Hister v0.20.0

Hister is a free and open-source personal search engine that indexes the contents of web pages and local files so they can be searched later. It runs on infrastructure you control, provides a web interface and terminal search, and can also connect to AI assistants through MCP.

Features

Hister performs full-text indexing rather than searching only page titles and URLs. It can index pages visited through its Firefox and Chrome browser extensions and can also index local directories and imported browser history.

Its search system supports phrases, wildcards, field filters, negation, aliases, and result priorities. This provides more control than a basic keyword search when working with a large personal archive.

Hister also supports optional semantic search through a configurable embeddings endpoint. This allows searches based on meaning rather than exact words, although using a remote embeddings service means document text may be sent to that service.

The software can crawl websites recursively and import existing content. Recent releases have also added unified imports for browser history, local files, bookmarks, and archived content from services such as Linkwarden, Karakeep, and Shaarli.

Hister can be accessed through its web interface, terminal interface, TUI, command line, or an AI assistant using MCP. Multi-user support allows separate documents and search results to be maintained on a shared server.

Download Hister v0.20.0 - Software Mirrors
Hister v0.20.0 for Windows hister_0.20.0_windows_amd64.exe | 106.88 MB
Hister v0.20.0 for macOS hister_0.20.0_darwin_arm64 | 104.29 MB hister_0.20.0_darwin_amd64 | 106.2 MB
Hister v0.20.0 for Linux hister_0.20.0_linux_arm64 | 103.87 MB hister_0.20.0_linux_amd64 | 106.79 MB
Others Download related to Hister v0.20.0 hister_0.20.0_checksums.txt | 468 B
Hister v0.20.0 Source Code Hister v0.20.0 Source code (zip) Hister v0.20.0 Source code (tar.gz)
Hister v0.20.0 Release Notes: New Features Browser Bookmark Imports hister import browser bookmarks imports bookmarks from Firefox based browsers, Chromium based browsers, and Ladybird. It supports automatic detection and explicit --browser and --db options, applies the bookmarks label by default, and uses persistent crawl jobs that can be interrupted and resumed. The new hister import browser history command accepts the same named options. The existing positional history command and older browser import jobs remain supported. Raindrop.io Imports hister import raindrop imports bookmarks through the Raindrop.io API or from a CSV export with --input. API imports preserve titles, dates, notes, highlights, annotations, tags, favorites, and collection paths. Linked pages are downloaded with the configured crawler, while bookmark details are retained if a page cannot be retrieved. CSV input can also be read from standard input. Continuous File Imports hister import file --watch performs an initial scan and keeps remote file snapshots updated as files change. It supports explicit files, recursive directories, or configured directory rules, including labels and ownership. Temporary server failures are retried while the command runs. Watch mode handles file snapshots rather than restoring exports or archives. Removing or renaming a source file leaves its previously imported snapshot in the index. Configuration and Diagnostics The new hister config commands create default configuration, report its path, show effective settings with credentials redacted, and validate configuration and extractor options. Inspection does not create runtime files. hister doctor checks local configuration and extractor dependencies, then verifies server connectivity, authentication, index compatibility, and server extractor dependencies. It supports structured output and uses the new GET /api/diagnostics endpoint, which requires an administrator in multiple user mode. Allow Rules and Guided Rule Editing The new allow rule group restricts indexing to URLs matching at least one allowed pattern. Skip rules still take precedence, and an empty allow list preserves the existing behavior. The Rules page can now create patterns from domains or exact URLs, optionally include subdomains, and validate and test patterns before saving them. Manual indexing from the browser extension and --ignore-rules on hister index or import commands can override allow and skip rules. This choice is saved with the document and survives reindexing. Sensitive content checks, robots rules, and source selection filters still apply. Structured Command Line Output Search, indexing summaries, crawl inspection, diagnostics, and file and service import summaries share text, JSON, JSONL, and CSV output formats. Search results stream as pages arrive and preserve selected field order in text and CSV. Indexing reports indexed, skipped, and failed counts and continues after individual URL failures. hister index --failed-urls PATH writes failed URLs to a file that can be reused with --input. Prometheus Monitoring and Unix Sockets Setting server.metrics: true enables GET /metrics with search, indexing, document count, storage, Go runtime, and process metrics. The endpoint follows the configured base path and authentication settings and requires an administrator in multiple user mode, including when public mode is enabled. The server can listen on a Unix socket using a server.address such as unix:/run/hister/hister.sock. An explicit public server.base_url is required for clients connecting through a reverse proxy. The socket is removed on a clean shutdown. Enhancements Browser extension: automatic capture reduces redundant submissions and preserves final page snapshots during navigation and tab closure. Search interface: loading feedback is clearer, filters and sort controls remain available for empty results, and history results display index counts. Web interface: the Add page clarifies file import and indexing options, the profile page can copy access tokens, and the menu links to the browser's extension store. OAuth: GitHub, Google, and OIDC logins use S256 PKCE by default. GitHub token exchanges now send credentials in a form POST. Imports and backups: import failures provide clearer explanations, backups receive a .json extension when omitted, and sensitive content matches are easier to identify. Offline commands: operations that only read SQLite data open the database in read only mode. Documentation: new monitoring and Homebrew instructions accompany expanded crawler backend, import, configuration, and command line guides. Dependencies: Go modules, npm packages, container bases, Nix inputs, and GitHub Actions were updated. Bug Fixes SQLite vector stores tolerate changed embedding dimensions at startup, and reindexing recreates the store with the configured dimensions. A failed vector store rebuild now aborts reindexing instead of silently proceeding. Embedding retries recognize llama.cpp physical batch size errors. Semantic search respects the selected result order, removes deleted results from the interface, and initially uses the server's configured defaults. Languages without a registered Bleve analyzer use the default index instead of attempting to create an unsupported language index. Local file indexing applies configured labels, watches directory roots that are symbolic links, and handles home directory and absolute paths correctly. Imported HTML files follow the appropriate saved page or file snapshot path, and the index command initializes configured extractors. Database timestamps are stored consistently in UTC, with existing SQLite timestamps normalized while preserving their instants and precision. Browser import detection handles profile paths more reliably, including Ladybird profiles, and retains support for resuming older history jobs. Safari and other browser extensions receive valid CORS preflight responses, including when custom authentication headers are used. 10. Text previews escape content when HTML is unavailable. Favicon responses use -- stricter headers, and oversized thumbnails are rejected. 11. Lobsters extraction avoids duplicate comments, and Mastodon extraction no -- longer applies incorrect link resolution. 12. History loading no longer blocks navigation, empty results clear stale -- previews, and the TUI refreshes its viewport when a WebSocket connects. 13. Client errors preserve server explanations for HTTP 404 responses. 14. FreeBSD builds work again, and the systemd service correctly excludes -- privileged system calls and uses paths compatible with user services. Backward Compatibility Notes The following changes require attention when upgrading from v0.19.0: Command line automation: --format json consistently returns an array, including single record summaries. Indexing, file imports, and service imports return status 2 when processing completes with item failures and status 1 for errors that prevent completion. Update scripts that depend on earlier output shapes or exit statuses. Configuration creation: use hister config create in place of hister create-config. The old command remains as a deprecated alias and writes its notice to standard error. Configuration creation refuses to overwrite an existing file. OAuth providers: providers that reject PKCE parameters need disable_pkce: true in their provider configuration. Restart logins begun before the upgrade; existing authenticated sessions remain valid. Custom GitHub token endpoints and proxies must accept form POST requests. Allow rules and reindexing: existing rules without an allow group retain their behavior. Once allow rules are added, reindexing removes documents excluded by allow or skip rules unless they carry an explicit manual override. SQLite timestamps: an automatic migration normalizes stored timestamps to UTC. Command line displays continue to use local time.

