Search Reference
Complete reference for Atuin's search capabilities — CLI flags, TUI shortcuts, search syntax, and practical patterns.
CLI Search
atuin search [OPTIONS] [QUERY]...
Flags
| Flag |
Short |
Description |
--cwd <DIR> |
-c |
Filter by directory (. for current) |
--exclude-cwd <DIR> |
|
Exclude directory |
--exit <CODE> |
-e |
Filter by exit code |
--exclude-exit <CODE> |
|
Exclude exit code |
--before <TIME> |
-b |
Before timestamp |
--after <TIME> |
|
After timestamp |
--limit <N> |
|
Max results |
--offset <N> |
|
Skip N results |
--interactive |
-i |
Open TUI |
--filter-mode <MODE> |
|
Override filter mode |
--search-mode <MODE> |
|
Override search mode |
--keymap-mode <MODE> |
|
Override keymap |
--human |
|
Human-readable timestamps |
--cmd-only |
|
Command text only |
--print0 |
|
Null-terminate output |
--delete |
|
Delete matching entries |
--delete-it-all |
|
Delete ALL history |
--reverse |
-r |
Oldest first |
--timezone <TZ> |
|
Display timezone |
--format <FMT> |
-f |
Custom format string |
--inline-height <N> |
|
Max TUI lines |
--include-duplicates |
|
Include duplicate commands |
Format Variables
Use with --format / -f:
| Variable |
Description |
{command} |
The command text |
{directory} |
Working directory |
{duration} |
Execution duration |
{user} |
Username |
{host} |
Hostname |
{time} |
Timestamp |
{exit} |
Exit code |
{relativetime} |
Relative time (e.g., "5m ago") |
{session} |
Session ID |
{uuid} |
Entry UUID |
Time Expressions
The --before and --after flags accept natural language:
"yesterday 3pm"
"last friday"
"2024-04-01"
"April 1"
"01/04/22" # US=Jan 4, UK=Apr 1 (depends on dialect setting)
"last thursday 3pm"
TUI Keyboard Shortcuts
Navigation
| Key |
Action |
Up / Down |
Navigate results |
Page Up / Page Down |
Scroll by page |
Home / End |
Jump to start/end of input |
Actions
| Key |
Action |
Enter |
Execute selected command (if enter_accept = true) |
Tab |
Insert into shell for editing |
Ctrl+R |
Cycle filter modes (global -> host -> session -> directory -> workspace) |
Ctrl+S |
Cycle search modes (fuzzy -> prefix -> fulltext -> skim) |
Alt+1-Alt+9 |
Quick select by number |
Ctrl+Y |
Copy to clipboard |
Ctrl+O |
Open inspector |
Ctrl+U |
Clear search line |
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+D / Esc |
Exit TUI |
Inspector Mode
| Key |
Action |
Ctrl+O |
Enter inspector |
Arrow keys / j/k |
Navigate metadata |
Ctrl+D |
Delete inspected entry |
Esc |
Exit inspector |
Vim Mode (when keymap_mode = "vim-normal")
| Key |
Action |
k / j |
Navigate up/down |
h / l |
Cursor left/right |
0 / $ |
Start/end of line |
w / b / e |
Word navigation |
dd / D / C |
Delete operations |
gg / G |
Jump to top/bottom |
Ctrl+u / Ctrl+d |
Half page up/down |
Ctrl+b / Ctrl+f |
Full page up/down |
H / M / L |
High/middle/low in viewport |
Practical Search Patterns
Find Successful Commands
atuin search --exit 0 make
atuin search --exit 0 --after "yesterday 3pm" cargo build
Find Failed Commands
atuin search --exclude-exit 0 --cwd .
atuin search --exit 1 "docker build"
Directory-Scoped Search
atuin search --cwd /path/to/project git
atuin search --exclude-cwd /tmp
Custom Output Formats
atuin search -f "{time} [{duration}] [{exit}] {directory}\t{command}" git
atuin search --cmd-only docker
atuin search --cmd-only --print0 "npm run" | xargs -0 echo
History Maintenance
atuin search --delete "^rm -rf /"
atuin search --delete "password="
atuin search --limit 1 --reverse "" # Oldest command
atuin history dedup
atuin history prune --dry-run
atuin history prune
History Listing
atuin history list --human
atuin history list --cwd
atuin history list --session
atuin history list -f "{time} {duration} {command}"
atuin history last
Statistics
atuin stats
atuin stats -c 20
atuin stats "last week"
atuin stats "last friday"
atuin stats -n 2 # N-gram pairs
atuin stats -n 3 # N-gram triplets
Wildcard Search
Atuin supports * and % as wildcards in search queries. Prefix search mode auto-appends a wildcard.
tools-only