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hishtory vs zsh-history-substring-search: catalog facts
hishtory	zsh-history-substring-search
Best for: Developers who want to search their command history across several machines	Best for: Zsh users who want fish-style history search
Free Free and open source.	Free Free to download and use.
macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
Records directory, exit status and duration for each command End-to-end encrypted sync across machines All 3 strengths for hishtory Records directory, exit status and duration for each command End-to-end encrypted sync across machines Queryable history instead of a flat text file	Matches any part of a previous command Fish-style search without switching shells All 3 strengths for zsh-history-substring-search Matches any part of a previous command Fish-style search without switching shells Small plugin that adds to an existing Zsh setup
Sync relies on a backend service unless you run your own Another hook in your shell startup to install and maintain	Works only with Zsh Needs setup in your shell configuration
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Not open source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for hishtory github.com/ddworken/hishtory Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for zsh-history-substring-search github.com/zsh-users/zsh-history-substring-search Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.