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screen Commands

Commands may be placed in your .screenrc file, run from screen's command line, bound to keypresses, or triggered by other commands (e.g. at or eval). Some are used to configure screen's behavior, while others cause screen to take various actions.

The following commands are available:

  • acladd - Adds users with full permission to all windows.
  • aclchg - Adds users with more flexible permissions or changes the permissions on an existing user.
  • acldel - Removes a user from screen's knowledge.
  • aclgrp - Adds a user to a group or just describes user's group membership.
  • aclumask - Sets default permissions for windows not yet created.
  • activity - Set message displayed by screen when a monitored window shows activity.
  • addacl - Synonym for acladd.
  • allpartial - Global command equivalent to setting partial for all current windows.
  • altscreen - Enables “alternate screen” support (ti and te termcap settings) for screen windows.
  • attrcolor - Remaps the effect of text attributes.
  • autonuke - Determines whether a given window will attempt to display buffered text after a clear command is received.
  • bce - Sets or toggle background-color-erase setting.
  • bell_msg - Changes the message printed when a bell character is received in another window.
  • bind - Binds a command to a key as a standard screen command.
  • bindkey - Binds a command to an arbitrary keypress in any of screen's input translation tables.
  • breaktype - Currently a synonym for defbreaktype
  • c1 - Sets or toggles c1 code processing.
  • caption - Controls the display of the caption line at the bottom of screen windows.
  • chacl - Synonym for aclchg.
  • charset - Changes the current character set slot designation and charset mapping.
  • clear - Clears the current window, but puts its text into the scrollback buffer.
  • command - Activates a command class.
  • defautonuke - Changes the default autonuke setting for new windows.
  • defbce - Same as bce, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defbreaktype - Sets the type of break signal sent via the break or pow_break command.
  • defc1 - Same as c1, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defcharset - Same as charset, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defencoding - Same as encoding, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defflow - Same as flow, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defgr - Same as gr, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defhstatus - Sets the default hardstatus line for new windows.
  • defmonitor - Set the default monitoring status for new windows.
  • defnonblock - Same as nonblock, but sets the default setting for new displays.
  • defsilence - Set the default silence monitoring status for new windows.
  • defutf8 - Same as utf8, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defwrap - Same as wrap, but sets the default setting for new windows.
  • defwritelock - Sets the default writelock setting for new windows.
  • dinfo - Shows what settings screen is using for the current display.
  • dumptermcap - Tells screen to create a .termcap file in its socket directory.
  • echo - Displays a message on the current display as if it were a screen message.
  • encoding - Sets the character encoding for the current window.
  • escape - Changes screen's command prefix character.
  • fit - Resizes the window to fit the current display region.
  • flow - Sets the current window's flow control mode.
  • focus - Moves input focus between regions.
  • gr - Sets or toggles GR charset switching.
  • hardstatus - Controls use of the terminal's hardstatus line (if any) for displaying screen messages.
  • height - Changes the dimensions of the window or the display.
  • help - Displays the current keybindings.
  • hstatus - Synonym for “hardstatus string status”.
  • info - Displays information about screen and the current window in the message area.
  • lastmsg - Redisplays the last message that screen showed on the current display.
  • license - Displays screen's license, as happens when screen starts up.
  • mapdefault - Prevents the next keypress from being looked up in the user input translation table.
  • mapnotnext - Prevents the next keypress from being looked up in any input translation table.
  • maptimeout - Sets the inter-character timeout for multi-character keybindings.
  • markkeys - Changes the keybindings for copy mode.
  • meta - Sends the screen command prefix character to the current window.
  • monitor - Set the monitoring status for the current window.
  • msgminwait - Sets the minimum length of time that a screen message will be visible even if the user interacts with screen.
  • msgwait - Sets the length of time that a message will remain visible if the user does not interact with screen during the lifetime of the message.
  • multiuser - Enables or disables multiuser mode.
  • nethack - Controls the use of nethack-themed messages from screen.
  • nonblock - Sets or toggles screen's behavior when a display stops receiving characters.
  • only - Removes all regions except the current one.
  • partial - Sets whether screen should draw the entire window when switching windows.
  • printcmd - Shows or sets the command used for handling the ANSI print sequence ESC [ 5 i.
  • remove - Removes the current region.
  • reset - Resets the current window's virtual terminal settings to their default settings.
  • resize - Resizes the current region.
  • silence - Set the silence monitoring status for the current window.
  • silencewait - Set the silence timeout for all windows.
  • sorendition - Defines the visual appearance of screen's messages.
  • split - Splits the current region into two new regions.
  • startup_message - Enables or disables the display of screen's license information when screen starts up.
  • stuff - Sends a string to the current window.
  • term - Changes the value of $TERM that screen passes to its windows' child processes.
  • termcap - Tweaks termcap entries for either screen's interaction with the display terminal or for the virtual terminal presented to child programs.
  • termcapinfo - Tweaks termcap and terminfo entries for either screen's interaction with the display terminal or for the virtual terminal presented to child programs.
  • terminfo - Tweaks terminfo entries for either screen's interaction with the display terminal or for the virtual terminal presented to child programs.
  • time - Displays (or controls the display of) system information.
  • umask - Synonym for aclumask.
  • utf8 - Changes or toggles the encoding on the current window.
  • vbell - Sets or toggles the visual bell.
  • vbell_msg - Sets or displays the message displayed for visual bells.
  • vbellwait - Defines a hysteresis for visual bells.
  • version - Uses the message area to display screen's version and compile date.
  • wall - Like echo, but sends the message to all displays, with the name of the current user prepended.
  • width - Like height, but with the order of arguments reversed.
  • wrap - Sets or toggles the current window's line wrap setting.
  • writelock - Sets writelock mode for current window.
  • xoff - Sends an XOFF (^S) to the current window.
  • xon - Sends an XON (^Q) to the current window.
  • zmodem - Sets screen's handling of zmodem communcations.

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