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🕰️ Atuin - Intelligent Shell History

Atuin replaces your existing shell history with a SQLite database, and records additional context for your commands. It provides intelligent search, synchronization across machines, and powerful alias management.

📋 Table of Contents

🎯 Overview

Atuin enhances your shell experience by: - Recording rich context for every command (directory, exit code, duration, etc.) - Providing intelligent search with fuzzy finding and filtering - Synchronizing history across all your machines - Managing aliases centrally with dotfiles integration - Offering statistics and insights about your command usage

Why Atuin?

  • Better than Ctrl+R: Fuzzy search with context
  • Cross-machine sync: Access history from any device
  • Rich metadata: Know when, where, and how commands ran
  • Privacy-focused: End-to-end encryption for sync
  • Alias management: Centralized alias storage and sync

✨ Key Features

  • Fuzzy search: Find commands even with typos
  • Context filtering: Filter by directory, exit code, or time
  • Interactive UI: Beautiful TUI for browsing history
  • Quick access: Instant search with Ctrl+R

🔄 Cross-Machine Sync

  • Encrypted sync: End-to-end encryption for privacy
  • Automatic backup: Never lose command history
  • Multi-device: Access from any machine
  • Conflict resolution: Smart merging of histories

📝 Alias Management

  • Centralized storage: All aliases in one place
  • Version control: Track alias changes over time
  • Sync across machines: Same aliases everywhere
  • Backup & restore: Easy alias management

📊 Statistics & Insights

  • Command frequency: See your most-used commands
  • Time tracking: Know how long commands take
  • Success rates: Track command failure rates
  • Usage patterns: Understand your workflow

🚀 Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

# Atuin is already included in dotfiles
# Installation happens automatically via stow-install

Initial Setup

# 1. Install dotfiles (includes Atuin config)
make stow-install

# 2. Import existing shell history
atuin import auto

# 3. Set up sync account (optional)
atuin register -u <username> -e <email>
atuin login -u <username>

# 4. Start using Atuin
# Restart your shell or source ~/.zshrc

Verification

# Check Atuin status
atuin status

# Test search functionality
atuin search git

# Verify configuration
atuin config list

💻 Usage

Basic Commands

# Search history interactively
atuin search
# Or use Ctrl+R (replaces default shell search)

# Search for specific command
atuin search git commit

# Show recent history
atuin history list

# Get statistics
atuin stats

Search Modes

# Fuzzy search (default)
atuin search git com  # Finds "git commit"

# Exact search
atuin search --exact "git commit -m"

# Filter by directory
atuin search --cwd /path/to/project git

# Filter by exit code
atuin search --exit 0  # Only successful commands
atuin search --exit 1  # Only failed commands

Interactive Search (Ctrl+R)

  • Up/Down: Navigate through results
  • Enter: Execute selected command
  • Tab: Edit command before executing
  • Ctrl+C: Cancel search
  • Ctrl+D: Delete selected entry

📝 Alias Management

Current Aliases

The dotfiles include 38+ pre-configured aliases for common development tasks:

# Git aliases
g='git'
gs='git status'
gc='git checkout'
gp='git pull'
gP='git push'

# Development tools
v='nvim'
lg='lazygit'
d='docker'
dc='docker-compose'

# And many more...

Managing Aliases

View Aliases

# List all aliases
atuin dotfiles alias list

# Search for specific alias
atuin dotfiles alias list | grep git

Add/Modify Aliases

# Add new alias
atuin dotfiles alias set myalias "my command"

# Update existing alias
atuin dotfiles alias set g "git --no-pager"

# Delete alias
atuin dotfiles alias delete myalias

Backup & Restore

# Export current aliases to file
make export-aliases

# Import aliases from file
make import-aliases

# Backup aliases to git
make backup-aliases

Alias File Structure

# Location: dotfiles/atuin/.config/atuin/aliases.sh
#!/bin/bash
# Atuin Aliases - Generated on [date]
# Use 'atuin dotfiles alias set <n> <command>' to restore
# You can also execute this file directly: ./aliases.sh

atuin dotfiles alias set 'g' 'git'
atuin dotfiles alias set 'v' 'nvim'
# ... more aliases

