How to work with bash history in Linux

Knowing the basic history techniques allows you to quickly search, repeat, and edit previously entered commands in Linux, saving time and reducing the risk of typos. In addition, the ability to customize and clear history helps ensure security by hiding sensitive data.

In this article:

• How to view the command history.
• How to search for the right commands.
• How to repeat and modify previous commands.
• How to use interactive command editing via fc.
• Bash settings and configuration files.
• Practical examples and scenarios.

Basic commands for working with history

The command history - shows a list of the last entered commands in the bash shell with numbering.

root@EuroHoster:~# history
    1  ls /
    2  pwd
    3  du -sh /
    4  ping 8.8.8.8
    5  history
    6  date
    7  apt-get install sl
    8  apt update
    9  du -sh /

The command history N - outputs the last N commands.

root@EuroHoster:~# history 5
    5  history
    6  date
    7  apt-get install sl
    8  apt update
    9  du -sh /

Other useful commands when working with history in Linux

In addition to the standard techniques, there are additional tools that allow you to more deeply monitor and analyze the command logs, let's consider them as well.

Repeat commands by number

! — repeat the command with a certain number from the history list.

root@EuroHoster:~# !2
pwd
/root
root@EuroHoster:~#

Repeat the previous command

!! — repeats the last command. It is extremely useful if you forgot to finish something.

root@EuroHoster:~# ping 
ping: usage error: Destination address required
root@EuroHoster:~# !! 8.8.8.8
ping  8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=120 time=0.560 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=120 time=0.534 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=120 time=0.591 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=120 time=0.526 ms
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---

Repeating the command by match

!
— repeats the last command beginning with the specified substring.

root@EuroHoster:~# !du
du -sh /
5.7G /

Direct search (Ctrl + R)

When actively using the terminal, quick navigation through the history becomes an important skill.
Here are a few ways to find the desired command among those already entered.
Press Ctrl + R and start typing a substring; the shell will show the last command that has that match. Pressing Ctrl + R again will scroll through the other options.

Search with grep

You can filter the story:

root@EuroHoster:~# history | grep figlet
   23  28 Mar 2025 10:46:53 apt-get install figlet
   24  28 Mar 2025 10:46:58 figlet Hello
   26  28 Mar 2025 10:47:24 figlet "Hello" | lolcat
   42  28 Mar 2025 11:06:03 history | grep figlet

Editing and correcting commands

Sometimes you need to quickly correct a typo or change one of the arguments in a recently executed command.
There are several ways to do it, let's consider them in detail.

Quickly edit the previous command

Press the up arrow, make changes, press Enter.

Interactive editing of commands with fc

The command fc (fix commands) opens the last commands in the selected text editor for editing before re-execution. 
By default, Bash uses the editor specified in the EDITOR or VISUAL environment variable (e.g., vim or nano).
fc without parameters will open the last command; with parameters, you can specify a range.

Example:
 fc -1 -5Opens the last 5 commands (from -5 to -1 inclusive) in the editor. After saving and exiting the editor, all these commands will be executed again (taking into account your corrections).

Referring to the arguments of the previous command

!$ — the last argument of the previous command.
!^ — the first argument of the previous command.
!:n — n-th argument of the previous command.
!:- —all arguments of the previous command (without the name of the command itself).

Bash history customization

Environment variables

 
HISTSIZE — number of commands for the current session.
HISTFILESIZE — total number of rows stored in ~/.bash_history

Example of setting in ~/.bashrc

export HISTSIZE=1000
export HISTFILESIZE=2000

Ignoring duplicate commands

 
export HISTCONTROL=ignoredups — doesn't record consecutive duplicates.
There is also an ignorespace option - if it is enabled, commands starting with a space are not included in the history.

Bash configuration files

Different distributions may use different configuration files:
~/.bashrc — usually for interactive shell sessions.
~/.bash_profile or ~/.profile — for login sessions.
It is in these files that you make changes to environment variables (HISTSIZE, HISTIGNORE, etc.). You can also include:  
shopt -s histappendSo that new commands do not overwrite the history, but are added to the end of the ~/.bash_history file, which is especially useful when working in multiple terminals.

Security and sensitive data

Your history may include passwords, tokens, or keys. To avoid recording such strings in your history, you can:

•  Enter the command starting with a space (if ignorespace is enabled).
•  Prescribe templates in HISTIGNORE (for example, 'passwd*').
•  Use environment variables to store sensitive information.

Additional security settings:

HISTIGNORE allows you to ignore specific commands and templates. Example:
export HISTIGNORE="ls:cd:exit:clear"It is also possible to periodically clear history (history -c), but you should be careful not to lose useful data.

Practical examples and scenarios

Below are a few typical situations where working with Bash history saves a lot of time.

Quickly run the package installation command:

history | grep aptBring up all the commands with apt, find the one you want (e.g. apt-get install
), and run it by number:  !
You can also use (Ctrl + R) to search through history.

Correcting a typo:

nano /ect/hostsGot it, typo in "ect" instead of "etc". Run: fc and edit.

If the command was executed with an error, such as a typo in the directory name.
rsync -avz root@IP:/home_dir1 /home_dir1 Let's say there is a typo in home_dir1, in which case let's do it:
fc -s home_dir1=home_dir2 The change of the two directories home_dir1 to the new home_dir2 will be performed and the rsync command will be run.

Copying a file and further work with it:

cp /path/to/myfile.txt /tmpThen immediately watch the file:
less !$ Here !$ substitutes /tmp, the last argument of the previous command.

Conclusion

Bash history and expansions save a lot of time when you are often repeating the same commands or looking for something you have done before. Just know the history command, the Ctrl + R combination, as well as !!, !
and some extensions (like !$ and !^).

For added convenience and safety:

• Use fc for interactive editing.
• Configure histappend and HISTCONTROL.
• Be careful with sensitive data.
• Learn additional variables (such as HISTIGNORE) and Bash hotkeys. 

With experience, all these techniques will help you work in the terminal faster, safer and more efficiently.