Bash / CSH shell offers command history feature. Most of you may be aware and using of UP / DOWN arrow keys to recall previous commands. History expansions introduce words from the history list into the input stream, making it easy to repeat commands, insert the arguments to a previous ommand into the current input line, or fix errors in previous commands quickly.

Anybody who has used the command line extensively to navigate, understand and configure GNU/Linux will know that in the course of a few months’ work it is possible to build up an extensive history of used commands. This necessitates some pro-active management to get the best out of it. Here are some tips to make the most of the history command.

"When you are working in a shell you certainly don’t want to waste your time using arrow keys or home/end keys to navigate around the command line. One of the most popular shells, bash - Bourne Again SHell, uses GNU’s Readline library for reading the command line. The GNU Readline library provides a set of functions for use by applications that allow users to edit command lines as they are typed in. The readline library also includes functions to maintain a list of previously-entered command lines, to recall and perhaps reedit those lines, and perform csh-like history expansion on previous commands. Both emacs and vi editing modes are available.

" Let me teach you how to work efficiently with command line history in bash. This tutorial comes with a downloadable cheat sheet that summarizes (and expands on) topics covered here (scroll to the end for a download link). In case you are a first time reader, this is the 3rd part of the article series on working efficiently in bourne again shell. Previously I have written on how to work efficiently in vi and emacs command editing modes by using predefined keyboard shortcuts (both articles come with cheat sheets of predefined shortcuts)..."

If you're like me and work for a company who has many linux admins all logging into servers and then su'ing to root, you may find this tip beneficial. It is simply 3 lines that you add to root's .bash_profile which will keep separate history files for each admin that su's to root and the commands they ran. It will allow you to go back and see what the user did as root.

When you are using Linux command line frequently, using the history effectively can be a major productivity boost. In fact, once you have mastered the 15 examples that I’ve provided here, you’ll find using command line more enjoyable and fun.

‘Gmrun’ is a run-program utility that provides bash-like TAB completion and history, the ability to run commands in a terminal using CTRL-Enter. CTRL-R/CTRL-S may be used for history searches, similar to ‘bash’.

You are probably familiar with common keyboard sequences like Ctrl-C to end a program, but there are dozens of useful shortcuts you can use in BASH to edit the command line, move around your command history, and control jobs. I've collected 18 useful Ctrl and Meta (Option) sequences to make you more productive in BASH.

In a continued thread about how the recently merged Completely Fair Scheduler affects the nice command, Ingo Molnar offered a history of nice levels in the Linux kernel.