---
date: '2026-02-21T16:18:00+01:00'
draft: false
title: 'Quickstart'
---

<script>
import screenshot from "$lib/assets/landing_screenshot.png";
</script>

The simplest way to use Hister requires no configuration at all.

## Running the Server

Open a terminal, and start the server:

```bash
./hister listen # or just `./hister`
```

The server will start on http://127.0.0.1:4433 and thus be accessible only from the same machine.
This is perfect for personal use on a single computer.

Just make sure not to close the terminal that the above command was run on, as doing so will shut down the server.
(The server can also be closed normally by pressing <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>C</kbd>.)
It is fine to close and/or reopen the server at any time, but it **must** be running for the clients to be able to index any pages; you will get errors otherwise.

More advanced setups are described in the "Advanced Server Setup" category; they are relevant for more technical users.

## Installing a Browser Extension

Install one or more of the following extensions to index any pages you _newly_ visit:

- **Chrome**: [Install from Chrome Web Store](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hister/cciilamhchpmbdnniabclekddabkifhb)
- **Firefox**: [Install from Firefox Add-ons](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/hister/) (also available on Firefox Mobile!)

Click the extension's icon to access its settings; the server URL should already be the default of `http://127.0.0.1:4433`.

The extensions also offer an option to use your Hister instance as a search engine.
Feel free to make it the default: Hister's search interface has a button to forward your query to an external search engine like DuckDuckGo, Google, etc.

Note that the browser extensions _do not_ access the network except for downloading the page's favicon while collecting page data.
In particular, they will never make requests to any site you are visiting (they only look at what the browser itself has loaded), and thus they are completely transparent to the indexed websites.

## Accessing the Web Interface

Type <http://localhost:4433> (or, equivalently, `http://127.0.0.1:4433`) into your browser's address bar, and you will access Hister's interface.
There, you can perform searches, add indexing rules... feel free to look around!

<img src={screenshot} alt="Screenshot of Hister's landing page" />

As you visit more pages in your browser (with the extension enabled), the number of indexed pages should increase!
(Just refresh the page to update it.)
If the number fails to increase, check that your browser extension is installed, enabled, and configured to the right URL.

If you can't access the Web interface at all, check that [the server is running](#running-the-server).

## Next Steps

- [Import your existing browser history](importing-browser-history)
- In the Web interface, set up ignoring and priority rules, as well as keyword aliases for efficient searching
- Explore the [advanced search syntax](https://blevesearch.com/docs/Query-String-Query/)
- Configure hotkeys and sensitive data patterns in your config file
