interactive history search #2622

What feature would you like to see?

I would like to request an interactive history search feature for the Codex CLI, similar to the Ctrl+R functionality in bash/zsh shells. This would allow users to quickly search and reuse previous prompts.

Feature Description

Implement an interactive reverse search through prompt history:

• Trigger: Press Ctrl+R to enter history search mode
• Search: Type to search through previous prompts (fuzzy matching)
• Navigate: Use Ctrl+R repeatedly to cycle through matches, Ctrl+S for forward search
• Select: Press Enter to use the selected prompt, Escape to cancel
• Edit: Arrow keys to exit search mode and edit the selected prompt before submitting

User Experience

1. Entering search mode:

   > [Ctrl+R pressed]
   (reverse-i-search)`': _
   

2. Searching:

   (reverse-i-search)`refactor': refactor this function to use async/await
   

3. Multiple matches: Press Ctrl+R again to cycle through older matches

Implementation Details

• Store prompt history persistently (local file or database)
• Implement fuzzy/substring matching algorithm
• Display match with highlighting of matched substring
• Support for:
  • Case-insensitive search
  • Multi-word search terms
  • Configurable history size limit
  • Optional: frecency-based sorting (frequency + recency)

Are you interested in implementing this feature?

No, but I'm happy to test and provide feedback.

Additional information

No response