1

How can I get the Ubuntu terminal history without the line number?

history

history command returns the previous commands with line number. I am looking for something like:

 cd tizen-sdk\tools          
 ls

instead of

924  cd tizen-sdk\tools      
925  ls

3 Answers 3

6

You can use the fc command instead. From help fc:

fc: fc [-e ename] [-lnr] [first] [last] or fc -s [pat=rep] [command]
    Display or execute commands from the history list.

    fc is used to list or edit and re-execute commands from the history list.
    FIRST and LAST can be numbers specifying the range, or FIRST can be a
    string, which means the most recent command beginning with that
    string.

    Options:
      -e ENAME  select which editor to use.  Default is FCEDIT, then EDITOR,
            then vi
      -l    list lines instead of editing
      -n    omit line numbers when listing
      -r    reverse the order of the lines (newest listed first)

Therefore:

fc -ln

You can also look at the history file directly, but it might not be updated:

cat "$HISTFILE"
3
  • + OP's question, is there a way to tell to do not record line number in history file? Oct 20, 2016 at 14:22
  • 1
    @KasiyA the history file does not record line numbers (it only records commands, and if HISTTIMEFORMAT is set, timestamps).
    – muru
    Oct 20, 2016 at 14:23
  • Will it display all history?
    – Anwar
    Oct 20, 2016 at 16:32
2

Use this command:

history | cut -c 8-
1

Using awk.

history | awk '{$1=""; print}'
1
  • 1
    You can use awk '{$1=""}1'
    – muru
    Oct 24, 2016 at 4:56

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