Questions tagged [command-history]
Questions relating to the command history features of command-line shells like Windows' CMD and Bash on Unix-based systems - features that store and deal with previously-executed shell commands.
140
questions
179
votes
12
answers
182k
views
Remove a certain line from Bash history file
How can I remove a certain line from history's database?
- 2,993
59
votes
2
answers
50k
views
oh-my-zsh history completion
I have recently switched to zsh, using robbyrussell's oh-my-zsh. Before that i used bash with a lot of custom stuff and i am only missing one thing because zsh is trying to be 'too smart':
If i type ...
- 1,809
56
votes
3
answers
45k
views
Command history in zsh
Currently I have zsh set up in such a way that command history is shared between all sessions immediately.
Say I have a terminal emulator open with two tabs, each with a zsh session, A1 and A2. If I ...
- 1,251
52
votes
7
answers
347k
views
How to view command history of another user in Linux?
How can I view the command history of another user?
I am an admin on my machine. I can see normal history by viewing /home/user_name/.bash_history but I can't see commands of that user_name when ...
- 995
46
votes
5
answers
14k
views
How can I add a command to the Bash history without executing it?
Every now and then it would be useful to add a command directly to the history in Bash without actually executing it. So far the closed thing I have found is adding a # in front of it and hitting ...
- 3,662
41
votes
4
answers
27k
views
bash save history without exit
in linux ubuntu bash terminal. is there any way to save bash history without writing exit?
i've set the config to
"HISTCONTROL=erasedups"
which in my opinion works better than ignoredups.
anyways ...
- 1,411
36
votes
7
answers
10k
views
Separate up arrow lookback for local and global ZSH history
Is it possible to...
Step up local ZSH shell history (actions only happened in that prompt)
Step up global ZSH history (shared history is on) - default what happens when you press UP arrow when ...
- 2,440
29
votes
2
answers
32k
views
(reverse-i-search) in Bash
I usually end up using CTRL+r for (reverse-i-search), however, sometimes I pass the command that I was looking for; if I do again a (reverse-i-search) it doesn't find it anymore. I assume that the ...
- 293
16
votes
3
answers
45k
views
Is it possible to clear history in windows command prompt?
When using CMD, one can press upper arrow key to retrieve old commands.
Is it possible to erase the history of these commands?
If so, how could one do so?
- 273
16
votes
1
answer
23k
views
How do I change the .bash_history file location?
I'm running CentOS 6.x and want to move the .bash_history to a different location.
The home directories of my users are (because I run a VPS) in /var/www/vhost/<domain>.<tld> which is FTP ...
- 445
16
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How can you reverse the direction of alt-period in Bash?
In Bash, you can press Alt-. to insert the last argument of the previous command. If you press it multiple times, it cycles through the last arguments of all of the commands in your history. However, ...
- 1,897
16
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Windows Command Prompt: How to change the size of command history window?
Pressing F7 in the Windows command prompt window displays a console window with the command history (list of previous commands). How do I change the size of this command history window?
For example, ...
- 10.2k
11
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Change the order of Windows shell command history retrieval
One of the things that drive me crazy in command line under MS-Windows is the order in which the Windows shell (both the standard one and PowerShell) retrieve commands from history when you use the up ...
- 1,141
11
votes
4
answers
25k
views
To know which IP executed a certain command in linux using ssh
There is a server which is accessed by many users using ssh. I am trying to figure out which user executed a certain command.
I can know the list of users currently accessing server using who
Also I ...
- 221
10
votes
4
answers
6k
views
How to selectively navigate through Bash command history on a Linux terminal [duplicate]
Everyone knows (or should know!) that on a terminal the up and down arrow keys are used to navigate through the history of used commands.
When you use the terminal on a daily basis, your command ...
- 9,516
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How to disable the confirmation of history expansions like `!!`
Zsh takes real good care of me, and at times it can get a bit too much. One of the times where I'd rather have it stay out of my business is when it "wants to make sure I want to execute the given ...
