> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.insight.nobly.dk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Search history and auditing

> Distinguish personal recent searches, system-search configuration history, and execution audit records.

## Choose the right record

| Record                            | Purpose                                                 | What it does not prove                                  |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Personal Recent searches          | Quickly repeat a lookup                                 | A complete, immutable history of every execution        |
| System-search configuration audit | Review who changed a shared search and what changed     | Which documents a person searched for on every occasion |
| Search execution audit            | Record searches under the environment's auditing policy | That a person opened every returned document            |

## Personal recent searches

The home page and document search sidebar show **Recent searches**. Selecting one executes the search again with current data and permissions. Repeated equivalent searches update an existing entry rather than creating a separate immutable event for each run.

Under **Personal settings → Search → Search History**, choose **Show searches from**. The display window changes what you see; it does not change the organisation's retention policy. Remove a single entry or use **Clear all** to clear your own history, including retained entries outside the display window.

Picker searches and embedded Caseflow searches are not intended to populate this convenience list. To maintain a named query you use regularly, [create a saved search](/how-tos/create-a-search).

<Frame caption="The history display window affects what you see; Clear all removes your personal history.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/nobly/vtIE7VxmxD31SQoh/images/guides/search-history.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vtIE7VxmxD31SQoh&q=85&s=bade952798c9fe72507eeb126499fa6c" alt="Search History settings with Show searches from and Clear all controls" width="1000" height="340" data-path="images/guides/search-history.png" />
</Frame>

## Review shared-search configuration changes

Use the audit view for a system search to inspect the actor, time, and change details. Recent configuration records include before/after values, allowing you to investigate changed document types, filters, folders, or group assignments. Create and delete operations naturally have only one side of the comparison.

Older records may lack a before-state. An empty detail does not prove nothing changed; compare the current configuration with the intended design and test it with an affected account.

## Execution auditing is a separate policy

Where search execution auditing is provisioned, it records executions independently of a person's recent-search list. Clearing personal history does not clear these audit records. Confirm the coverage and retention required by your organisation with the people responsible for the environment.

Search execution auditing does not provide a dedicated Client audit browser or export screen. Request an audit investigation through your support process rather than looking for a Recent searches export that serves this purpose. [AI assistant access](/mcp/introduction#what-is-recorded) has its own documented search-auditing behavior.

## Where to read next

<Card title="Folder views" icon="folder-tree" href="/search-administration/folder-views" horizontal>
  Configure keyword-driven folders and verify their scope with representative documents.
</Card>