How do I increase the scrollback buffer in a running screen session?

Press Ctrl-a then : and then type

scrollback 10000

to get a 10000 line buffer, for example.

You can also set the default number of scrollback lines by adding

defscrollback 10000

to your ~/.screenrc file.

To scroll (if your terminal doesn't allow you to by default), press Ctrl-a ESC and then scroll (with the usual Ctrl-f for next page or Ctrl-a for previous page, or just with your mouse wheel / two-fingers). To exit the scrolling mode, just press ESC.

Another tip: Ctrl-a i shows your current buffer setting.

The man page explains that you can enter command line mode in a running session by typing Ctrl+A, :, then issuing the scrollback <num> command.

There is a minimal amount of "default" buffer when you startup a 'screen' session within your 'putty session'. I use screens a lot in my work, so I can tell you that you will not have a combination of 'screen' buffer & 'putty' buffer within your 'screen' session.

Setting the default number of scrollback lines by adding defscrollback 10000to your ~/.screenrc file is the correct solution.

By the way, I use "defscrollback 200000" in my ./screenrc file.