python · hauntsaninja · Jan 7, 2024 · May 8, 2019 · May 14, 2019 · May 16, 2019
diff --git a/Doc/using/cmdline.rst b/Doc/using/cmdline.rst
@@ -918,6 +918,13 @@ conflict.
    .. versionadded:: 3.7
       See :pep:`540` for more details.
 
+.. envvar:: PYTHONHISTORY
+
+   This environment variable can be used to set the location of a
+   ``.python_history`` file (it is ``~/.python_history`` by default).
+
+   .. versionadded:: 3.8
+
 
 Debug-mode variables
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

diff --git a/Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst b/Doc/whatsnew/3.8.rst
@@ -206,6 +206,9 @@ Other Language Changes
   and Windows use this to properly terminate scripts in interactive sessions.
   (Contributed by Google via Gregory P. Smith in :issue:`1054041`.)
 
+* The new :envvar:`PYTHONHISTORY` environment variable can be used to change
+  the location of a ``.python_history`` file.
+  (Contributed by Levi Sabah and Zackery Spytz in :issue:`29779`.)
 
 New Modules
 ===========

@@ -393,6 +393,17 @@ def setcopyright():
 def sethelper():
     builtins.help = _sitebuiltins._Helper()
 
+def gethistoryfile():
+    """Check if the PYTHONHISTORY environment variable is set and define
+    it as the .python_history file.  If PYTHONHISTORY is not set, use the
+    default ~/.python_history file.
+    """
+    h = os.environ.get("PYTHONHISTORY")
+    if h:
+        return h
+    return os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'),
+        '.python_history')
+
 def enablerlcompleter():
     """Enable default readline configuration on interactive prompts, by
     registering a sys.__interactivehook__.
@@ -428,13 +439,9 @@ def register_readline():
             pass
 
         if readline.get_current_history_length() == 0:
-            # If no history was loaded, default to .python_history.
-            # The guard is necessary to avoid doubling history size at
-            # each interpreter exit when readline was already configured
-            # through a PYTHONSTARTUP hook, see:
-            # http://bugs.python.org/issue5845#msg198636
-            history = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'),
-                                   '.python_history')
+            # If no history was loaded, default to .python_history,
+            # or PYTHONHISTORY.
+            history = gethistoryfile()
             try:
                 readline.read_history_file(history)
             except OSError:

@@ -311,6 +311,11 @@ def test_no_home_directory(self):
             mock_addsitedir.assert_not_called()
             self.assertFalse(known_paths)
 
+    def test_gethistoryfile(self):
+        with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ:
+            environ['PYTHONHISTORY'] = 'xoxo'
+            self.assertEqual(site.gethistoryfile(), "xoxo")
+
 
 class PthFile(object):
     """Helper class for handling testing of .pth files"""

diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2019-05-08-13-14-11.bpo-29779.jg33dp.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2019-05-08-13-14-11.bpo-29779.jg33dp.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Add a new :envvar:`PYTHONHISTORY` environment variable to set the location
+of a ``.python_history`` file.
diff --git a/Misc/python.man b/Misc/python.man
@@ -502,6 +502,9 @@ show how long each import takes. This is exactly equivalent to setting
 .IP PYTHONBREAKPOINT
 If this environment variable is set to 0, it disables the default debugger. It
 can be set to the callable of your debugger of choice.
+.IP PYTHONHISTORY
+This environment variable can be used to set the location of a history file
+(it is \fI~/.python_history\fP by default).
 .SS Debug-mode variables
 Setting these variables only has an effect in a debug build of Python, that is,
 if Python was configured with the

diff --git a/Python/coreconfig.c b/Python/coreconfig.c
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ static const char usage_6[] =
 "PYTHONBREAKPOINT: if this variable is set to 0, it disables the default\n"
 "   debugger. It can be set to the callable of your debugger of choice.\n"
 "PYTHONDEVMODE: enable the development mode.\n"
-"PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX: root directory for bytecode cache (pyc) files.\n";
+"PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX: root directory for bytecode cache (pyc) files.\n"
+"PYTHONHISTORY: the location of a .python_history file.\n";
 
 #if defined(MS_WINDOWS)
 #  define PYTHONHOMEHELP "<prefix>\\python{major}{minor}"
Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
		@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
		Add a new :envvar:`PYTHONHISTORY` environment variable to set the location
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		of a ``.python_history`` file.