Script – A Simple Command-Line Tool for Recording Your Terminal Session Activity

By default everyone prefers the history command to review/recall previously entered commands in the terminal.

But unfortunately, it only shows commands and does not show the output of previously executed commands.

There are many applications in the GUI that record terminal session activity, but very few applications are available on the command line.

The script is a great application for record your terminal session functionality on the headless server.

It is a good practice to record your terminal activity and keep it safe for further reference.

This may help you to see the detailed output if you want to investigate it sometime later.

According to this article, you need to manually run the script command if you want to record the terminal session functionality, see the following article if you want to automate it for all users.

This application provides two commands – script and scriptreplay.

What is script Command

Script is a UNIX command-line application that records a terminal session (in other words, it records everything that is displayed on your terminal).

It stores the output as text file in the current directory and the default filename is typescript.

What is scriptreplay

This program replays a typescript, using timing information to ensure that output happens at the same speed as it originally appeared when the script was recorded.

How to Check if the script Command is Installed or not on Linux

The script is part of the Linux Core application and is already installed on most Linux distributions by default.

The script command is part of the “util-linux-ng” package on RHEL-based systems and the “bsdutils” package on Debian-based systems.

For RPM based systems

# rpm -qf /usr/bin/script
util-linux-2.32.1-8.el8.x86_64

# rpm -qf /usr/bin/scriptreplay
util-linux-2.32.1-8.el8.x86_64

For DEB based systems

# dpkg -S /usr/bin/script
bsdutils: /usr/bin/script

# dpkg -S /usr/bin/scriptreplay
bsdutils: /usr/bin/scriptreplay

If you want to find out which package provides a file in Linux, see the following article.

1) How to Use script Command in Linux

If you type the script command separately on the terminal, it will immediately start recording the current terminal function.

Once you have done the activity, type exit to save the current record.

To start the record, type the script command in the terminal and you will get a message like the one below.

$ script
Script started, file is typescript

Let’s run few commands in the terminal to check this experiment.

The “w” command show who is logged on Linux system and what they are doing.

$ w
 13:35:43 up  3:47,  1 user,  load average: 1.27, 1.32, 1.43
USER     TTY        LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
daygeek  :1        09:49   ?xdm?   2:39m  0.02s /usr/lib/gdm-x-session --run-script /usr/bin/gnome-session

The hostnamectl command used to query and change the system hostname and related settings.

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: daygeek-Y700
         Icon name: computer-laptop
           Chassis: laptop
        Machine ID: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx
           Boot ID: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx
  Operating System: Manjaro Linux
            Kernel: Linux 4.19.84-1-MANJARO
      Architecture: x86-64

The last command show a listing of last logged in users.

$ last | head -5
daygeek  :1           :1               Wed Nov 20 09:49   still logged in
reboot   system boot  4.19.84-1-MANJAR Wed Nov 20 09:48   still running
daygeek  :1           :1               Tue Nov 19 10:07 - down   (17:14)
reboot   system boot  4.19.80-1-MANJAR Tue Nov 19 10:06 - 03:21  (17:14)
daygeek  :1           :1               Sat Nov 16 09:23 - down  (2+17:46)

The “uname” command prints certain system information.

$ uname -a
Linux daygeek-Y700 4.19.84-1-MANJARO #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Nov 13 00:07:37 UTC 2019 x86_64 GNU/Linux

The “pwd” command outputs (prints) the current working directory.

$ pwd
/home/daygeek

The free command display amount of free and used memory in the system.

$ free -m
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:          15867        3950        7722        2528        4195        9075
Swap:         17454           0       17454

speedtest-cli is a simple python script which help us to test internet bandwidth (Upload & Download) speed in Linux command line using speedtest.net. It’s using pure socket tests instead of HTTP based tests.

$ speedtest-cli
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Testing from Bangalore Broadband Network Pvt (103.5.134.176)...
Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
Selecting best server based on ping...
Hosted by JIFFY CABLE AND DATACOM (Bangalore) [0.10 km]: 54.121 ms
Testing download speed................................................................................
Download: 25.33 Mbit/s
Testing upload speed......................................................................................................
Upload: 21.46 Mbit/s

Type the exit command in the terminal to save the script command and exit.

$ exit
exit
Script done, file is typescript

2) How to Check the Output of a script Command Record on Linux

Once you have performed your activity in the above step. It’s time to check it again. You can use any file manipulation command to read the output.

$ cat typescript
Script started on 2019-11-20 13:35:39+05:30 [TERM="xterm-256color" TTY="/dev/pts/0" COLUMNS="211" LINES="55"]

$ w
 13:35:43 up  3:47,  1 user,  load average: 1.27, 1.32, 1.43
USER     TTY        LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
daygeek  :1        09:49   ?xdm?   2:39m  0.02s /usr/lib/gdm-x-session --run-script /usr/bin/gnome-session

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: daygeek-Y700
         Icon name: computer-laptop
           Chassis: laptop
        Machine ID: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx
           Boot ID: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxx
  Operating System: Manjaro Linux
            Kernel: Linux 4.19.84-1-MANJARO
      Architecture: x86-64

$ last | head -5
daygeek  :1           :1               Wed Nov 20 09:49   still logged in
reboot   system boot  4.19.84-1-MANJAR Wed Nov 20 09:48   still running
daygeek  :1           :1               Tue Nov 19 10:07 - down   (17:14)
reboot   system boot  4.19.80-1-MANJAR Tue Nov 19 10:06 - 03:21  (17:14)
daygeek  :1           :1               Sat Nov 16 09:23 - down  (2+17:46)

$ uname -a
Linux daygeek-Y700 4.19.84-1-MANJARO #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Nov 13 00:07:37 UTC 2019 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ pwd
/home/daygeek

$ free -m
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:          15867        3950        7722        2528        4195        9075
Swap:         17454           0       17454

$ speedtest-cli
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Testing from Bangalore Broadband Network Pvt (103.5.134.176)...
Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
Selecting best server based on ping...
Hosted by JIFFY CABLE AND DATACOM (Bangalore) [0.10 km]: 54.121 ms
Testing download speed................................................................................
Download: 25.33 Mbit/s
Testing upload speed......................................................................................................
Upload: 21.46 Mbit/s

$ exit
exit
Script done on 2019-11-20 13:41:27+05:30 [COMMAND_EXIT_CODE="0"]

3) How to Add a Custom File Name to the script Command

By default the script stores the command output in the typescript name. You can add a custom file name for the script command output by adding a file name to the script command.

