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This guide walks you through your first use of hline, from launch to copying commands from your bash history.

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Launch hline

With your default bash history file (~/.bash_history): 
hline
Or specify a custom history file: 
hline --file /path/to/custom_history
You’ll see a TUI showing your bash history with a centered cursor.
1

Move up and down

Use j or Down to move down one line.Use k or Up to move up one line.The cursor stays centered, and the list scrolls around it for comfortable browsing.
2

Jump quickly

Press g to jump to the top of your history.Press G (Shift+g) to jump to the bottom.Use Ctrl+d or PageDown to move down half a page.Use Ctrl+u or PageUp to move up half a page.
3

Get help

Press ? to show the help screen with all keybindings.Press Esc or ? again to close help.

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Search and filter

You can filter your history to find specific commands quickly.
1

Enter search mode

Press / to enter search mode.The bottom of the screen shows your search query as you type.
2

Type your search

Start typing to filter the history. For example, type git to show only git commands.Search is case-insensitive and matches anywhere in the command.The results update live as you type.
3

Exit search mode

Press Enter to confirm the search and return to normal mode (filter remains active).Press Esc to exit search mode.
In search mode, you can use:
  • Backspace to delete the last character
  • Ctrl+w to delete the last word
  • Ctrl+u to clear the entire search query

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Copy commands

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Copy a single command

Navigate to the command you want and press y to copy it to your clipboard. You’ll see a confirmation toast: Copied 1 line.

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Copy multiple commands

1

Select commands

Navigate to a command and press Space to select it.A visual indicator shows selected items.Repeat for each command you want to copy.
2

Copy selected

Press y to copy all selected commands to your clipboard.You’ll see: Copied N lines where N is the number of selected commands.Commands are copied in the order you selected them, separated by newlines.
3

Clear selection (optional)

Press c to clear all selections.You’ll see: Cleared selections.
You can also press a to select all currently visible (filtered) commands at once.

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Sort your history

By default, history is sorted by recency (newest first).
1

Cycle sort modes

Press s to cycle through sort modes:
  • Recency - newest or oldest first
  • Alphabetical - A→Z or Z→A
  • Length - short→long or long→short
2

Reverse sort direction

Press S (Shift+s) to reverse the current sort direction.For example, toggle between newest-first and oldest-first.
The current sort mode is shown in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

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Exit hline

Press q to quit and return to your terminal.

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Essential keybindings

  • Space - Toggle selection on current line
  • a - Select all visible commands
  • c - Clear all selections
  • y - Copy selected commands (or current if none selected)
  • s - Cycle sort mode (recency → alphabetical → length)
  • S - Reverse sort direction
  • ? - Show/hide help
  • q - Quit

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Next steps

Now that you know the basics, explore more features:

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