History

The History screen keeps a complete record of every R command you have executed, whether from the Console or the Editor. You can search past commands, filter by source or outcome, review execution statistics, and send any previous command back to the Console or Editor with a single tap.

Overview

The History screen has the following layout:

  • Title bar showing “History” with a back arrow and an overflow menu (three-dot icon)
  • Search bar for filtering entries by keyword
  • Filter chips for narrowing results by source (Console, Editor) and outcome (Success, Failed)
  • Entry count showing how many entries match the current filters
  • Entry list with each row showing a code preview, source label, execution duration, relative timestamp, and a success or failure icon

History screen with the search bar, the Console, Editor, Success and Failed filter chips, and 10 entries, newest first: range(x) run from the Editor, then commands run from the Console such as head(iris, 3), sqrt(144) and mean(x). The two failed ones, stop(“custom error”) and y, have a red X and their error in red

History screen with the search bar, the Console, Editor, Success and Failed filter chips, and 10 entries, newest first: range(x) run from the Editor, then commands run from the Console such as head(iris, 3), sqrt(144) and mean(x). The two failed ones, stop(“custom error”) and y, have a red X and their error in red, in dark mode

History screen on a tablet, with the search bar and filter chips above a list of 10 entries that runs the full width of the screen, newest first, each row showing its code, source, duration and time

History screen on a tablet, with the search bar and filter chips above a list of 10 entries that runs the full width of the screen, newest first, each row showing its code, source, duration and time, in dark mode

Accessing History

Navigate to More > History to open the History screen, or open it from Settings > Support > Execution History.

The Console has its own, smaller history search: the magnifier beside the input field searches the commands you have typed there and puts one back in the input. It does not open this screen. See History Navigation.

Entry List

Each entry in the list displays:

Element Description
Status icon A checkmark (success) or an X (failure) on the left side of the row
Code preview The first line of the command, truncated if it exceeds 50 characters
Source label “Console” or “Editor”, indicating where the command was run (a run from the Workspace’s Editor pane says “Console”)
Duration How long the command took (e.g., “42ms”, “1.3s”)
Relative time When the command was run (e.g., “5m ago”, “2h ago”, “3d ago”, or a date like “Mar 1”)
Error preview For failed commands, a one-line preview of the error message appears below the metadata

Tap any entry to open its detail sheet. Swipe an entry from right to left to delete it, as described in Swipe to Delete. If you would rather not swipe, the detail sheet has a Delete button, and TalkBack offers Delete in its actions menu on each row.

Searching

The search bar at the top of the screen filters entries in real time as you type. The search checks against:

  • The command code itself
  • Output summaries (if present)
  • Error messages (if present)

Matching is case-insensitive. Tap the clear button (X icon) in the search field to reset the search.

Searching history for a keyword

Searching history for a keyword, in dark mode

Filtering

Below the search bar, four filter chips let you narrow the list:

Chip Effect
Console Show only commands run from the Console
Editor Show only commands run from the Editor
Success Show only commands that completed without errors
Failed Show only commands that produced errors

In the Workspace, code you run from the Editor pane runs in the Console pane, so each run is one entry under Console, not Editor.

Filters are toggles: tap a chip to activate it, tap it again to deactivate it. You can combine one source filter with one outcome filter (e.g., “Console” + “Failed” to see only failed console commands).

When any filter is active, a Clear button appears at the end of the chip row. Tap it to reset all filters and the search query at once.

Filter chips narrowing results to failed commands

Filter chips narrowing results to failed commands, in dark mode

The entry count below the filter row updates to reflect the number of matching entries (e.g., “12 entries” or “1 entry”).