In my case, I input the file name 2g-terminal.txt, and you can change the file name of your choice.

$ script 2g-terminal.txt
Script started, file is 2g-terminal.txt

4) How to Append script Command Output to an Existing File

Running the script command without the -a option will overwrite the output file. To add new values to an existing file without overwriting it, use the -a option in the script command.

$ script -a 2g-terminal.txt
Script started, file is 2g-terminal.txt

5) How to Save Single Command Outputs in a File Using the script Command

To store a single command output instead of an interactive shell session, use the -c option with the script command.

For example, updating the system package comes with at least 200+ lines of output, and this option is very useful for capturing them all.

$ script -c 'yum update' magi-terminal.txt
Script started, file is magi-terminal.txt
Last metadata expiration check: 1 day, 12:08:03 ago on Tue 19 Nov 2019 01:53:28 PM IST.
Dependencies resolved.
====================================================================================================================
 Package                                 Arch     Version                                         Repository   Size
====================================================================================================================
Installing:
 kernel                                  x86_64   4.18.0-80.11.2.el8_0                            BaseOS      424 k
 kernel-core                             x86_64   4.18.0-80.11.2.el8_0                            BaseOS       24 M
 kernel-modules                          x86_64   4.18.0-80.11.2.el8_0                            BaseOS       20 M
Upgrading:
 anaconda-core                           x86_64   29.19.0.43-1.el8_0                              AppStream   2.1 M
 anaconda-gui                            x86_64   29.19.0.43-1.el8_0                              AppStream   500 k
 anaconda-tui                            x86_64   29.19.0.43-1.el8_0                              AppStream   256 k
 anaconda-widgets                        x86_64   29.19.0.43-1.el8_0                              AppStream   191 k
 appstream-data                          noarch   8-20190215.el8_0                                AppStream   1.8 M
 bind-libs                               x86_64   32:9.11.4-17.P2.el8_0.1                         AppStream   169 k
 bind-libs-lite                          x86_64   32:9.11.4-17.P2.el8_0.1                         AppStream   1.1 M
.
.
.
 systemd-libs                            x86_64   239-13.el8_0.5                                  BaseOS      551 k
 systemd-pam                             x86_64   239-13.el8_0.5                                  BaseOS      222 k
 systemd-udev                            x86_64   239-13.el8_0.5                                  BaseOS      1.3 M
 vdo                                     x86_64   6.2.0.298-10.el8_0                              BaseOS      682 k
 epel-release                            noarch   8-7.el8                                         epel         21 k
Installing dependencies:
 grub2-tools-efi                         x86_64   1:2.02-66.el8_0.1                               BaseOS      444 k

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================================
Install    4 Packages
Upgrade  171 Packages

Total download size: 246 M
Is this ok [y/N]: n
Operation aborted.
Script done, file is magi-terminal.txt

6) How to Run the script Command in Quiet Mode

Use the -q option with the script command to suppress messages such as the script started and the script finished.

$ script -c 'whoami' -q magi-terminal.txt
magi

7) How to Replay the Session Recorded Through scriptreplay Command

If you want to use the scriptreplay command to run a recorded session, make sure that you should record the session using the following format, otherwise it will not run the recorded session.

# script --timing=timing.txt session.txt
Script started, file is session.txt

# hostnamectl
   Static hostname: CentOS8.2DayGeek.com
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: e39e3a27005d44d8bcbfcab201480b45
           Boot ID: 61ae1ebd0cf448f3a5927cee7cf14e0d
    Virtualization: oracle
  Operating System: CentOS Linux 8 (Core)
       CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:8
            Kernel: Linux 4.18.0-80.el8.x86_64
      Architecture: x86-64

# cat /etc/centos-release
CentOS Linux release 8.0.1905 (Core)

# cat /etc/os-release 
NAME="CentOS Linux"
VERSION="8 (Core)"
ID="centos"
ID_LIKE="rhel fedora"
VERSION_ID="8"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el8"
PRETTY_NAME="CentOS Linux 8 (Core)"
ANSI_COLOR="0;31"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:centos:centos:8"
HOME_URL="https://www.centos.org/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.centos.org/"

CENTOS_MANTISBT_PROJECT="CentOS-8"
CENTOS_MANTISBT_PROJECT_VERSION="8"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="centos"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="8"

# exit
exit
Script done, file is session.txt

Once you have recorded the terminal session activity using the format above, use the scriptreplay command to run the recorded session.

$ scriptreplay --timing=timing.txt session.txt

About Magesh Maruthamuthu

Love to play with all Linux distribution

View all posts by Magesh Maruthamuthu

3 Comments on “Script – A Simple Command-Line Tool for Recording Your Terminal Session Activity”

  1. Script was one of my most used tools, twenty-five years ago, as a computer science student.
    It captures std-in, std-out and std-err streams.
    It also enabled capturing terminal screen escape codes. In a script session, type ‘clear’, and exit. Examine the output. Now try running vi within a script session.

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