Built-in Commands

history

By default:

zsh:
- history lists only the 15 most recent history entries
- history 1 lists all entries (see below)
bash:
- history lists all history entries

With numbers:

zsh:
- history <n> shows all entries starting with <n>, therefore
  history 1 shows all entries
- history -<n> (note the -) shows the <n> most recent entries
  (default behavior is effectively history -15)
bash:
- history <n> shows the <n> most recent entries
- Bash does not support listing history from an entry number directly
  (fc -l <n> requires the entry <n> to exist)

Optional background info:

In zsh, history is effectively (not literally) an alias for fc -l
- See: man zshbuiltins
- For advanced features: man zshall
In bash, history is its own command with syntax different from fc -l
- See: man bash
Both shells support: fc -l <fromNum> [<toNum>] to list a given range of history entries:
- bash: must exist
- zsh: works as long as at least one entry is in range
- Result: fc -l 1 works in zsh (lists all), but usually not in bash

13 June 2023