Atuin – magical shell history

Atuin is a shell history manager that makes it easier to search, reuse and organise commands executed in a terminal.

Traditional shell history usually consists of a chronological list of commands, with limited information about when or where they were executed. Atuin instead stores history in a SQLite database and records additional context, making previous commands much easier to retrieve.

Its interactive search interface is designed to fit into existing shell workflows, replacing or extending familiar history navigation shortcuts. Users can narrow searches to particular directories or terminal sessions and identify commands using their execution history.

Atuin also offers optional synchronisation between computers. History data is encrypted before synchronisation, and users can choose between the project’s hosted service, a self-hosted server or keeping all information locally.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Stores shell command history in a local SQLite database.
• Records additional command metadata, including execution time, exit code, working directory, hostname, session and duration.
• Provides a searchable terminal interface accessed through configurable keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl-R and the Up arrow.
• Searches commands using both their text and associated metadata.
• Filters history by current terminal session, working directory or all available history.
• Supports searching for commands executed within specified time ranges or returning particular exit codes.
• Displays command execution statistics, including frequently used commands.
• Allows selected commands to be executed immediately or placed on the command line for editing.
• Provides shortcuts for jumping to previously executed commands.
• Imports existing shell history without deleting the original history file.
• Optionally synchronises history across terminals, sessions and computers.
• Protects synchronised history using end-to-end encryption.
• Supports self-hosted synchronisation servers as an alternative to the project’s hosted service.
• Can operate entirely offline without creating a synchronisation account.
• Supports Bash, Zsh, Fish, Nushell, Xonsh and PowerShell, with some functionality varying by shell.
• Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Website: github.com/atuinsh/atuin
Support:
Developer: Ellie Huxtable
License: MIT License

Atuin is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Alternatives to history

Explore Linux
	Best Free and Open Source Software - A huge collection of recommended free and open source software covering every major category.
	In-depth Linux Software Reviews - Detailed assessments of Linux software covering features, usability and overall quality.
	The Big List of Active Linux Distros - An extensive collection of actively developed Linux distributions.
	Open Source Alternatives - Alternatives to software and services from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Autodesk, Oracle and others.
	Essential Linux System Tools - Indispensable utilities for monitoring, maintaining and managing Linux systems.
	Linux Productivity Tools - Useful utilities for improving productivity and streamlining everyday tasks.
	Alternatives to Popular CLI Tools - Modern alternatives to familiar command-line utilities supplied with Linux systems.
	Awesome Free Linux Game Tools - Tools, utilities and companion software that improve gaming on Linux.
	Machine Learning on Linux - Machine learning and deep learning software, self-hosted applications and practical tools.
	Saving Money with Linux - Practical ways to reduce electricity consumption and lower computing costs with Linux.
	Linux Candy - Fun, entertaining and sometimes delightfully quirky software from the lighter side of Linux.