How To Add Date and Time To Bash History

As Linux users and engineers, we often have to look back in our bash history to figure out exactly where things went wrong. The worst is when you execute the `history` command and all you get is a list of the commands you ran without the date/time of the command execution included. 


Thankfully, there's an easy solution. Simply run the following command which defines the `HISTTIMEFORMAT` environment variable and exports that environment variable whenever you login/establish a new shell. 

```

echo 'export HISTTIMEFORMAT="%d/%m/%y %T "' >> ~/.bash_profile

```

Where:

%d – Day

%m – Month

%y – Year

%T – Time

 

After executing the command, run `source ~/.bash_profile` or close your bash shell and open a new one.

  • 0 Users Found This Useful
Was this answer helpful?

Related Articles

Setup a SSH Tunnel for Secure Browsing

Setup a SSH Tunnel to Secure your Browsing on a Public Network Have you been sitting at your...

MySQL - Check Which Query is Consuming Resources

MySQL - Checking Which Query is Consuming Resources Have you ever wondered which mysql query...

How do I SSH into my VPS? (OS X/Terminal)

If you are on a Mac, SSH-ing into your VPS is very simple. Simply launch "Terminal" by going to...

How to Install Squid Proxy Server on CentOS 7

This can run on any VPS from us running minimum specs. Make sure to have your server up-to-date...

How to extract a tar.gz file

So you have went to that website and downloaded the latest version of your files. But they are in...