Edit command from the history list with vi or emacs using fc

fc command is used to edit, re-execute and list previously entered commands from the history list.

With fc you can made a quick open of your favorite editor and edit a previously entered command.

If the command you want to edit just has been resently executed just type:

fc

This open the default editor with the command to edit inside.

Execute with the option -e to choose the editor you want. For example to open with vim, execute:

fc -e vim

If you are inside the editor and you no longer want to execute the command, just quit without saving. For vim editor type :cq.

:cq 

If you want to edit a command that is some lines up of the history list, first use the option -l to show the command list with the line numbers. Then execute fc plus the line number of the command you want to edit. For example:

$ fc -l
994  ls
995  vim main.cpp 
996  set -o vi
997  clear
998  cat myexample.txt
999  cd ..
1000  set -o emacs
1001  ls -l
1002  fc -l
1003  rm 
1004  ls -l
1005  vim test.txt
1006  cd Development
1007  rm mytest
1008  fc -l
1009  mv mytest.txt sometest

$ fc -e vim 998

The former will open the vim editor with the command cat myexample.txt wainting to be edited.