How to Scroll in VT (Virtual Terminal) on FreeBSD and Linux

AKA: Scrollback in VT (Virtual Terminal) (text console, the system console, tty)

FreeBSD: Scrollback in VT - Scroll Lock Key

On FreeBSD, to scroll back in VT (virtual terminal), you need to press the Scroll Lock key, then scroll up and down with the arrow keys. To scroll up or down a full screen at a time, use the Page Up and Page Down keys.

If Keyboard doesn’t have Scroll Lock Key

If your keyboard doesn’t have a Scroll Lock key, it very likely uses a special function key sequence to access Scroll Lock.

On my wired split mechanical keyboard, Mistel Barocco MD770, you can activate Scroll Lock by pressing Fn + [{ (the key to the right of ‘P’).

Alternative - Remap Keys (Key Remapping)

Changing your keyboard mapping - FreeBSD Diary

Keyboard without Scroll Lock - freebsd-questions mailing list

How can I scroll back the output in FreeBSD’s console without Scroll Lock? - serverfault

Linux: Software Scrollback was Removed in version 5.9 of the Kernel

On Linux, Scrollback via Shift+PageUp and Shift+PageDown is no longer supported on console terminals by kernels newer than version 5.9.

vgacon (the VGA soft scrollback): remove software scrollback support - Linux kernel source tree

fbcon: remove soft scrollback code - Linux kernel source tree

Alternatives - Use a Terminal Multiplexer or less(1) or KMSCon

Use a terminal multiplexer; for example, tmux(1) or screen(1).
Use the less(1) program.

Of course, by the time you launch tmux(1), screen(1) or less(1), the message you need may have already scrolled out of view.

KMSCon offers perhaps a better alternative by serving as a system console terminal emulator that captures all output from the start, avoiding this timing issue.

For more about KMSCon, see the References section below.

References

vt(4) – virtual terminal system video console driver – FreeBSD Manual Pages

Scrolling Back
  Output that has scrolled off the screen can be reviewed by pressing the
  Scroll Lock key, then scrolling up and down with the arrow keys.

  The Page Up and Page Down keys scroll up or down a full screen at a time.

  The Home and End keys jump to the beginning or end of the scrollback buffer.
 
  When finished reviewing, press the Scroll Lock key again to return to 
  normal use.  

  Some laptop keyboards lack a Scroll Lock key, and use a special function 
  key sequence (such as Fn + K) to access Scroll Lock.

Dusko Pijetlovic