Terminal problem

Discussion in 'Mac Apps and Mac App Store' started by marsbar, Sep 25, 2009.

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  1. marsbar, Sep 25, 2009

    marsbar macrumors newbie

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    Aug 20, 2008
    #1
    Each time i restart my terminal I lose the previous command history. This is quite annoying.

    Anyone know the solution to this problem?

    :confused:
     
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  2. pilotError, Sep 25, 2009

    pilotError macrumors 68020

    pilotError

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    #2
    What do you mean? When you type the history command it doesn't display anything? Or are you trying to recall commands.
     
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  3. marsbar, Sep 25, 2009

    marsbar thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #3
    I can't recall commands. When I press "up" nothing happens...
     
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  4. maflynn, Sep 25, 2009

    maflynn Moderator

    maflynn

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    #4
    If closed the terminal session, I don't expect it to retain the history. Is the window closed but the program still running or do you exit completely out of the terminal?
     
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  5. marsbar, Sep 25, 2009

    marsbar thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #5
    Normally the terminal history will be available even when you've quit and re-opened it. I've tried this before, it worked great (and used it alot) in Leopard, and friends at my university have it working like that in Snow Leopard as well. I thought it was default, and I have looked at the Terminal prefs a thousand times, but I just can't figure it out:confused:
     
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  6. eatbacon, Sep 25, 2009

    eatbacon macrumors regular

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    #6
    This is not a function of the terminal app. It is a function of your shell. If, for instance, you are using bash (the default) then your command history is stored in your home directory in a file called .bash_history

    I would start by checking that that file exists and has read and write permissions for your user.
     
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  7. Darth.Titan, Sep 25, 2009

    Darth.Titan macrumors 68030

    Darth.Titan

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    #7
    You're correct, it should retain your command history. They're stored in your home folder in a file called .bash_history

    Maybe the permissions for this file are messed up? Have you tried repairing permissions?

    Just throwing out some ideas.
     
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  8. rowsdower, Sep 25, 2009

    rowsdower macrumors 6502

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    #8
    You might need to hit Ctrl-D (or type logout) to close bash and write the history file. I thought it wrote the history as you typed the commands though.
     
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  9. bankshot, Sep 25, 2009

    bankshot macrumors 65816

    bankshot

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    #9
    On OS X, bash defaults to automatically save 500 lines of history, so I suspect you're using a different shell. The default settings for tcsh, for example, don't save any command history. If this is your shell, you would add something like this to your .tcshrc file (or .cshrc if .cshrc already exists):

    Code:
    set history=500
set savehist=500
     
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  10. marsbar, Sep 25, 2009

    marsbar thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #10
    I am using bash...

    However, I've been setting up SVN and have been creating and editing a file (.bash_profile). In the file I only inserted this line:

    export PATH=/opt/subversion/bin/:$PATH

    I was following the tutorial at THIS website.

    I checked to see if there was a .bash_history file, and there was. It holds nothing, however.

    I am really puzzled, and tempted to format and reinstall Snow Leopard:(
     
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  11. rowsdower, Sep 25, 2009

    rowsdower macrumors 6502

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    #11
    Maybe remove the existing .bash_history file and see if it gets recreated...
     
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  12. marsbar, Sep 25, 2009

    marsbar thread starter macrumors newbie

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    #12
    I tried that and it worked!!! Thanks a lot :)

    Don't know what happened.
     
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