Session and utilities

The history command

Shows the commands you have typed in this session, numbered.

Syntax

history

Copy-ready examples

$ historyYour whole history
$ history | tail -n 5The last five

You can try them in the browser terminal: it does not touch your computer.

Typical mistakes

  • In bash, Ctrl+R searches the history without leaving the current line.

Related commands

FAQ

How do I repeat the last command?

With the up arrow, or by typing !! in bash.

Learn to actually use it

The basic Linux course takes you from zero to console fluency with 24 self-grading lessons.

Start the free course