

ABOUT HISTORY


Short Description

Describes how to get and run commands in the command history.


Long Description

When you enter a command at the command prompt, Windows PowerShell saves
the command in the command history. You can use the commands in the history
as a record of your work. And, you can recall and run the commands from the
command history.

History Cmdlets

Windows PowerShell has a set of cmdlets that manage the command history.

  Cmdlet           Alias   Description
  ---------------- ------- --------------------------------------------
  Get-History      h       Gets the command history.
  Invoke-History   r       Runs a command in the command history.
  Add-History              Adds a command to the command history.
  Clear-History    clhy    Deletes commands from the command history.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Managing History

In the Windows PowerShell console, you can use the following shortcuts to
manage the command history.

For other host applications, see the product documentation.

  Use this key   To perform this action
  -------------- --------------------------------------------------------
  UP ARROW       Displays the previous command.
  DOWN ARROW     Displays the next command.
  F7             Displays the command history.
  ESC            To hide the history.
  F8             Finds a command. Type one or more characters, and then
                 press F8. For the next instance, press F8 again.
  F9             Find a command by history ID. Type the history ID, and
                 then press F9. To find the ID, press F7.

MaximumHistoryCount

The $MaximumHistoryCount preference variable determines the maximum number
of commands that Windows PowerShell saves in the command history.

The default value is 4096, meaning that Windows PowerShell saves the 4096
most recent commands, but you can change the value of the variable.

For example, the following command lowers the $MaximumHistoryCount to 100
commands:

    $MaximumHistoryCount = 100

To apply the setting, restart Windows PowerShell.

To save the new variable value for all your Windows PowerShell sessions,
add the assignment statement to a Windows PowerShell profile. For more
information about profiles, see about_Profiles.

For more information about the $MaximumHistoryCount preference variable,
see about_Preference_Variables.

NOTE: In Windows PowerShell 2.0, the default value of the
$MaximumHistoryCount preference variable is 64.

Order of Commands in the History

Commands are added to the history when the command finishes executing, not
when the command is entered. If commands take some time to be completed, or
if the commands are executing in a nested prompt, the commands might appear
to be out of order in the history. (Commands that are executing in a nested
prompt are completed only when you exit the prompt level.)


See Also

-   about_Line_Editing
-   about_Preference_Variables
-   about_Profiles
-   about_Variables
