Search command history on bash

ctrl + r

Very handy and time-saving. Do a 'ctrl+ r' on command prompt. You will see a "(reverse-i-search)`':" mark. Just type any sub-string of the command you want to search(provided you have used it sometime in the same session). Keep on searching by repeatedly pressing ctrl+r. Press enter once you get the desired command string.

Sample Output

blue] $
(reverse-i-search)`': ls

#Press enter to run the selected command.

By: Bluehive

2009-06-25 06:51:38

Submit An Alternative

What Others Think

Great! Very useful

brausen · 826 weeks and 3 days ago

Personally, I prefer bash's "history-search-backward" function, which takes what you've already typed and searches backwards. This is also the way tcsh's esc-p history search works. I am usually in the middle of typing a command when I want to search for it. Using ctrl-r requires you to erase what you've already typed before typing it again after doing the ctrl-r.

rae · 826 weeks and 3 days ago

Instead of erasing what you are typing to do the Ctrl-R, you can do a Ctrl-C. It will put you back to the beginning of a command line but leaves the command you just wrote on the line above. Lets you copy from that command.

fritz_monroe · 826 weeks and 2 days ago

reverse search

ncaio · 826 weeks and 2 days ago

caliluna · 200 weeks and 2 days ago

It's also a kind of coding that makes a lot of things easier often helps people use it, https://www.xxcoupons.com/store/kiara-sky is also very easy to use and people enjoy them very much.

caliluna · 200 weeks and 2 days ago

I gave you something much help

yeoyeo · 193 weeks ago

rahimhh21 · 138 weeks ago

Perfecthomepugs · 129 weeks and 5 days ago

pugpuppies95 · 91 weeks and 6 days ago

donperi1 · 84 weeks and 6 days ago

TIMUR188 Bukan hanya sekedar memberikan statement sebagai situs tergacor 2023 saat ini, kami membuktikan dengan memberikan jaminan garansi gacor 100% atau biasa di sebut garansi kekalahan 100%. Yang di mana apabila member baru deposit dan mengalami kekalahan pertamanya maka member berhak mengklaim garansi kekalahan 100% sesuai dengan syarat dan ketentuan yang berlaku. Menarik kan ? Main slot kalah dan bisa klaim kembali saldo nya. Promo ini hanya berlaku untuk member yang baru melakukan deposit untuk pertama kali nya. Cara klaim nya juga sangat mudah sekali. Member hanya perlu melapor ke CS Livechat TIMUR188 yang bertugas 24 jam dimana fitur klaim garansi nya terdapat di bagian pojok kanan bawah di halaman situs kami. Gabung sekarang juga jangan sampai ketinggalan promo bonus menarik yang sudah ditawarkan, segera klik langsung tombol yang disediakan diatas untuk bergabung dengan Situs TIMUR188 yang sudah kami Bagikan

wandasuwari · 67 weeks ago

What do you think?

Any thoughts on this command? Does it work on your machine? Can you do the same thing with only 14 characters?

You must be signed in to comment.

What's this?

commandlinefu.com is the place to record those command-line gems that you return to again and again. That way others can gain from your CLI wisdom and you from theirs too. All commands can be commented on, discussed and voted up or down.

Share Your Commands

Similar Commands

reverse-i-search: Search through your command line history

flip faster and more precisely through commands saved in history

Verify/edit bash history command before executing it

history autocompletion with arrow keys

Stay in the loop…

Follow the Tweets.

Every new command is wrapped in a tweet and posted to Twitter. Following the stream is a great way of staying abreast of the latest commands. For the more discerning, there are Twitter accounts for commands that get a minimum of 3 and 10 votes - that way only the great commands get tweeted.

» http://twitter.com/commandlinefu
» http://twitter.com/commandlinefu3
» http://twitter.com/commandlinefu10

Subscribe to the feeds.

Use your favourite RSS aggregator to stay in touch with the latest commands. There are feeds mirroring the 3 Twitter streams as well as for virtually every other subset (users, tags, functions,…):

Subscribe to the feed for:

» all commands
» commands with 3 up-votes (commandlinefu3)
» commands with 10 up-votes (commandlinefu10)