histctl

Search, browse, and bulk-delete browser history from the terminal.

Works with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari across macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Features

• Interactive TUI with regex search, multi-select, and tab switching
• Scriptable CLI with JSON output for automation
• Automatic backups before every delete
• Cross-browser — one tool for all your browsers

Install

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew install odysa/tap/histctl

curl (macOS / Linux)

curl -fsSL https://github.com/odysa/histctl/main/install.sh | sh

PowerShell (Windows)

irm https://github.com/odysa/histctl/main/install.ps1 | iex

Go

go install github.com/odysa/histctl@latest

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/odysa/histctl.git
cd histctl
go build -o histctl .

Usage

TUI

Run histctl with no arguments to launch the interactive interface.

histctl

Key	Action
/	Search with regex
space	Toggle selection
a	Select / deselect all
d	Delete selected
tab	Switch browser
↑/k ↓/j	Navigate
?	Help
q	Quit

Mouse scrolling and clicking browser tabs are also supported.

CLI

# Search history
histctl list [pattern]         # regex search (case-insensitive)
histctl list -n 100            # limit results
histctl list --json            # JSON output

# Delete history
histctl delete <pattern>              # interactive confirmation
histctl delete <pattern> -d           # dry run — preview matches
histctl delete <pattern> -y           # skip confirmation
histctl delete <pattern> --no-backup  # skip backup

Flag	Description
-b, --browser	Target browser: safari|chrome|edge|firefox|all (default: all)
-n, --limit	Max entries (default: 50)
--json	JSON output
-d, --dry-run	Preview without deleting
-y, --yes	Skip confirmation
--no-backup	Skip backup

Notes

• Safari requires Full Disk Access for your terminal (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access)
• Backups are saved as <db-path>.<timestamp>.bak before each delete
• Browsers are auto-detected based on installed database files
• Close the target browser before deleting history
• Go 1.25+ required only for go install or building from source