docs/docs/guide/getting-started.md
This guide walks through setting Atuin up properly, one step at a time. If you just want the commands, the quickstart on the home page has them.
Setup takes four steps, and only the first is required:
The install script handles the binary and the shell plugin, and walks you through the rest:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://setup.atuin.sh | sh
Then restart your shell. Prefer a package manager, or want to install the pieces yourself? See Installation.
At this point Atuin is recording new commands. Press ++ctrl+r++ or the ++up++ arrow to search them.
Atuin only records commands run after it's installed, so bring the old ones in:
atuin import auto
This detects your shell and imports from its history file, which stays untouched — your shell keeps writing to it as usual. See Import existing history for importing from a specific shell or a non-default file.
Sync backs your history up and shares it between machines, end-to-end encrypted. You can use our server or host your own.
atuin register -u <USERNAME> -e <EMAIL>
atuin sync
Registration generates an encryption key. Save it somewhere safe — you'll need it to log in on any other machine, and it can't be recovered. See Setting up sync for the details, including logging in elsewhere.
Skipping this step is fine. Your history stays on this machine, not backed up and not synchronized.
Once you're up and running:
Open a topic on the forum, join our
Discord, or file an
issue. Running
atuin doctor collects the information we'll ask for.