Entry Details

Tapping an entry opens a bottom sheet with full details:

  • Status header showing “Success” or “Failed” with the execution duration
  • Source and timestamp (e.g., “Console • 5m ago”)
  • Code section with the full command displayed in a monospaced font on a shaded background
  • Action buttons to send the code to the Console or Editor, and Delete to remove the entry
  • Error section (for failed commands) showing the complete error message on a red-tinted background
  • Output section (when available) showing a summary of the command’s output

Entry detail sheet showing full command and metadata

Entry detail sheet showing full command and metadata, in dark mode

For a command that failed, the header says Failed in red, and the error message has its own Error section below the buttons:

Detail sheet for the failed command stop(“custom error”), over the History list. It has a red Failed header with the duration, the source (Console) and the time, then the code, the Send to Console, Send to Editor and Delete buttons, and under Error the message Error: custom error on a red-tinted background

Detail sheet for the failed command stop(“custom error”), over the History list. It has a red Failed header with the duration, the source (Console) and the time, then the code, the Send to Console, Send to Editor and Delete buttons, and under Error the message Error: custom error on a red-tinted background, in dark mode

Send to Console

Tap Send to Console to put the command in the Console’s input field, with the cursor at its end. It is not run: edit it if you like, then tap Run. The History screen closes and the Console comes up with its input field focused. In the Workspace layout, where History opens from Settings, the Settings dialog closes and the Console pane’s input takes focus. This is useful for re-running or tweaking a previous command.

Console after Send to Console, with mean(x) waiting in the input field at the bottom, not yet run. The output area above holds only the R version line

Console after Send to Console, with mean(x) waiting in the input field at the bottom, not yet run. The output area above holds only the R version line, in dark mode

Anything you had half typed in the Console is kept, as it is when you recall a command with the up arrow: press down to get it back, or it returns to the input as soon as you run the sent command. See History Navigation.

Send to Editor

Tap Send to Editor to insert the command into the Editor. This is helpful when you want to build on a command you originally ran interactively.

Statistics

To view aggregate statistics about your execution history:

  1. Tap the overflow menu (three-dot icon) in the title bar.
  2. Tap Statistics.

A dialog appears with the following metrics:

Statistic Description
Total executions The total number of commands recorded
Successful How many commands completed without errors
Failed How many commands produced errors
Success rate The percentage of successful executions (e.g., “87.5%”)
Avg duration The average execution time across all commands

Tap Close to dismiss the dialog.

Execution statistics dialog

Execution statistics dialog, in dark mode

Exporting History

To keep a copy of your history outside the app:

  1. Tap the overflow menu (three-dot icon) in the title bar.
  2. Tap Export as Text… for a readable log, or Export as JSON… for a file other tools can read.
  3. Android’s file picker opens; choose where to save it.

History with the overflow menu open at the top right, listing Statistics, Export as Text, Export as JSON and Clear All over the list of entries

History with the overflow menu open at the top right, listing Statistics, Export as Text, Export as JSON and Clear All over the list of entries, in dark mode

The export holds what the list is showing, so set the search and filters first if you want only part of it. The text log gives each entry its time, outcome, duration, source and code, then any error and output. The JSON uses the same field names as the iOS app, webRios, so exports from the two read alike.

Deleting Entries

You can remove entries from the history in three ways:

Swipe to Delete

Swipe any entry from right to left. As the row slides away, a trash icon shows in the space it leaves behind. Once you have dragged the row about halfway across, that space turns red and the entry is deleted straight away, without waiting for you to lift your finger. If you let go before halfway, the row slides back and nothing is deleted. A quick flick to the left is the exception: it carries the row the rest of the way, and the entry is deleted. A swipe removes a single entry permanently.

Delete from the Detail Sheet

Open an entry and tap Delete beside the Send buttons. This also removes that one entry permanently.

Clear All

To delete the entire history:

  1. Tap the overflow menu (three-dot icon) in the title bar.
  2. Tap Clear All.
  3. A Clear All History dialog warns that this will permanently delete all entries and cannot be undone.
  4. Tap Clear All to confirm, or Cancel to keep your history.

The Clear All History dialog over the dimmed History list, warning that every entry will be permanently deleted and that this cannot be undone, with a Cancel button and a red Clear All button

The Clear All History dialog over the dimmed History list, warning that every entry will be permanently deleted and that this cannot be undone, with a Cancel button and a red Clear All button, in dark mode

Clearing all history is irreversible. There is no way to recover deleted entries.

Persistence

History entries are saved to persistent storage on your device. Your full execution history carries over between sessions, so you can close the app and return later to find all your past commands intact.

If you ran a useful command days ago and cannot remember the exact syntax, open History, search for a keyword, and send it back to the Console or Editor. No need to retype it from scratch.