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asciimoo/hister

A private, self-hosted search engine that indexes the web pages you visit and the files you keep, searchable from web, terminal, or AI assistants via MCP.

Open-source alternative to:PinboardGoogle Search

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What is it?

Hister is a personal search engine that builds a full-text index from the web pages you visit and the local files you choose to keep. Instead of relying on a third-party search provider, it keeps documents and indexes on a server you run, so you can find something you read months ago by searching for a phrase from its content rather than remembering the URL.

Indexing happens through a Firefox or Chrome extension that saves newly visited pages, through browser history and bookmark import, through local directory indexing, and through a crawler for websites. Queries support field filters, phrases, wildcards, negation, aliases and result priorities. An optional semantic search mode finds documents by meaning, using an embeddings endpoint you configure.

Search is available from the web interface, a terminal UI, the command line, or an AI assistant connected through MCP. The project is written in Go, supports multiple users on a shared server with separate document sets, and sends no telemetry by default.

Key features

  • 01Full-text indexing of visited pages and local files, not just titles and URLs.
  • 02Browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome save new pages automatically.
  • 03Imports browser history, bookmarks and files, and indexes local directories.
  • 04Advanced query syntax with field filters, phrases, wildcards and negation.
  • 05Optional semantic search through a configured embeddings endpoint.
  • 06Search from the web UI, terminal UI, command line, or an MCP-connected AI assistant.

Use cases

  • Finding a page or article you read earlier by searching for a phrase from it.
  • Keeping a private, searchable archive of browser history and bookmarks on your own machine.
  • Searching local document folders alongside web content from one place.
  • Letting an AI assistant query your personal browsing and file index through MCP.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Download the binary for your platform from the latest release and rename it to hister

  2. 2

    Make the binary executable on Linux or macOS

    chmod +x hister
  3. 3

    Start the Hister server on Linux or macOS

    ./hister listen
  4. 4

    Open http://127.0.0.1:4433 and install the browser extension for Firefox or Chrome

Things to know

  • The server must keep running in a terminal for pages to be indexed and searchable.
  • Optional semantic search sends document text to an embeddings endpoint you configure.
  • Licensed under AGPL-3.0, a copyleft license that requires sharing modified source when offered as a network service.

Topics

#search-engine#personal-search#full-text-search#browser-history#privacy#self-hosted#semantic-search#mcp#history#index

FAQ

What is hister?
A private, self-hosted search engine that indexes the web pages you visit and the files you keep, searchable from web, terminal, or AI assistants via MCP. Hister is a personal search engine that builds a full-text index from the web pages you visit and the local files you choose to keep. Instead of relying on a third-party search provider, it keeps documents and indexes on a server you run, so you can find something you read months ago by searching for a phrase from its content rather than remembering the URL.
Is hister free to use? What license does it have?
hister is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is hister still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to hister was on Oct 19, 2026.
What can I use hister for?
Finding a page or article you read earlier by searching for a phrase from it. Keeping a private, searchable archive of browser history and bookmarks on your own machine. Searching local document folders alongside web content from one place. Letting an AI assistant query your personal browsing and file index through MCP.
How do I install hister?
Download the binary for your platform from the latest release and rename it to hister Make the binary executable on Linux or macOS: chmod +x hister Start the Hister server on Linux or macOS: ./hister listen Open http://127.0.0.1:4433 and install the browser extension for Firefox or Chrome
Where can I get hister?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/asciimoo/hister

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