This tutorial shows how to terminate a Unix screen session. It can accomplish it most of the time by calling the exist command; however, the command shared here is primarily helpful for unresponsive sessions.
1. What is a Screen Session?
A Screen session is a terminal multiplexer that allows a user to manage multiple terminal windows from a single terminal session. It’s a powerful tool for managing terminal sessions, especially for users who work remotely and need to maintain long-running processes or keep multiple terminal windows open.
Here are some of the key features and benefits of using Screen:
- Persistence: Screen sessions persist even when network connections are lost, and can be reattached later, giving the user access to the same terminal environment they were previously using.
- Multiple windows: Screen allows a user to create multiple windows within a single session, each with its own shell. This is useful for keeping different tasks separate, or for running multiple commands at the same time.
- Detaching and reattaching: Screen can be detached from a terminal session, allowing the user to log out while keeping processes running in the background. The user can then reattach to the session later to resume work.
- Copy-and-paste: Screen has a built-in copy-and-paste mechanism, making it easy to copy text from one window to another.
- Logging: Screen has the ability to log all terminal output to a file, which can be useful for debugging or for keeping a record of commands executed during a session.
- Customization: Screen can be customized using a configuration file, allowing the user to define key bindings, set window titles, and more.
Overall, Screen is a valuable tool for managing terminal sessions, especially for users who need to maintain long-running processes or work remotely.
1. Screen Command Review
If you are interested in learning more about the Unix command screen, the video below is excellent.
2. Terminate A Screen Session
Terminating a screen session is simple; you can use the command below:
$ screen -X -S [session # you want to kill] kill