- 1,657
8
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How to delete history lines when browsing history with fzf
There are often items in the bash history which I don't need anymore and/or are so long that when used with fzf match pretty much any text entered, making fuzzy matching on the history a bit useless. ...
- 2,047
7
votes
1
answer
461
views
Custom prompt botched during history and control-a in OS X's Terminal.app using Bash
I customized my prompt in .bash_profile to look like this:
export PS1="\w \e[0;32m\$(vcprompt -f '[%n:%b]')\e[m\$ "
Now, when I press up arrow to go back through history, find the one I want, then ...
- 283
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Vim-like history in bash?
In bash, it's possible to scroll through the command history using the up and down keys. In vim, this is also possible (after pressing :). But with vim, if you type the first few letters of a previous ...
- 1,423
7
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Automatically export history at end of powershell session
I can export my Powershell history using the scripts outlined in the Technet page on the subject,
Get-History | Export-Clixml ~\PowerShell\history.xml
and I can automatically load up the saved ...
- 4,319
7
votes
4
answers
31k
views
How to get the commands issued in a ssh session
I need to list out all the commands executed in a "ssh session". I use multiple ssh session to login to remote servers. So, when I logout from one session, I need to get the commands ...
- 109
7
votes
1
answer
4k
views
When and how is bash_history appended to?
As far as I can tell, the history of an individual shell is only appended to the .bash_history file when the shell is closed. This means that I frequently lose individual shells' histories on crashes ...
- 413
6
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Why can you not sudo history?
If I want to view root's bash history, why can I not just run sudo history? when I do it says command history not found, but if I run it without the sudo it runs fine.
Edit: it's a duplicate answer, ...
- 657
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How can I have an unlimited history in zsh?
I want an unlimited history file in zsh. As far as I know I can only set HISTSIZE and SAVEHIST to a big number.
- 365
6
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Powershell history isn't persistent anymore
Powershell stopped using its persistent history (Windows 11). When I start a new Powershell instance commands from previous sessions don't show up. Once I use commands in the new session for the first ...
- 10.8k
5
votes
1
answer
5k
views
CTRL+R in shell - if I go past the command I want, how do I get back to it?
I'm feverishly hitting CTRL+R to find some command I used awhile ago, when suddenly I get to it. By reflex, I continue hitting CTRL+R, passing it for something further back in the shell history. How ...
- 197
5
votes
3
answers
8k
views
"history position out of range" when calling history from bash script
I want to make a simple script to delete a line from bash_history, based on user input of the line number.
echo -n "Delete History Line Number: "
read num
history -d $num
The error is "history ...
- 201
5
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Make zsh history search behave like bash reverse-i-search
In bash, pressing [CTRL]+[r] will open the reverse-i-search prompt.
How can I search the zsh history in a similar way?
Note: The search query will hit the middle of the full command only, instead of ...
- 402
5
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Notepad++ Undo History wanted
I cannot seem to find a history in Notepad++ showing you all the actions you did. Sometimes you might not be sure anymore what the next Undo action would do.
Does this feature really not exist or I ...
- 4,087
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why was ctrl+c chosen to kill a process? [closed]
I'm aware of why ctrl+c kills a program; I'm more interested in the history as to why "c" was chosen over other letters, given that it (apparently) has no semantic meaning.
If anyone knows the ...
- 143
4
votes
1
answer
15k
views
How to enable command history in Run command dialog box? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Enable history for Run dialog for Vista administrator
In my PC (running Windows 7 Professional - 64 bit), the Run dialog box does not keep the history of previous commands! So ...
- 229
4
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Bash is losing history even though shopt -s histappend is set
I lost all commands that were executed from the last session - they do not show up in history at all. What needs to be done to prevent this??
I had added
shopt -s histappend
just for this purpose ...
- 3,825
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Use a separate history for 'read -e' (readline)
I would like to write an interactive command shell in shell script, for easier adjusting of the iptables firewall. The problem is, that read -e uses the shell history. Is there a way of using a ...
