One of most useful feature of Linux is command history, where all previously run command are stored in history file (/home/$USER/.bash_history). This guide, cover how to run previously executed command in Linux terminal.
Usually scrolling with up arrow keys one can retrieve a previously executed commands. But list of commands is long pressing arrow key continuously will take time to find one you have used.
Contents
Ways to run previously executed command in Linux terminal
Use history command to view previously run command in terminal
Running history command lets you view previously run commands in terminal. Below is output of history command in Fedora. The output shows a list of commands with a number before each command.
Search for specific command using history command with Grep
grep command can be used to filter history for commands run with particular characters
Syntax
history | grep [command you want to search for]
Example
history | grep ls
Search for command starting from specific letter in history
To search for command starting from specific letter use ! with characters of command
Syntax
![characters of command]
Example
!l !ls
Note: if you are filtering command using single character and only one command exists in history, in that case it will get directly executed. Running commands without through knowledge may harm your system, use command with care.
Run previously executed command from Linux terminal
The numbers shown in above command can be used to run any command from list of output of history. Like if I want to run command number 6 I will simply type !6.
Syntax
![sequence number of command in history]
Example
!6
There is another method to run old command from history. Just type exclamation mark followed by few alphabets of command you want to run – !l. Only disadvantage of these two methods is command will directly run command without asking for any confirmation.
These commands have been used in Fedora and Redhat Linux Different version may show different output.
