260

Is it possible to change the name of a GNU screen session? Say I called started it with "screen -S foo" and I want to rename it to bar.

Improve this question
1
  • 16
    @l0b0 That's about naming. This is about renaming.
    – moinudin
    Aug 9, 2012 at 18:06

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
115

If there are several sessions, use:

screen -S 8890.foo -X sessionname bar
Improve this answer
6
  • 9
    This is a better answer than the one above because it deals with the general case of multiple sessions
    – doon
    May 21, 2013 at 17:21
  • 2
    This is the best answer
    – Coc
    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:18
  • 2
    get the actual session name with screen -ls as mentioned in the other answers
    – swiesend
    Feb 13, 2019 at 3:39
  • This is a much better answer, which is clear and simple. Thank you so much.
    – Mars Lee
    Apr 2, 2019 at 13:45
  • use -R is better to find the full default session name rather than -S (type manually)
    – dtlam26
    Oct 25, 2021 at 7:59
376

Summary

C-a :sessionname mySessionName

Details

This is,

  1. Attach to the session in question.

  2. Press Ctrl+A.

  3. Type :sessionname mySessionName – yes, the first colon is needed there, no extra spaces.

  4. Type Enter.

Example

$ screen -S foo
[detached from 8890.foo]
$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
    8890.foo    (22/12/11 18:39:22) (Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-user.

$ screen -r

Ctrl+A:sessionname bars

[detached from 8890.bars]
$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
    8890.bars   (22/12/11 18:39:21) (Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-user.

$

Renaming without attaching

Screen's -X switch lets you rename a session without attaching it.

$ screen -X sessionname foobars
$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
    8890.foobars    (22/12/11 18:39:22) (Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-user.

$

Alternatively, you can specifically target a screen session by its existing name or id (useful if there are already multiple sessions):

$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
    8890.foo        (02/23/2015 18:39:22)   (Detached)
    5136.barfoos    (02/23/2015 18:39:22)   (Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-user.

$ screen -S 8890.foo -X sessionname foobars
$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
    8890.foobars    (02/23/2015 18:39:22)   (Detached)
    5136.barfoos    (02/23/2015 18:39:22)   (Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-user.

$
Improve this answer
0
11

This renames the current window title within a session, as displayed in the window list when you press Ctrl - a+":

  • While in a screen session press Ctrl - a + A (it's an uppercase a, i.e. Shift+a), type the new name, and press Enter

Now when you do Ctrl - a+" the name you set will appear in the window list instead of bash.

NOTE: This does not answer the original question, but I am not deleting the answer since apparently some of the visitors to this thread searched for a way to rename the window title, and not the actual session as the OP asked.

Improve this answer
1
  • 6
    I think the question was about renaming the session, but this answer renames windows.
    – Dan Gravell
    Sep 9, 2014 at 9:48

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.