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Asked: 2024-09-24T06:51:26+05:30 In:

How can I connect back to a previously started screen session in Ubuntu?

So, I’ve been diving into some terminal work on my Ubuntu machine lately, and I got a bit carried away with my screen sessions. You know how it goes—got a bunch of processes running, and then life happens, and I completely lose track of them. I started a screen session to run some long scripts, and I thought I’d be able to just come back to it later. But now I’m sitting here scratching my head, unsure how to reconnect to that session and see what’s been happening.

I remember starting it up with `screen`, and I definitely didn’t close it, but I must have accidentally wandered off without attaching it properly. I know there are supposed to be some commands or shortcuts to help me out, but I keep getting confused with all the terminal options. There’s `screen -ls`, and I can see the session listed there, but I’m stuck on how to actually attach back to it without messing anything up.

I’ve tried a couple of commands, but they either just give me an error or throw me into a new session, which is super frustrating. Maybe I’m just not using the right flags or something? Is there a specific command I need to type? Or do I need to do something extra to trick Ubuntu into letting me back into my previous session? It would be a total bummer to lose all that work, especially since it was crunching through some data that I really need to finish up.

If anyone has been in this situation before and has a simple step-by-step method for reconnecting to a screen session, I’d really appreciate it! I’d rather not have to reboot or anything like that, because I don’t want to potentially lose any data or progress. So, how do I go about getting back into my previously started screen session without losing my mind? Help a fellow Ubuntu user out!

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    2 Answers


    1. Reconnecting to Your Screen Session in Ubuntu

      It sounds like you’ve found yourself in a classic screen session predicament! No worries, I got you covered with some simple steps to get you back into that session.

      Steps to Reconnect to Your Screen Session

      1. First, let’s check the available screen sessions. Type this in your terminal:
        2. screen -ls

        This command will list all your current screen sessions. You should see something like:

        There is a screen on:
            1234.pts-0.hostname     (01/01/20 12:34:56 PM)     (Detached)
        1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-username.
      2. Once you see the session you want to reconnect to (e.g., 1234.pts-0.hostname), it’s time to attach back to it. Use this command:
        3. screen -r 1234
      3. If you have multiple sessions and it complains about it, you can specify the complete session name:
        4. screen -r 1234.pts-0.hostname
      4. If you get an error saying there are multiple sessions and don’t know which one, you can use:
        5. screen -r

        This will give you a list of options to attach the desired session.

      What if You Can’t Attach?

      If you can’t attach because, say, the session is “attached elsewhere,” you can ’force’ it by using:

      screen -dr 1234

      This will detach the session from wherever it’s attached and let you access it directly.

      Final Tips:

      • Just remember, to detach from a session and leave it running, you can use Ctrl+A followed by D.
      • To kick off a new screen session, you can always run screen again with no worries about mixing things up.

      Give that a shot and you should be back in business without losing your precious data!



    2. To reconnect to your existing screen session in Ubuntu, you first need to list all active screen sessions using the command screen -ls. This will display all the screen sessions currently running on your machine, along with their respective identifiers. Once you’ve identified the session you want to reconnect to, you can attach to it by using the command screen -r [session_id], where [session_id] is the unique identifier for your session. If there’s only one session running, you can simply use screen -r without specifying the ID, and it will attach you to that session automatically. If the session is detached, this command should allow you to re-enter it seamlessly.

      If you encounter an error stating that your session is already attached, and you’re certain you want to access it anyway, you can forcibly attach by using screen -d -r [session_id]. This detaches the other terminal instance before attaching you back into your session. Make sure to save any necessary work regularly, as abrupt detachment can sometimes lead to lost progress. By following these steps, you should be able to return to your previous screen session without losing any data and continue your work smoothly.


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