10 Ways to Clear Bash Command Line History in Linux

 10 Ways to Clear Bash Command Line History in Linux

Bash has a record of all the commands typed in the ~/.bash_history file. This is helpful however, it keeps sensitive commands such as passwords, server addresses, tokens, and scripts. To prevent security breaches and other privacy concerns, you may want to clear, edit or disable your bash history.

This tutorial explains all safe and recommended steps to delete bash history in a clear and straightforward manner using commands in Linux.

1. Clear Current Session Bash History

This command clears the in-memory history of the current terminal session.

#history -c

History -c removes all commands stored in memory but does not remove .bash_history.

2. Clear History and Write Changes to .bash_history

This command clears both session memory and the history file.

#history -c && history -w

·        History -c clears current sessions

·         History -w writes the empty history to disk

This completely wipes your bash history.

3. Manually delete the .bash_history File

Remove the history file from your home directory. On the next login, bash will create a fresh file.

#rm ~/.bash_history

4. Truncate the .bash_history File

Instead of destroying the history file set the file size to zero. It is safer than deleting the history file. This clears the file contents without deleting the file itself.

#truncate -s 0 ~/.bash_history

5. Clear History before Logout

For better privacy, the best practice is to clear the history right before closing the terminal. It prevents other users from reading your history later.

#history -c && history -w

Or

#history -w

6. Disable Bash History Completely

It prevents bash from storing anything. Edit the ~/.bashrc file, add unset HISTFILE, and save the ~/.bashrc file. Bash won’t write a history file anymore.

#sudo nano ~/.bashrc

#unset HISTFILE

#source ~/.bashrc

7. Disable History Temporarily for a Session

It disables history recording in the current session and is useful for short, sensitive tasks like passwords or API keys.

#set +o history

Turn it back on:

#set -o history

8. Clear Specific Command from History

It deletes a single command by its ID and permits some sort of cleanup without wiping everything.

#history -d <line_number>

#history -d 2

9. Prevents Sensitive Commands from Being Saved

Using the default settings of HISTCONTROL=ignorespace is enabled, bash wouldn’t save commands starting with a space. Ensure this in ~/.bashrc file.

#export HISTCONTROL=ignoredups: ignorespace

10. Use Secure Erase for Maximum Privacy

Overwrite the history file to prevent recovery, which is useful for servers or security-sensitive environments.

#shred -u ~/.bash_history

Verify Bash History

To verify that bash history is clear, use the 'history' command. If cleared, it shows nothing or only the history command itself.

#history

Summary Table

Method	Description	Safe
History -c	Clear session history	Yes
History -c && history -w	Fully erase all history	Yes
rm ~/.bash_history	Delete file	Safe
Truncate file	Empty file without deleting	Yes
Disable history	Permanent no-logging	Very secure
History -d	Delete specific command	Yes
Shred -u ~/.bash_history	Secure delete	Strong security

That’s all for now. Clearing your bash command line history is essential for protecting your privacy, maintaining security and preventing sensitive data leaks. The methods above give you full control to manage bash command line history efficiently.

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