GNU Screen Keyboard Shortcuts
Complete GNU Screen keyboard shortcuts reference — 54 shortcuts across 7 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Linux & Mac.
Sessions (7)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, d | Detach |
| Ctrl + A, D, D | Detach and Logout |
| Ctrl + A, z | Suspend |
| Ctrl + A, x | Lock Terminal |
| Ctrl + A, Ctrl + \ | Quit Screen |
| Ctrl + A, : | Command Line |
| Ctrl + A, ? | Show Key Bindings |
Windows (13)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, c | New Window |
| Ctrl + A, n | Next Window |
| Ctrl + A, p | Previous Window |
| Ctrl + A, Ctrl + A | Toggle Previous Window |
| Ctrl + A, 0 | Select Window by Number |
| Ctrl + A, ' | Select Window by Name |
| Ctrl + A, " | Window List |
| Ctrl + A, w | Show Window List |
| Ctrl + A, A | Rename Window |
| Ctrl + A, k | Kill Window |
| Ctrl + A, N | Show Window Number |
| Ctrl + A, M | Toggle Monitoring |
| Ctrl + A, _ | Monitor for Silence |
Split Regions (5)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, S | Split Horizontally |
| Ctrl + A, Tab | Next Region |
| Ctrl + A, Q | Only This Region |
| Ctrl + A, X | Kill Region |
| Ctrl + A, F | Fit Window to Region |
Copy & Paste (6)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, [ | Copy Mode |
| Ctrl + A, ] | Paste |
| Ctrl + A, { | Copy Previous Line |
| Ctrl + A, > | Write Exchange File |
| Ctrl + A, < | Read Exchange File |
| Ctrl + A, = | Delete Exchange File |
Display (7)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, C | Clear Screen |
| Ctrl + A, l | Refresh |
| Ctrl + A, Z | Reset Terminal |
| Ctrl + A, W | Toggle Column Width |
| Ctrl + A, r | Toggle Line Wrap |
| Ctrl + A, Ctrl + G | Toggle Visual Bell |
| Ctrl + A, * | Show Attached Displays |
Info & Logging (8)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, i | Window Info |
| Ctrl + A, t | Show Time and Load |
| Ctrl + A, m | Repeat Last Message |
| Ctrl + A, v | Show Version |
| Ctrl + A, , | Show Copyright |
| Ctrl + A, h | Write Hardcopy |
| Ctrl + A, H | Toggle Logging |
| Ctrl + A, . | Dump Termcap |
Terminal Control (8)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Ctrl + A, a | Send Command Character |
| Ctrl + A, b | Send Break |
| Ctrl + A, B | Reopen TTY |
| Ctrl + A, f | Cycle Flow Control |
| Ctrl + A, q | Send XON |
| Ctrl + A, s | Send XOFF |
| Ctrl + A, L | Toggle Login State |
| Ctrl + A, Ctrl + V | Enter Digraph |
📜 Every shortcut on this page is taken from the official GNU Screen documentation —
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