ssh X forwarding and screen

john_schaf · 2008-01-08 09:30:32

Hello everybody,

I'm using screen on a distant server, but when I disconnect and come back later, type "screen -r", everything comes back but the X forwarding of the ssh connection has been lost. Is there a way to reconnect it ?

dr_te_z · 2008-01-08 11:18:23

Use screen on your local destop, then build the connection to the remote server. When you disconnect your local screen, the connection should be maintained. This only works if you local machine runs linux or bsd which is capable of running screen.

john_schaf · 2008-01-08 13:58:17

thank you for your answers.
This works but then I have to keep my local screen running, and so I cannot turn off my computer ...
any other idea ?

dr_te_z · 2008-01-08 21:14:29

No. when you want to sustain a connections between 2 computers, you cannot power 1 of them off... with or without gnu-screen.

gothmog.todi · 2008-01-08 21:33:30

Maybe xmove works in this situation.
Take a look here: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/All … ter_logoff

Another way would be using vnc... I think with tightvnc it is possible to not connect to a whole desktop but to a single application.

john_schaf · 2008-01-09 14:29:49

dr_te_z wrote:

No. when you want to sustain a connections between 2 computers, you cannot power 1 of them off... with or without gnu-screen.

I don't want to sustain the connection, I just want to reconnect when I come back

xmove may do the trick, I'll try that, thanks.

print · 2009-01-03 04:00:30

xmove seems overkill to me. According to Skerit at ubuntu forums (http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-252258.html)

[X] uses ["localhost:10"] to forward applications over SSH by default.

Additionally, I found some other code that detects whether GNU/screen is active here (http://www.jukie.net/~bart/conf/zsh.d/S51_screen).

In relevant part:

# WINDOW is set when we are in a screen session
if [ -n "$WINDOW" ] ; then 
. . .

Adding those together on the remote machine (where I'm running GNU/Screen) I get this, which just works:

if [ -n $WINDOW ] ; then # we're in screen
  export DISPLAY=localhost:10
fi

b100dian · 2009-09-28 20:07:10

Wow. Just reading this.

You mean you're connecting through SSH + X forwarding and launching the applications you would want to be persistent with "screen"? and they automagically connect to the xmove server?

I think I would find this useful too, but how do you start xmove, from an /etc/rc.d or .xsession stuff? how do you prevent more from running (one from the local computer and one from the remote x session)?

Thanks.

graysky · 2009-09-28 20:42:51

tightvnc rocks in this regard. You can start a tightvnc server on your remote PC and depending on your connect speed, interact with it in near real-time (non-graphically intense applications). See the wiki page for more:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Tightvnc

b100dian · 2009-09-28 21:38:26

Thanks graysky I know of this option. But I love having just the XFCE panel on top of my Windows machine from work;)

japetto · 2009-10-01 12:56:35

How about you just install Arch and XFCE on your work computer?

Arch Linux

#1 2008-01-08 09:30:32

ssh X forwarding and screen

#2 2008-01-08 11:18:23

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#3 2008-01-08 13:58:17

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#4 2008-01-08 21:14:29

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#5 2008-01-08 21:33:30

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#6 2008-01-09 14:29:49

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#7 2009-01-03 04:00:30

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#8 2009-09-28 20:07:10

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#9 2009-09-28 20:42:51

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#10 2009-09-28 21:38:26

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

#11 2009-10-01 12:56:35

Re: ssh X forwarding and screen

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