🔍 Search & Navigation

Search Syntax

# Basic search
atuin search term

# Multiple terms (AND)
atuin search git commit

# Exclude terms
atuin search git -commit

# Wildcard search
atuin search "git *"

Filtering Options

# Filter by directory
atuin search --cwd ~/projects git

# Filter by date
atuin search --after "2024-01-01" deploy
atuin search --before "2024-12-31" backup

# Filter by duration
atuin search --duration 5s..  # Commands taking >5 seconds

# Filter by exit code
atuin search --exit 0 deploy  # Only successful deploys

# Search in specific session
atuin search --session-id <id> command

# Search by hostname
atuin search --host myserver deploy

# Combine filters
atuin search --cwd ~/work --exit 0 --after "2024-01-01" deploy

🔄 Synchronization

Setup Sync

# Register new account
atuin register -u username -e email@example.com

# Login to existing account
atuin login -u username

# Verify sync status
atuin status

Sync Operations

# Manual sync
atuin sync

# Force sync (resolve conflicts)
atuin sync --force

# Check sync status
atuin status

Privacy & Security

  • End-to-end encryption: History encrypted before upload
  • Local key: Encryption key stored locally only
  • No plaintext: Server never sees unencrypted commands
  • Open source: Audit the code yourself

Self-Hosting (Optional)

# Use custom sync server
atuin config set sync_address https://your-server.com

# Disable sync entirely
atuin config set auto_sync false

⚙️ Configuration

Configuration File

  • Location: dotfiles/atuin/.config/atuin/config.toml
  • Auto-loaded: Via dotfiles stow installation

Key Settings

# Search configuration
search_mode = "fuzzy"  # or "exact"
filter_mode = "global"  # or "session", "directory"

# Sync settings
auto_sync = true
sync_frequency = "1h"

# UI preferences
show_preview = true
max_preview_height = 4
show_help = true

# Privacy settings
secrets_filter = true  # Filter out potential secrets

Customization

# Change search mode
atuin config set search_mode exact

# Disable auto-sync
atuin config set auto_sync false

# Change key bindings
atuin config set keymap_mode vim  # or emacs

# View all settings
atuin config list

Shell Integration

# The dotfiles automatically configure:
# - Ctrl+R replacement
# - Up arrow enhancement
# - Command recording
# - Alias loading

# Manual integration (if needed)
echo 'eval "$(atuin init zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

History Not Recording

# Check if atuin is properly initialized
echo $ATUIN_SESSION

# Verify shell integration
atuin status

# Restart shell
exec zsh

Search Not Working

# Check database
atuin doctor

# Rebuild search index
atuin search --rebuild-index

# Check for corrupted database
sqlite3 ~/.local/share/atuin/history.db "PRAGMA integrity_check;"

Sync Issues

# Check network connectivity
atuin status

# Re-authenticate
atuin logout
atuin login -u username

# Force sync
atuin sync --force

Aliases Not Loading

# Check alias configuration
atuin dotfiles alias list

# Reload aliases
source ~/.zshrc

# Import from backup
make import-aliases

Performance Issues

# Check database size
du -h ~/.local/share/atuin/history.db

# Optimize database
atuin search --rebuild-index

# Limit history size
atuin config set max_history_length 100000

High Memory Usage

# Check atuin processes
ps aux | grep atuin

# Restart atuin daemon
atuin daemon stop
atuin daemon start

Database Maintenance

Backup History

# Export history
atuin export > history-backup.json

# Backup database file
cp ~/.local/share/atuin/history.db ~/atuin-backup.db

Clean Up History

# Remove old entries (older than 1 year)
atuin history prune --days 365

# Remove entries from specific directory
atuin history delete --cwd /tmp

# Remove failed commands
atuin history delete --exit-code 1

📊 Statistics & Analytics

Usage Statistics

# Overall stats
atuin stats

# Top commands
atuin stats --count 20

# Commands by directory
atuin stats --cwd ~/projects

# Time-based stats
atuin stats --after "2024-01-01"

Insights

# Most used commands
atuin search --limit 0 | head -20

# Failed commands
atuin search --exit 1

# Long-running commands
atuin search --duration 10s..

# Commands by frequency
atuin stats | sort -nr

🔗 Integration

Tmux Integration

  • Works seamlessly with tmux sessions
  • Each tmux pane has separate history context
  • Session-aware search and filtering

Neovim Integration

  • Terminal commands within Neovim are recorded
  • Search available in Neovim terminal mode
  • Consistent experience across all shells

Git Integration

  • Git commands are tracked with repository context
  • Easy to find commands by project
  • Track deployment and release commands