Shell-hist

Inspect your shell history

shell-hist allows to take a look at your most common shell commands, based on your history file.

The FreeBSD operating system offers a plethora of powerful command-line tools that make system administration easy and enjoyable. One such tool is the shell history command, which is part of the shells/hist port. The shells/hist port provides enriched shell history functionalities to help developers and system administrators work more efficiently with the command-line interface.

Many of us frequently use the command-line interface to perform operations like installing software, updating system configurations, and executing scripts. When using the console, it’s common to execute the same commands repeatedly. This is where the shell history command becomes invaluable, as it allows us to quickly retrieve and replicate previously input commands.

Let’s take a detailed look at how to utilize the shell history command in FreeBSD.

Installation

Before we can use the shell history command, we need to install the shells/hist port. In FreeBSD, software can be installed from either ports or packages.

# cd /usr/ports/shells/hist/
# make install clean

After running these commands, the shell history port will be installed on your system.

Usage

The shell history command is used in the following format

# history

Executing history without any additional arguments will display a list of commands that you’ve previously entered.

There are several useful options that you can use with the history command

• -c This option clears your history. After running history -c, no previous commands will be displayed when you run history.
• -d offset This option deletes the history entry at the given offset.
• !number This option executes the command at the given number in your history. For example, !2 will execute the second command in your history.

Practical Examples

Let’s say you want to find the most recently used rm command. You could grep for it in your history

# history | grep rm

If you need to frequently use some long commands, you can also view the command history and then rerun any of them directly by referencing their history number. This could be a huge time-saver for system administrators and developers.

# history | grep make
  505  make install clean
# !505

The above commands will re-run the make install clean command from your history.

Benefits

• Increased Efficiency The shell history port allows you to access previously entered commands, saving you time and making your use of the console more efficient.

• Less Room for Errors By reusing commands from your history, you decrease the possibility of errors that can occur when manually entering commands.

• Improved Analysis The history command is also a useful tool for hindsight analysis. Looking back at your command history can sometimes provide insights into system issues that may have occurred in the past.

FreeBSD comes with a lot of other powerful toolkits and utilities. As an instance, for those interested in IT security, the [security/nmap]https//freebsdsoftware.org/security/nmap.html port is a must-have on your FreeBSD system. It’s a flexible and powerful toolset used by many system administrators and security professionals.

In conclusion, the shell history command is a powerful and indispensable tool for any FreeBSD user. Its ability to keep track and reuse previous commands can significantly enhance your productivity and make the FreeBSD command-line interface much more enjoyable to use. Whether you’re a seasoned system administrator or a new FreeBSD user beginning to explore the vast world of Unix-like operating systems, understanding and utilizing the shells/hist port is sure to be beneficial to you.