How to Use Different Commands in Linux to Clear History

Command history in Linux is a feature that keeps a record of the commands you’ve executed in the terminal or shell, making it easier to recall and reuse them. This enhances efficiency, especially when working with complex or repetitive tasks.

However, there may be times when clearing this history is necessary for privacy or security reasons. Learning how to use different commands in Linux to clear history allows you to better manage and protect your command records.

Typically, the history is stored in a file, such as .bash_history for the Bash shell, in the user’s home directory. You can navigate through your command history using the up and down arrow keys or search through it with specific commands.

How to Check the Bash History?

Before clearing your history, you can check the commands that have been recorded by using the history command:

This will display a list of recent commands executed in the terminal, each with a line number.

To view the .bash_history file directly, you can use the cat command:

There are several ways to clear Bash command history. You can clear specific commands, clear all history for the current session, or completely delete the history file.

Below are the methods:

Commands Used in Linux to Clear History for a Specific Entry

If you want to clear a specific history, you can use the history -d command. This command is one of the useful commands in Linux to clear history, as it allows you to delete a particular entry from the history list without affecting the rest.

1. Open the terminal and execute the following command to display the current command history:
history

1

history

This will list all previously executed commands with their respective line numbers.

2. Identify the line number of the command you want to remove. For example, if the command you want to remove is on line 15, note down the number.
3. Execute the following command to delete the specific command from the history:
history -d 15

1	history -d 15

4. To ensure the history file is updated with the removed command, run the following command:
history -w

1	history -w

This will overwrite the .bash_history file with the current history in memory, making sure the changes are saved.

Commands Used in Linux to Clear History for the Current Session

If you want to clear all the commands from the current session without deleting the .bash_history file, you can use the history -c command. This is one of the useful commands in Linux to clear history, as it clears the current session’s history, but it does not affect the history saved in the .bash_history file.

1. Open the terminal and execute the following command to clear the session history stored in memory:
history -c

1	history -c

2. To ensure the cleared history overwrites the history file, run:
history -w

1	history -w

3. Close the terminal and reopen it to confirm that the history has been completely cleared.

Commands Used in Linux to Clear History Permanently

If you want to permanently clear all the history (including the .bash_history file),
follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal and clear the current session history by executing:
history -c

1	history -c

2. Save the cleared session history to overwrite the .bash_history file:
history -w

1	history -w

3. Delete the .bash_history file entirely by running:
rm ~/.bash_history

1	rm ~/.bash_history

Restart the terminal to allow Bash to create a fresh, empty .bash_history file.

Commands Used in Linux to Prevent Bash from Saving History

If you want to prevent Bash from saving commands to the history file temporarily, you can unset the HISTFILE variable:

1. Open the terminal
2. Run the following command to stop Bash from saving commands to the .bash_history file:
unset HISTFILE

1	unset HISTFILE

This removes the link between the session and the history file, so no commands will be saved during the session.

3. To prevent storing commands temporarily during the session, set the history size to zero with this command:
export HISTSIZE=0

1	export HISTSIZE=0

This ensures no history is retained in memory for the session.

4. To make these changes permanent, edit the .bashrc file in the home directory.
   Run the following lines at the end of the file:
unset HISTFILE export HISTSIZE=0

1 2	unset HISTFILE   export HISTSIZE=0

5. Save the file, close the editor, and apply the changes by running the following command:
source ~/.bashrc

1	source ~/.bashrc

After the entire procedure, the Bash will no longer save any command history.

Commands Used in Linux to Automatically Clear History on Logout

To clear the history automatically when logging out, follow these steps:

1. Open your ~/.bash_logout file in a text editor.
nano ~/.bash_logout

1	nano ~/.bash_logout

2. Run the following lines to the file:
history -c history -w

1 2	history -c history -w

3. Save the file and exit the editor.

This will ensure that the history is cleared every time you log out. The history -c command clears the in-memory history, and the history -w command writes the cleared history to the .bash_history file.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have explored different commands in Linux to clear history. Clearing your Bash command line history is an important security measure, particularly when handling sensitive information like passwords or personal data. By using the history command or manually deleting the .bash_history file, you can prevent your commands from being stored and potentially exposed to unauthorized users.

By following the steps outlined above, you can clear specific commands, clear all commands for the current session, or delete the entire history file. Additionally, you can prevent Bash from saving history or set it to automatically clear upon logout for enhanced privacy and security.

Tahneet Kanwal

Tahneet Kanwal is a software engineer with a passion for frontend development and a keen eye for user experience. With a strong foundation in web technologies, she brings a practical perspective to her writing. As a technical content writer at LambdaTest, Tahneet combines her engineering expertise with her communication skills to craft engaging, SEO-friendly articles. Her work spans various topics in web development, software testing, and emerging tech trends, keeping readers informed and inspired.

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