The `screen` package is deprecated and not included in RHEL8.0.0.

Solution In Progress - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7
  • screen

Issue

  • How to install the screen package in RHEL8.0.0?
  • The screen package is not available in RHEL8.

Resolution

After careful consideration, the decision was made to deprecate the screen package and instead recommend the tmux package. The screen utility has an old code base that is not easy to maintain and with little activity in the upstream community. The tmux package was viewed as having a better code base to maintain and build new features upon. Maintaining both within RHEL was becoming increasingly unfeasible when considering keeping up with CVE security errata, government security certifications, and similar requirements. For those concerned with DISA STIG requirements, tmux satisfies the requirement as an alternative to screen.

The screen utility was marked as deprecated with the release of RHEL 7.6 and was not included as part of RHEL 8.0.

In appreciation for the friction of change this imposes on RHEL users, work is underway on a transition guide to help users switch. For example, screen bindings for tmux are available, and a community supported version of screen exists in EPEL 8 repository1.

  1. Support clarification and How to use EPEL ↩︎

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