1History is a command-line tool designed to backup your browsing history from multiple browsers into a single file. This utility simplifies the process of preserving your digital footprint across different browsers in an organized and centralized manner.
Key Features:
Cross-browser support, allowing you to backup history from Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and other popular browsers.
Ability to automate backups using cron jobs or scheduled tasks for consistent data preservation.
Customizable output format, enabling users to tailor the backup file to their specific needs.
Lightweight design with minimal resource usage, ensuring smooth performance even on older systems.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for power users and developers who value automation and organization. 1History provides a reliable way to maintain a record of your browsing activity without manual intervention or complex setup. By consolidating history data into one file, it streamlines access and reduces clutter associated with managing multiple browser histories.
Available via winget for easy installation.
README
1History
> All your history in one file.
1History backs up your browser history into a single local file and lets you explore it through a modern web UI — search, visualize, and manage everything from the browser, no extra CLI commands needed after the initial setup.
Features
Modern web UI — dashboard, keyword search, in-browser backup
Entirely offline, no cloud, no privacy concerns
Supports Chrome / Firefox / Safari on macOS / Linux / Windows
Single binary built in Rust 🦀
Screenshots
Dashboard
Database
Installation
Script (Linux / macOS)
Downloads a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases and installs it to ~/.local/bin.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/localfirstapp/1History/main/install.sh | sh
To pass options, use sh -s -- after the pipe:
# Install a specific version
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/localfirstapp/1History/main/install.sh | sh -s -- --version v0.4.0
# Install to a custom directory
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/localfirstapp/1History/main/install.sh | sh -s -- --prefix /usr/local/bin
# Use a mirror for users in China
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/localfirstapp/1History/main/install.sh | sh -s -- --china
# First backup — auto-detects all supported browsers
onehistory backup
# Start the web UI
onehistory serve
# Open http://127.0.0.1:9960
That's it. From this point on, everything can be done in the browser:
Dashboard (/) — KPI cards, daily page view chart, top pages and domains
Search (/search) — keyword search across all history with instant filtering
Database (/db) — trigger new backups, monitor progress, view import history
CLI Reference
The CLI is only needed for the initial setup and for scripting/automation use cases.
Usage: onehistory [OPTIONS]
Commands:
backup Backup browser history to 1History
serve Start HTTP server to visualize history
show Show default history files on your computer
export Export history to CSV file
help Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
-d, --db-file Database path [env: OH_DB_FILE=] [default: ~/onehistory.db]
-v, --verbose Enable verbose logging
-h, --help Print help
-V, --version Print version
backup
Usage: onehistory backup [OPTIONS]
Options:
-f, --history-files SQLite file path of different browsers(History.db/places.sqlite...)
-d, --disable-detect Disable auto detect history files
-D, --dry-run Preview what would be imported without writing to the database
-h, --help Print help
Auto-detection covers all major browsers. Use -f for non-standard locations:
Browser
History file
Chrome
History
Firefox
places.sqlite
Safari
History.db
# Import from custom paths; -d skips auto-detect (useful when browsers are open)
onehistory backup -d -f ~/some-dir/History -f ~/another-dir/places.sqlite
Development
Prerequisites
Rust (stable)
Node.js 18+
Setup
git clone https://github.com/localfirstapp/1History
cd 1History
cd frontend && npm install && cd ..
Build
The frontend must be built before cargo build — its output is embedded into the binary:
cd frontend && npm run build && cd ..
cargo build
Or simply:
make serve
Running locally with hot reload
# Terminal 1 — Rust server
cargo run -- serve
# Terminal 2 — Vite dev server (proxies API to :9960)
cd frontend && npm run dev
# Open http://localhost:5173
Testing
cargo test
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features
cargo fmt -- --check
This happens when your browser is open during backup. Either close the browser first, or use -d -f to point at a copy of the history file outside the browser's profile directory.
