Self-host Hister and search the web pages you have visited.
Hister indexes page content sent by its browser extension and files you choose, then gives you fast full-text search from your own private instance. VibeNest supplies HTTPS, persistent storage and a generated access token.
Find pages by content
Search the text you remember instead of relying on a page title or the exact URL in your browser history.
Keep the index private
Public mode and user registration are disabled. A generated token protects page ingestion, search and the web interface.
Use more than the web UI
Hister also provides CLI, TUI and MCP workflows, so the same private index can support terminal and assistant searches.
Free-tier profile
The VibeNest adapter disables language detection and semantic search because those optional features need more memory or an external embedding service. Full-text search remains enabled. Stress tests completed under the real 256 MB RAM and 0.5 vCPU limits without an OOM or restart; large archives or CPU-heavy imports may still need paid hardware.
Deploy Hister in one click
- 1. Launch the adapter VibeNest opens the deploy flow with the tested Hister repository and compose recipe pre-filled.
- 2. Keep the token private The generated admin password becomes your Hister access token. Store it in a password manager.
- 3. Connect the extension Point the Hister browser extension at your VibeNest URL and use the same access token.
Why run your own browser history search?
A normal browser history remembers addresses and titles. Hister can store the text of pages you visited, making it useful when you remember a phrase or topic but not the site. It can also index selected local files.
The extension sends captured page content only to the Hister server URL you configure. Self-hosting keeps the searchable archive, access policy and retention decisions under your control.
What the smoke test covered
The pinned official v0.17.0 image accepted authenticated documents, rejected anonymous writes with HTTP 403, returned indexed text through search, preserved data across restart and stayed healthy under the Free limits.
Source, VibeNest recipe and live proof
Original open-source project
Review the upstream source, release notes and AGPL-3.0-or-later license before you deploy or update the app.
Original GitHubVibeNest-ready recipe
Adapter pins the official Hister v0.17.0 image by digest, uses a generated ADMIN_PASSWORD as the access token, disables public and multi-user modes, keeps semantic search and language detection off for Free-tier headroom, and persists /hister/data.
Deploy repositoryPublic deployment proof
Public URL opened Hister, rejected unauthenticated writes with HTTP 403 and returned the owner-seeded document through authenticated search after redeploy.
Open live deploymentFrequently asked questions
What is Hister? +
Hister is open-source software for indexing and searching the full text of visited web pages and selected files. It includes a web interface plus CLI, TUI and MCP workflows.
Why self-host browser history search? +
Visited-page content can be sensitive. Your own Hister instance keeps its index, storage and access policy in a project you control rather than a hosted history service.
Does Hister fit the VibeNest Free tier? +
Yes for personal full-text search with the adapter defaults. The pinned image passed indexing and persistence tests under 256 MB RAM and 0.5 vCPU. Very large imports may be CPU-bound, and optional language detection is disabled to avoid memory spikes.
Is semantic search enabled? +
No. The Free-tier adapter keeps semantic search off because it requires a separate embedding endpoint. Hister's built-in full-text search remains available.
How do I connect the browser extension? +
Install Hister's browser extension, set the server URL to your VibeNest Hister subdomain and provide the generated access token. The extension sends captured content to that configured server.
Is the live demo public? +
The demo URL is reachable for deployment verification, but Hister itself requires the owner's access token. Anonymous writes and searches are not enabled.
Build a private, searchable web memory
Start with the tested Hister adapter, connect your browser to your own URL and keep the generated token private.
Deploy Hister