Quit Bash Shell Without Saving Bash History (5 Methods)

Sometimes it is very useful to delete / remove Bash history partially or completely when log out. Here is my favourite methods howto log out / quit / exit Bash shell without saving Bash history.

Remove Only Current Session Bash History and Leave Older History Untouched
1. Quit Bash Shell Without Saving History: Unset HISTFILE

[root@legion ~]#unset HISTFILE && exit

2. Quit Bash Shell Without Saving History: Kill Console

[root@legion ~]#kill -9 $$

Remove/Delete Bash History Completely

3. Quit Bash Shell Without Saving History: Clear History Option

[root@legion ~]#history -c && exit

4. Quit Bash Shell Without Saving History: Set HISTSIZE to 0 (zero)

[root@legion ~]#HISTSIZE=0 && exit

5. Quit Bash Shell Without Saving History: Delete HISTFILE and Unset HISTFILE

[root@legion ~]#rm -f $HISTFILE && unset HISTFILE && exit

If you want make these commands more permanent then these commands could be added on ~/.bash_logout file or used with aliases.

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Tagged with: bash, bash history, hacks, linux tips, shell, terminal
Posted in How To, One Liners