Linux – create and manipulate unix “screens” in a script

gnu-screenlinuxscriptingunix

I have a work environment on my Ubuntu laptop in which I want to use three different screens.

Eg. in terminal, I usually write

screen -S mywork
run_server_1

then, ctrl-a c to create a second screen

run_server_2

etc.

I'd like to write a script to automate setting up this environment, but how can I control multiple screens from one script?

Update : I really want to be able to do this from a shell script, not a screen config. file. Is there a way to do that?

Best Answer

Reading man pages and tutorials helps

I would say that you want to do is create a file $HOME/.screenrc.multiwin

# read in your normal screenrc
# before anything else
source $HOME/.screenrc
# now start opening windows
# it's possible to set the window title with
# the -t option
# you can also specify the window number
# to launch in
screen -t server1 5 run_server_1
screen -t server2 6 run_server_2

Then running

screen -c $HOME/.screenrc.multiwin

will do what you need

Related Solutions

Directories on Unix and Unix-like Systems – Understanding Their Meaning

For more data on the layout of Linux file-systems, look at the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (now at version 2.3, with the beta 3.0 version deployed on most recent distros). It does explain some of where the names came from:

/bin - Binaries.
/boot - Files required for booting.
/dev - Device files.
/etc - Et cetera. The name is inherited from the earliest Unixes, which is when it became the spot to put config-files.
/home - Where home directories are kept.
/lib - Where code libraries are kept.
/media - A more modern directory, but where removable media gets mounted.
/mnt - Where temporary file-systems are mounted.
/opt - Where optional add-on software is installed. This is discrete from /usr/local/ for reasons I'll get to later.
/run - Where runtime variable data is kept.
/sbin - Where super-binaries are stored. These usually only work with root.
/srv - Stands for "serve". This directory is intended for static files that are served out. /srv/http would be for static websites, /srv/ftp for an FTP server.
/tmp - Where temporary files may be stored.
/usr - Another directory inherited from the Unixes of old, it stands for "UNIX System Resources". It does not stand for "user" (see the Debian Wiki). This directory should be sharable between hosts, and can be NFS mounted to multiple hosts safely. It can be mounted read-only safely.
/var - Another directory inherited from the Unixes of old, it stands for "variable". This is where system data that varies may be stored. Such things as spool and cache directories may be located here. If a program needs to write to the local file-system and isn't serving that data to someone directly, it'll go here.

/opt vs /usr/local

The rule of thumb I've seen is best described as:

Use /usr/local for things that would normally go into /usr, or are overriding things that are already in /usr. Use /opt for things that install all in one directory, or are otherwise special.

How to Kill a Specific Screen in GNU Screen

From the man page :

   -X   Send the specified command to a running screen  session.  You  can
        use  the  -d or -r option to tell screen to look only for attached
        or detached screen sessions. Note that this command  doesn't  work
        if the session is password protected.

You can do :

        screen -X -S <sessionid> kill

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Directories on Unix and Unix-like Systems – Understanding Their Meaning

How to Kill a Specific Screen in GNU Screen

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