How To: Multiple history files for Bash

[kghose]

Detailed post: https://kghose.github.io/linux/bash-history.html

If you like to keep multiple terminals open for different purposes and you wanted a way to keep the command history for each of them, and keep them separate:

Here is the relevant part of my ~/.bashrc

# Create a directory for history files if needed.
HISTDIR="${HOME}/.history.d"
mkdir -p ${HISTDIR}

# Create a separate history file for each tty.
export HISTFILE="${HISTDIR}/tty`tty|cut -c10-`.hist"
# Append to history rather than overwrite it
shopt -s histappend

# These are personal preferences,
# not needed for multiple history files
export HISTCONTROL=ignoredups:erasedups
export HISTSIZE=1000
export HISTFILESIZE=1000

# A creature comfort to remind ourselves that
# we're saving to non default history files
echo "History file: ${HISTFILE}"

With this setup, whenever we open a terminal it either creates or reuses a history file based on its tty identity allowing us multiple histories for different terminals that persist across us closing and opening terminals.

 

[blunix]

that IS neat. bit of a weird approach though. ty for sharing.