QA
Intermediate LevelLinux Commands & SysAdmin

How do tmux and screen keep terminal sessions alive across SSH disconnects?

❓ Interview Prompt: Compare tmux vs screen, session persistence, detaching (Ctrl+B d), reattaching (tmux attach), and window splitting.

Terminal multiplexers ('tmux' and 'screen') run shell sessions inside persistent background processes on the server:

Benefit:

If your SSH network connection drops during a long-running migration or backup, the session inside tmux continues executing uninterrupted!

Essential tmux Commands:

•
'tmux new -s work': Start new named session.
•
'Ctrl+B d': Detach from active session.
•
'tmux attach -t work': Reattach to running background session.

Code Implementation Example

bash
# Start persistent tmux session named 'migration'
tmux new -s migration

# Detach from session: Press Ctrl+b then 'd'

# List running tmux sessions
tmux ls

# Reattach to session after SSH reconnect
tmux attach -t migration
💡Managing persistent terminal sessions using tmux.
🎯 Interview Key Takeaway

Use tmux for long-running scripts over SSH to prevent task failure when network connections drop.

#tmux#screen#Terminal Multiplexer#Intermediate
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