chrome.history

Description

Use the chrome.history API to interact with the browser's record of visited pages. You can add, remove, and query for URLs in the browser's history. To override the history page with your own version, see Override Pages.

Permissions

history

Manifest

You must declare the "history" permission in the extension manifest to use the history API. For example:

{
  "name": "My extension",
  ...
  "permissions": [
    "history"
  ],
  ...
}

Transition types

The history API uses a transition type to describe how the browser navigated to a particular URL on a particular visit. For example, if a user visits a page by clicking a link on another page, the transition type is "link".

The following table describes each transition type.

Transition typeDescription
"typed"The user got this page by typing the URL in the address bar. Also used for other explicit navigation actions. See also generated, which is used for cases where the user selected a choice that didn't look at all like a URL.
"auto_bookmark"The user got to this page through a suggestion in the UI—for example, through a menu item.
"auto_subframe"Subframe navigation. This is any content that is automatically loaded in a non-top-level frame. For example, if a page consists of several frames containing ads, those ad URLs have this transition type. The user may not even realize the content in these pages is a separate frame, and so may not care about the URL (see also manual_subframe).
"manual_subframe"For subframe navigations that are explicitly requested by the user and generate new navigation entries in the back/forward list. An explicitly requested frame is probably more important than an automatically loaded frame because the user probably cares about the fact that the requested frame was loaded.
"generated"The user got to this page by typing in the address bar and selecting an entry that did not look like a URL. For example, a match might have the URL of a Google search result page, but it might appear to the user as "Search Google for ...". These are not quite the same as typed navigations because the user didn't type or see the destination URL. See also keyword.
"auto_toplevel"The page was specified in the command line or is the start page.
"form_submit"The user filled out values in a form and submitted it. Note that in some situations—such as when a form uses script to submit contents—submitting a form does not result in this transition type.
"reload"The user reloaded the page, either by clicking the reload button or by pressing Enter in the address bar. Session restore and Reopen closed tab use this transition type, too.
"keyword"The URL was generated from a replaceable keyword other than the default search provider. See also keyword_generated.
"keyword_generated"Corresponds to a visit generated for a keyword. See also keyword.

Examples

To try this API, install the history API example from the chrome-extension-samples repository.

Types

HistoryItem

An object encapsulating one result of a history query.

Properties

  • id

    string

    The unique identifier for the item.

  • lastVisitTime

    number optional

    When this page was last loaded, represented in milliseconds since the epoch.

  • title

    string optional

    The title of the page when it was last loaded.

  • typedCount

    number optional

    The number of times the user has navigated to this page by typing in the address.

  • url

    string optional

    The URL navigated to by a user.

  • visitCount

    number optional

    The number of times the user has navigated to this page.

TransitionType

Chrome 44+

The transition type for this visit from its referrer.

Enum

"link"
The user arrived at this page by clicking a link on another page.

"typed"
The user arrived at this page by typing the URL in the address bar. This is also used for other explicit navigation actions.

"auto_bookmark"
The user arrived at this page through a suggestion in the UI, for example, through a menu item.

"auto_subframe"
The user arrived at this page through subframe navigation that they didn't request, such as through an ad loading in a frame on the previous page. These don't always generate new navigation entries in the back and forward menus.

"manual_subframe"
The user arrived at this page by selecting something in a subframe.

"generated"
The user arrived at this page by typing in the address bar and selecting an entry that didn't look like a URL, such as a Google Search suggestion. For example, a match might have the URL of a Google Search result page, but it might appear to the user as "Search Google for ...". These are different from typed navigations because the user didn't type or see the destination URL. They're also related to keyword navigations.

"auto_toplevel"
The page was specified in the command line or is the start page.

"form_submit"
The user arrived at this page by filling out values in a form and submitting the form. Not all form submissions use this transition type.

"reload"
The user reloaded the page, either by clicking the reload button or by pressing Enter in the address bar. Session restore and Reopen closed tab also use this transition type.

"keyword"
The URL for this page was generated from a replaceable keyword other than the default search provider.

"keyword_generated"
Corresponds to a visit generated for a keyword.

UrlDetails

Chrome 88+

Properties

  • url

    string

    The URL for the operation. It must be in the format as returned from a call to history.search().

VisitItem

An object encapsulating one visit to a URL.

Properties

  • id

    string

    The unique identifier for the corresponding history.HistoryItem.

  • isLocal

    boolean

    Chrome 115+

    True if the visit originated on this device. False if it was synced from a different device.

  • referringVisitId

    string

    The visit ID of the referrer.

  • transition

    TransitionType

    The transition type for this visit from its referrer.

  • visitId

    string

    The unique identifier for this visit.

  • visitTime

    number optional

    When this visit occurred, represented in milliseconds since the epoch.

Methods

addUrl()

Promise 
chrome.history.addUrl(
  details: UrlDetails,
  callback?: function,
)

Adds a URL to the history at the current time with a transition type of "link".

Parameters

  • details

    UrlDetails

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    () => void

Returns

  • Promise<void>

    Chrome 96+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

deleteAll()

Promise 
chrome.history.deleteAll(
  callback?: function,
)

Deletes all items from the history.

Parameters

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    () => void

Returns

  • Promise<void>

    Chrome 96+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

deleteRange()

Promise 
chrome.history.deleteRange(
  range: object,
  callback?: function,
)

Removes all items within the specified date range from the history. Pages will not be removed from the history unless all visits fall within the range.

Parameters

  • range

    object

    • endTime

      number

      Items added to history before this date, represented in milliseconds since the epoch.

    • startTime

      number

      Items added to history after this date, represented in milliseconds since the epoch.

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    () => void

Returns

  • Promise<void>

    Chrome 96+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

deleteUrl()

Promise 
chrome.history.deleteUrl(
  details: UrlDetails,
  callback?: function,
)

Removes all occurrences of the given URL from the history.

Parameters

  • details

    UrlDetails

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    () => void

Returns

  • Promise<void>

    Chrome 96+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

getVisits()

Promise 
chrome.history.getVisits(
  details: UrlDetails,
  callback?: function,
)

Retrieves information about visits to a URL.

Parameters

Returns

  • Promise<VisitItem[]>

    Chrome 96+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

Promise 
chrome.history.search(
  query: object,
  callback?: function,
)

Searches the history for the last visit time of each page matching the query.

Parameters

  • query

    object

    • endTime

      number optional

      Limit results to those visited before this date, represented in milliseconds since the epoch.

    • maxResults

      number optional

      The maximum number of results to retrieve. Defaults to 100.

    • startTime

      number optional

      Limit results to those visited after this date, represented in milliseconds since the epoch. If property is not specified, it will default to 24 hours.

    • text

      string

      A free-text query to the history service. Leave this empty to retrieve all pages.

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    (results: HistoryItem[]) => void

Returns

  • Promise<HistoryItem[]>

    Chrome 96+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

Events

onVisited

chrome.history.onVisited.addListener(
  callback: function,
)

Fired when a URL is visited, providing the HistoryItem data for that URL. This event fires before the page has loaded.

Parameters

onVisitRemoved

chrome.history.onVisitRemoved.addListener(
  callback: function,
)

Fired when one or more URLs are removed from history. When all visits have been removed the URL is purged from history.

Parameters

  • callback

    function

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    (removed: object) => void

    • removed

      object

      • allHistory

        boolean

        True if all history was removed. If true, then urls will be empty.

      • urls

        string[] optional