How do I lock the screen from a terminal?

Question

I am using Ubuntu 12.04. Is there any way to lock the screen or session from a terminal command or script?

January · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-21 14:16:49Z

up vote 27 down vote accepted

Simple:

gnome-screensaver-command -l

The following can also work, if the screensaver is set to lock when activate (see screensaver settings), since the command activates the screensaver:

gnome-screensaver-command -a

You can add an alias to the command by editing the file .profile in your home directory:

gedit $HOME/.profile

and adding the following line:

alias lock='gnome-screensaver-command -l'

From now on, the alias lock in a terminal will have the effect of locking the screen.

edited Sep 21 '12 at 14:16

answered Sep 6 '12 at 14:24

January
8,8421032

hope you won't mind :D – Jai Sep 21 '12 at 14:10

Sorry, I had to modify your changes. (i) no need to use sudo (ii) better .profile than .bashrc, since .bashrc gets called every time you create a new shell and (iii) alias works only when called from shell. – January Sep 21 '12 at 14:18

ok now its looking good , you like the idea ? – Jai Sep 21 '12 at 14:50

1

sure. I usually lock with a single keypress, though, makes it quicker when leaving the office for a coffee. – January Sep 21 '12 at 14:56

I think if we add more answer about creating a custom-shortcut key will improve , what do you say ? – Jai Sep 21 '12 at 14:57

BryceAtNetwork23 · Answer 2 · 2012-10-01 20:00:22Z

In addition to what January said, this also works:

gnome-screensaver-command --lock

or

gnome-screensaver-command -l

According to the gnome-screensaver-command man page...

-l, --lock                 Tells the running screensaver process to lock the screen immediately
-a, --activate             Turn the screensaver on (blank the screen)

For further clarification, here is another question/answer (also by January) which describes the differences between invoking the lock and activating your screensaver:

Difference between gnome-screensaver-command -a and gnome-screensaver-command -l

pl1nk · Answer 3 · 2012-09-12 10:45:57Z

up vote 6 down vote

In case that you need to lock the screen on a terminal in a non-GUI environment you could make use of screen

While in screen press the following key combinations to lock the terminal.

Ctrl + a Ctrl + x

answered Sep 12 '12 at 10:45

pl1nk
1,308425

Thank you . now I'm in mobile . I'll try and let you know – Jai Sep 12 '12 at 11:00

Peachy · Answer 4 · 2012-09-30 14:26:29Z

up vote 5 down vote

Please install vlock. Then you can switch to a VT (text terminal, using Ctrl+Alt+F1) and run

vlock -a -s

This works whether you have X11 running or not.

edited Sep 30 '12 at 14:26

Peachy
2,84641430

answered Sep 14 '12 at 5:02

Anand Vaidya
611

1

looking nice . ok I'll try and let you know . thank you . – Jai Sep 14 '12 at 7:14

ok its looking good , but suits only for TTY . – Jai Sep 14 '12 at 12:59

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How do I lock the screen from a terminal?

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