My favourite shell trick is to comment my code:
$ some_long_command -with -args -easily -forgotten # thatspecialthing
$ CTRL-R<specialthing>
$ some_long_command -with -args -easily -forgotten # thatspecialthing
$ history | grep "\#"
Makes for a definite return of sanity ..
I once saw this pattern referred to as a bashtag, which I think was an excellent name (no matter if you actually run bash as your shell or not).
I don’t keep history. Any commands I think will be useful, I save it in a script.
omg >$ CTRL-R<specialthing>
I could kiss you.. this alone is amazing!
!?specialthing?
If you are feeling brave
http://atuin.sh adds a database to store history in and a custom app to use for lookup with added modes to help with searching.
Yes indeed, it is very fun to discover this if you don't know it already, it expands your understanding of your shell life immensely, doesn't it?