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Ctrl / View Scrollback Buffer

View Scrollback Buffer

View the scrollback buffer in a terminal to revisit previously executed commands and outputs.

$
Terminal
<Ctrl g><PageUp>

When To Use

When needing to reference outputs from long-running or verbose command executions.

Pro Tip

Enable 'infinite scrolling' in terminal preferences to maximize scrollback history retention.

Anatomy of Output

Understanding the result

Displaying scrollback buffer: Scrollback

Enables review of previously executed commands.

Line 123: Successfully connected to server. Previous Output

Allows inspection of past interactions.

Power User Variants

Optimized versions

ctrl <Ctrl g><Shift + PageUp>

Scroll back multiple pages in the buffer.

ctrl <Ctrl g><Shift + PageDown>

Scroll down multiple pages in the buffer.

Troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

Error: Buffer overflow. Cannot display.

Solution: Increase buffer size in terminal settings.

Error: No data in scrollback.

Solution: Scrollback history may not be enabled.

Error: Terminal not supporting this operation.

Solution: Switch to a terminal that supports scrollback viewing.

Command Breakdown

What each part is doing

<Ctrl
Base Command
The executable that performs this operation. Here it runs Ctrl before the shell applies any redirect operators.