- 9,033
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Incorrect output of history command of ssh. How to read the timestamp info correctly
I set the HISTTIMEFORMAT variable to store the timestamp info .bash_history file. I am able to display the history properly if I use interactive shell.
But, when I run history command to display ...
- 161
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How to log every input and output and write to file in Bash?
I am often on assignment and sometimes I forget to document my work.
E.g. write down output from different one-off tools.
Is there a way to automate that via .bashrc?
So I open up a new shell, it ...
- 86
4
votes
1
answer
184
views
Shell history support that doesn't suck?
When I use multiple terminal sessions at once, bash only persists the commands from one of them. Then later when I try to do a reverse command search, the command I want is not going to come up, ...
- 2,016
4
votes
0
answers
160
views
TAB completion with .bash_history
I usually use PageUp/PageDown to search through .bash_history given a prefix.
However, I regularly catch me pressing TAB multiple times before realizing that I need to use PageUp/PageDown in this ...
- 141
3
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Is there a way to stop terminal from saving commands?
Well, the thing I'm tired of clearing my terminal history again and again. So I was wondering if there's a way that the terminal doesn't record your history or the commands you've used.
If not, is ...
- 1,899
3
votes
4
answers
371
views
Unix-like command-line shells: Get full command input/output history
I'm looking to see if there is some smooth way (that is, not me just writing a wrapper for the shell) to get full logs of both everything I enter into the command-line shell and everything that gets ...
- 336
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Delete current command
Is there a keyboard shortcut to delete the current command?
Let's say I have:
$ cp /home/one/two/tree/ /var/www/one/two/three
I want to easily the current command, specially when it's long and I ...
- 1,095
3
votes
1
answer
4k
views
How to log bash command with its output?
I want the actual command line be logged together with its output.
I routinely execute important commands like this:
PERL5LIB=${PERL5LIB}:/something/extra my-command.pl many arguments which I want ...
- 2,060
3
votes
2
answers
18k
views
Is there a way to view or store file history (like browser history) in Linux?
Is there any way to "view" (or) "store" file history (similar to browser history). For example if I have 10 files, and I open 2 of them, the following 2 details should get stored ...
- 33
3
votes
1
answer
634
views
Replace argument N in previous command
I've recently migrated to ZSH, and I'd like to get a bit more efficient at substituting arguments in commands. Specifically, I'd like to replace argument "N" in the most recent invocation of command "...
- 133
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Bash alias history substitution similar to \!* in csh
My question is very similar to that of this old post.
I would like to do something similar: place in an alias the last argument(s) typed on the current command line. This would be equivalent to the ...
- 73
3
votes
1
answer
629
views
put in bash or zsh history absolute path to files I working on
I have found that in bash i frequently use something like that:
vim ./somefile1 less
less ./dir1/dir2/somefile2
cp some_other_relative_path_to_file
and so on
After that when I trying to find a ...
- 93
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How to log in which terminal session a zsh command was run
In zsh's history file, all commands are logged from all terminal sessions. Is there any way to log in which terminal session a command was run (i.e., a unique identifier for this instance of the shell?...
- 1,235
3
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How to setup zsh to append history to a file named dynamically by date
My biggest sticking point moving from bash to zsh is the history configuration. Using oh-my-zsh there is a history.zsh file in #ZSH/lib that I found (I think) can be disabled via unsetopt ...
- 81
3
votes
0
answers
422
views
Setting Bash history sizes to -1 clears the history
I want to save all my bash history so I set my Bash history sizes in ~/.bash_profile to negative values:
export HISTSIZE=-1
export HISTFILESIZE=-1
According to the Bash reference manual, all my ...
- 2,037
3
votes
0
answers
212
views
applying reverse-i-search to a file
The bash reverse-i-search (ctrl-R) is quite handy to find a command you typed a while ago. However, it only searches the history of the current terminal (which consists AFAIK of the history loaded at ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
919
views
How to make windows 8.1 command line save commands history?
Exist a way to automatically save command history on windows 8.1 command line and have it available after close and open the command line program?
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