press again to revert C^+Shift+Z Zooms the current terminal, press again to revert C^+Shift+O Split terminals Horizontally. C^+Shift+E Split terminals Vertically. C^+Shift+Arrow Resize windows by moving parent dragbar C^+Shift+T Open new tab C^+Shift+PgUp Switch between tabs, PgDown in reverse order C^+Shift+W Close the current terminal. C^+Shift+Q Quit terminator C^+Plus (+) Increase font size. Note: this may require you to press shift, depending on your keyboard C^+Minus(-) Decrease font size. Note: this may require you to press shift C^+Zero Restore font size to original setting. Super+G Group all Super+Shift+G Ungroup all
References
- User Guide HTML one page
- Tmux Official website
- tmux cheat sheet TOP CLASS!
- Terminator Key bindings man page