6.2 Screen Command

Command: screen [opts] [n] [cmd [args]]

(C-a c, C-a C-c)
Establish a new window. The flow-control options (`-f', `-fn' and `-fa'), title option (`-t'), login options (`-l' and `-ln') , terminal type option (`-T term'), the all-capability-flag (`-a') and scrollback option (`-h num') may be specified with each command. The option (`-M') turns monitoring on for this window. The option (`-L') turns output logging on for this window. If an optional number n in the range 0...9 is given, the window number n is assigned to the newly created window (or, if this number is already in-use, the next available number). If a command is specified after screen, this command (with the given arguments) is started in the window; otherwise, a shell is created.

Screen has built in some functionality of `cu' and `telnet'. See section 6.6 Window Types.

Thus, if your `.screenrc' contains the lines

# example for .screenrc: screen 1 screen -fn -t foobar 2 -L telnet foobar

screen creates a shell window (in window #1) and a window with a TELNET connection to the machine foobar (with no flow-control using the title `foobar' in window #2) and will write a logfile `screenlog.2' of the telnet session. If you do not include any screen commands in your `.screenrc' file, then screen defaults to creating a single shell window, number zero. When the initialization is completed, screen switches to the last window specified in your .screenrc file or, if none, it opens default window #0.