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Version: V3

View the Screen Console over SSH

Game services whose blueprint's console Output source is Screen, on a native Linux server, run inside a detached GNU screen session named svc<id>. The <id> is the number in the service's panel URL. You can attach to that session over SSH and watch or use the console directly.

This does not apply to Windows servers, WSL-hosted services, or the Terminal, Log File, Console Wrapper and Memory Wrapper output sources.

Attach to the Session​

The session's sockets live in the service's own folder, so screen -ls shows nothing unless you point the SCREENDIR environment variable there. The service root is shown on the service's settings page.

  1. Connect to the server over SSH.
  2. Switch to the service's run-as user, shown in the service settings. Screen refuses to attach as another user, including root.
  3. Set SCREENDIR, list the sessions, and attach:
su -s /bin/bash <user>
export SCREENDIR=<service root>/.tca/screen
screen -ls
screen -r svc<id>

Use the -s /bin/bash option only if the user has no login shell. Commands you type go to the game exactly like the panel's console. The panel's console keeps working while you are attached, and the output is also written to .tca/console.log.

Detach with Ctrl+A, then D

Closing the session stops the service. Do not press Ctrl+C or type exit or quit unless you mean to stop the game.

No Session Found​

If screen -ls shows no session while the service is running, screen is either not installed on the server or older than version 4.06. In both cases TCAdmin captures the console through a pipe instead, so there is no session to attach to. Install or update screen, then restart the service.