Performance and Compatibility

Hister is written in Go and can run locally or on infrastructure controlled by the user. It supports SQLite and PostgreSQL as database backends, with PostgreSQL support added in version 0.12.0.

The application is designed for continuous personal indexing. Once the server is running, the browser extension can automatically send visited page content to the configured Hister server for indexing.

Hister does not require a cloud service or account for a local personal setup. The project states that it has no telemetry or mandatory cloud synchronization. Indexed documents and search indexes remain on the Hister server.

The current release series also includes features for public search deployments, documentation datasets, and additional import sources. Version 0.17.0 introduced a unified import interface and support for importing content from Linkwarden, Karakeep, and Shaarli.

System Requirements

Hister provides prebuilt binaries for supported platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. The Windows version can be started directly from PowerShell using the hister.exe binary.

For normal use:

• Windows, Linux, or macOS

• Firefox or Chrome if browser history indexing is required

• Storage for indexed documents and search indexes

• A local or server environment where Hister can remain running

For building from source:

• Go 1.26

• npm

• C compiler for CGO dependencies

Hardware requirements are not specified as a fixed minimum because resource usage depends on the amount of content being indexed and the selected database and search configuration.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Free and open source

• Full-text personal search

• Indexes web pages and local files

• Firefox and Chrome integration

• Browser history import

• Website crawler

• Powerful search operators

• Optional semantic search

• Web interface

• Terminal and TUI access

• MCP support for AI assistants

• Multi-user support

• No telemetry by default

• No mandatory cloud service

• Supports SQLite and PostgreSQL

• Docker and Nix installation options

• AGPLv3 licensed

Cons

• Requires running and maintaining your own server

• Initial indexing can consume significant storage and processing resources

• Semantic search requires an embeddings endpoint

• Browser integration requires an extension

• More complex to configure than conventional desktop search tools

• The AGPLv3 license may require consideration for organizations modifying and redistributing the software

How to Install

Download the Hister binary for your operating system from the project's releases. On Windows, rename the executable to hister.exe if necessary and start it from PowerShell with:

.\hister.exe listen

On Linux or macOS, make the binary executable and start it with:

chmod +x hister
./hister listen

Then open the local Hister web interface at http://127.0.0.1:4433 and install the Firefox or Chrome browser extension. After visiting pages with the extension enabled, their content can be indexed and searched through Hister.

Hister can also be installed using Homebrew, Docker, or Nix. Existing browser history, local directories, and files can be imported after installation.

Final Verdict

Hister is a useful personal search engine for users who want to build their own searchable archive of web pages and files. Its full-text indexing, browser integration, local deployment, advanced queries, semantic search option, and MCP support make it more than a simple browser history search tool.

The main tradeoff is that Hister is self-hosted software. Users need to keep the server running and manage the storage and indexing environment themselves. For users who want a private search index under their own control, that approach provides considerably more control over their data.

Free

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Software Informations:
Developer:
Adam Tauber
Operating System:
Windows / macOS / Linux
Date Added:
2026-09-24T16:03:28.405Z
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