Ways to Re-run Last Executed Commands in Linux

High efficiency in the re-execution of the last command in the Linux terminal makes all the difference between high and low productivity when working there, especially with long or complicated commands. The article is issued along with various methods as to how to rerun the last executed commands in Linux, together with their explanations and examples.

Methods to Run Last Executed Commands

There are several ways to rerun the last executed command in Linux. Some of these include the following:

• Ctrl + P
• UP Arrow key
• Bang-bang operator (!!)
• Nth bang operator (!-n)
• fc command

Simple Examples

1. Ctrl + P

This is one of the sure-fire shortcuts in Linux to run the last run command in the terminal. The only thing you have to do for this is just hit the keys Ctrl+P together to fill up the prompt with the last executed command.

Usage of CTRL + P

2. Up Arrow Key

Most commonly accessed, the Up Arrow key moves up previous commands. You can step through your history of entered commands quite easily.

Example usage of the Up Arrow key

3. Bang-bang Operator (!!)

The double bang or !! operator, commonly also called the bang-bang command repeats the last command entered.

!!

Example usage of the bang-bang operator

4. Nth Bang Operator (!-n)

A single bang operator followed by any number will run some previous command. For instance you can use !-1 to run the last command, !-2 to run the second-last, and so on.

!-1

Exercises-Nth bang operator usage

5. fc Command

The fc (fix command) is one of those in-built commands that most shells offer to work with previously executed commands. To run the last command, use the -s option.

fc -s

Example usage of fc -s command

Functions and Special Use

Advanced fc Usage

This command offers much advanced options for working with the history of commands:

• fc -l: Print last 16 commands
• fc -ln: Print commands without line number
• fc -lN: Print last N commands
• fc -e editor: Open for editing in editor last command entered before executing

Conclusion

There are multiple ways to redo the last entered command in Linux, and each has merits, but for our purpose here, we will look at some of the most popular methods. We can also use edit before execution with Ctrl+P and the Up Arrow key and fast execute by using bang operators and the fc command. If you know these, you will really make more productivity on complex or repetitive commands when working at the terminal of Linux.

Tip: Combine these with command history search (Ctrl + R) for very powerful command line navigation and reuse.