diff --git a/lib/history.bash b/lib/history.bash
index 92db21f9..f278e598 100644
--- a/lib/history.bash
+++ b/lib/history.bash
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ export HISTSIZE=5000
 
 export AUTOFEATURE=true autotest
 
+# enter a few characters and press UpArrow/DownArrow
+# to search backwards/forwards through the history
+bind '"":history-search-backward'
+bind '"":history-search-forward'
+
 function rh {
   history | awk '{a[$2]++}END{for(i in a){print a[i] " " i}}' | sort -rn | head
 }