Subj : Re: Screen or tmux?
To   : paulie420
From : Gamgee
Date : Sat May 01 2021 09:35 pm

-=> paulie420 wrote to acn <=-

 ac> I'm using screen, just because that's the command I learned first and it
 ac> works just fine for the purposes I need it, which are mostly "keep a
 ac> session open even if I get disconnected from my SSH session" and "use a
 ac> single SSH session but run multiple shell commands in parallel".
 ac> And I got used to the basic Ctrl-A key commands :)

 pa> I'm jumping in here, and apologies for such. :P

Jumping in is allowed, and encouraged!

 pa> I do not use screen/tmux... I've used it a time or two that I
 pa> needed to do something special with irssi (put handles on the
 pa> left side of screen..) but I don't understand/know what its uses
 pa> ARE.

 pa> I think I can... SSH into my BBS box and say, run the server..
 pa> and if I close the SSH window it'll keep the server open on the
 pa> BBS Box side?

Yes.

 pa> Would you mind explaining a quick overview of what screen is? And
 pa> used for? Possibly how it help sysOps running a BBS on another
 pa> system on their network.

It's a terminal multiplexer.  It allows you to connect into a remote 
system, open a screen session (terminal), and run something in that 
terminal.  You can then "detach" from that screen session, close your 
SSH connection, and go on with whatever else you might be doing.  Later, 
you can SSH back to that machine, and "reconnect" to that open terminal 
which is still running whatever you started in it.

Here's an example of one way that I use it.  I have an Raspberry Pi 
running 24x7, which does various things for me (it does not run my BBS 
though).  I SSH to it from my laptop (either from within the LAN, or 
remotely from another state if I'm traveling).  I have opened a screen 
session on it, and started the 'irssi' IRC client in that terminal.  
This connects and idles in the Synchronet IRC channel.  I then can 
detach from that session (with Ctrl-A, D), and close my SSH connection.  
A few hours, or a few days later, I can SSH back to the RPi, restore my 
screen session (with "screen -r"), and BAM! my irssi client is there 
where I can scroll back and see what's been talked about while I was 
gone.  Maybe I add some comments, whatever.  Then I detach and close 
again, and the irssi client continues running while I'm gone.  This 
allows me to maintain a "presence" in that channel even if I'm not 
actively watching it for a while, and I can catch up when it's 
convenient for me.  You can open as many screen sessions on a remote 
host as you'd like, all doing something different, and all will keep on 
working after you detach.  Pretty cool stuff.

 pa> Also, pls know that I'm 'man screen'ing right now... :P

Good call!



.... Toto, I don't think we're in DOS any more...
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