https://github.com/ghtaarn/history.jl
History functionality in the Julia REPL similar to what bash provides
https://github.com/ghtaarn/history.jl
command-line history julia repl
Last synced: 1 day ago
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History functionality in the Julia REPL similar to what bash provides
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ghtaarn/history.jl
- Owner: GHTaarn
- License: mit
- Created: 2022-09-03T10:15:04.000Z (almost 4 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2025-12-06T13:10:46.000Z (7 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-12-10T07:54:23.674Z (7 months ago)
- Topics: command-line, history, julia, repl
- Language: Julia
- Homepage:
- Size: 28.3 KB
- Stars: 3
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Contributing: docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# History.jl
A [Julia](https://www.julialang.org) package for getting REPL history
functionality similar to what [Bash](https://www.gnu.org/software/bash) provides.
## Installation
In the Julia REPL type:
```julia
] add https://github.org/GHTaarn/History.jl
```
(If you are using an unstable version of Julia, [do this instead](#Unsupported-julia-versions))
## Use
In the Julia REPL type:
```julia
using History
```
Hereafter, typing an '!' character at the beginning of a line in the Julia
REPL will activate `History` mode.
In `History` mode, a line starting with a '/' character will return the
history entries whose text contains the string on the rest of the line
(using '/' was inspired by [less](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Less_(Unix))
and [vi](https://www.vim.org)).
A line starting with a '^' character will return the history entries whose
text starts with the string on the rest of the line
(using '^' was inspired by
[regular expressions](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/strings/#man-regex-literals)).
In `History` mode, a line consisting of only an '!' character will print out
exactly enough recent REPL history to fill your screen. Any '!' characters
immediately followed by a positive integer will substitute the text from
the corresponding historic input line into the rest of the current line
immediately before the line is executed.
A negative integer after an '!' character will be substituted
with the text of the input line the given number of lines ago.
Tab completion: If the current input line contains an '!' character followed
by an integer before the cursor, then the above substitution will be performed.
In all other cases, normal julia mode tab completion will be performed.
In tab completion, `!0` can be used to refer to the current input line as it
looks when tab is pressed.
### Examples
The following examples are performed without tab completion, but using tab
completion will often avoid a lot of confusion and be more useful.
```julia-repl
julia> using History
REPL mode history initialized. Press ! to enter and backspace to exit.
History> sin(8)
0.9893582466233818
History> !-1
0.9893582466233818
History> println("!-2")
sin(8)
History> println("!-2 ")
!-1
History> true
true
History> !!-1
false
History> println("!-1 and !-2")
!!-1 and true
History>
```
```
History> !
10×3 Matrix{Any}:
4315 :julia "exit()"
4316 :julia "using History"
4317 :history "sin(8)"
4318 :history "!-1"
4319 :history "println(\"!-2\")"
4320 :history "println(\"!-2 \")"
4321 :history "true"
4322 :history "!!-1"
4323 :history "println(\"!-1 and !-2\")"
4324 :history "!"
History> !!4321 ? !4317 : 2*!4317
1.9787164932467636
History> ^!
3×3 Matrix{Any}:
4318 :history "!-1"
4322 :history "!!-1"
4324 :history "!"
4325 :history "!!4321 ? !4317 : 2*!4317"
History> /tln
4×3 Matrix{Any}:
4319 :history "println(\"!-2\")"
4320 :history "println(\"!-2 \")"
4323 :history "println(\"!-1 and !-2\")"
4327 :history "/tln"
History>
```
### Exported functions
There are 4 exported functions: `history`, `histexec` `histsearch` and
`histsave`. You can
read more about these in their docstrings by typing the following in the Julia
mode REPL:
```julia
?history
?histexec
?histsearch
?histsave
```
### Activation at startup
From a shell script or on the OS shell commandline:
```bash
julia -i -e 'atreplinit(x->eval(Meta.parse("using History")))'
```
OR
In `~/.julia/config/startup.jl`:
```julia
atreplinit() do repl
@eval using History
end
```
### Other usage tips
The `History` package is designed to be used in combination with Julias
existing history capabilities such as `Ctrl-R`, `Ctrl-S`, `Up arrow` and
`Down arrow` (documented [here](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/stdlib/REPL/#Search-modes)).
The [TerminalPager](https://juliapackages.com/p/terminalpager) package can be
a useful companion to `History.jl`s [exported functions](#Exported-functions).
`TerminalPager` also has a little known commandline mode that can be entered with
a `|` as the first key press from the Julia mode commandline.
The [OhMyREPL](https://juliapackages.com/p/ohmyrepl) package also has some
history functionality and seems to work alongside `History.jl` provided that
OhMyREPL is loaded before `History.jl`, e.g.:
```julia
using OhMyREPL
using History
```
Be aware that the
[numbered prompts](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/stdlib/REPL/#Numbered-prompt)
introduced in Julia 1.9 use a different numbering convention than `History.jl`
does.
#### Unsupported Julia versions
Because this package makes use of undocumented features in Julia, compatibility
has been restricted to stable Julia 1.x releases. Use of this package with
unstable Julia releases is not recommended and not supported, but is often
possible if it is
installed with `Pkg.add(url="https://github.com/GHTaarn/History.jl", rev="nocompat")`.
## Known bugs
1. Commands entered in `History` mode produce errors when [Revise](https://juliapackages.com/p/revise) needs to recompile
2. In `History` mode, incomplete lines produce a stack trace instead of a line change when the `Return` key is pressed
For the first bug, if possible and acceptable, the workaround is to tab
complete the line and then exit `History` mode (with the `Home` key followed
by `Backspace`) just before the `Return` key is pressed. Alternatively, a
reload must be triggered before the `History` mode command is executed e.g.
by prepending the command with `Revise.retry();`.
For the second bug, a workaround is to use the `Meta`+`Return` key combination
instead of only `Return`. Exiting `History` mode as above is also an option
and if necessary, `History` mode can be reentered (by pressing the `Home` key
followed by the `!` key) subsequently.
## Feedback
Firstly, if you like this package and find it useful, please give it a star
on the [Github page](https://github.com/GHTaarn/History.jl).
If you find any bugs, please report them
[here](https://github.com/GHTaarn/History.jl/issues)
or [submit a pull request](https://github.com/GHTaarn/History.jl/pulls).
Before doing this, please read
[the CONTRIBUTING.md file](docs/CONTRIBUTING.md).
If what you want to write is neither an issue nor a pull request, feel free
to use the
[discussions](https://github.com/GHTaarn/History.jl/discussions) page.