docs/tutorials/save-and-run-commands-locally
Beginner5 min

Save and run commands locally

Keep useful commands on this machine. Import from history. Run by name.

What this does

Free recall stores data under ~/.recall/ on this computer — mainly commands.json (~500 soft cap), plus optional groups.json, templates.json, snippets.json, env.json, and aliases.json (soft caps 50/50/50/50/100). Manage collections in the VS Code extension or by editing those JSON files. CLI recall group|template|snippet|env|alias still require login today. Nothing is uploaded until you log in and run recall sync (Pro).

01Install

npm (Node.js 18+)
npm install -g @devkitvault/recall
Check it
recall --versionrecall doctor

Prefer a native binary? See Installation.

02Save a command

recall save "docker compose up -d" -n up -t docker Saved locally as "up"

-n is the short name you run later. -t is for tags / search.

03List, search, run

recall listrecall search dockerrecall run up $ docker compose up -d

recall run actually executes the saved command. recall ask (Pro) only prints a suggestion — you still paste or run it yourself.

04Import from shell history

Already have useful lines in zsh, bash, or PowerShell history? Import picks candidates from the history file and lets you choose which ones to keep.

recall import history --dry-run -n 20# preview only — nothing savedrecall import history -n 20# space to select, enter to saverecall import history -n 20 -y -t imported# take all candidates, tag them

On bash, if the list looks empty: history -a && recall import history.

05Sync to another machine (Pro)

Same vault on a laptop and a server, or Ask from natural language — that needs Pro:

recall auth loginrecall sync# pull cloud → local, then push new local commands

Details: Free vs Pro.

// what's next
→ Save the last command you typed→ Plans: Free vs Pro