diff --git a/python/gui/auto_generated/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.sip.in b/python/gui/auto_generated/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.sip.in
index ee9cabaa27e..3f30ea60138 100644
--- a/python/gui/auto_generated/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.sip.in
+++ b/python/gui/auto_generated/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.sip.in
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ Constructor for HistoryEntryOptions.
         Qgis::HistoryProviderBackends storageBackends;
     };
 
-    bool addEntry( const QString &providerId, const QVariantMap &entry, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
+    long long addEntry( const QString &providerId, const QVariantMap &entry, bool &ok /Out/, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
 %Docstring
 Adds an ``entry`` to the history logs.
 
@@ -133,16 +133,48 @@ The entry will be tagged with the current date/time as the timestamp.
 
 The ``providerId`` specifies the history provider responsible for this entry.
 Entry options are specified via the ``options`` argument.
+
+:param providerId: associated :py:func:`QgsAbstractHistoryProvider.id()`
+:param entry: entry to add
+:param options: options
+
+:return: - ID of newly added entry.
+         - ok: will be set to ``True`` if entry was successfully added
 %End
 
-    bool addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
+    long long addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, bool &ok /Out/, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
 %Docstring
 Adds an ``entry`` to the history logs.
+
+:param entry: entry to add
+:param options: options
+
+:return: - ID of newly added entry.
+         - ok: will be set to ``True`` if entry was successfully added
 %End
 
     bool addEntries( const QList< QgsHistoryEntry > &entries, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
 %Docstring
 Adds a list of ``entries`` to the history logs.
+%End
+
+    QgsHistoryEntry entry( long long id, bool &ok, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend backend = Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile ) const;
+%Docstring
+Returns the entry with matching ID, from the specified ``backend``.
+
+:param id: ID of entry to find
+:param ok: will be set to ``True`` if entry was found
+:param backend: associated backend
+
+:return: matching entry if found
+%End
+
+    bool updateEntry( long long id, const QVariantMap &entry, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend backend = Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile );
+%Docstring
+Updates the existing entry with matching ``id``.
+
+This method allows the content of an entry to be updated, e.g. to add additional properties
+to the content. (Such as recording the results of after a long-running operation completes).
 %End
 
     QList< QgsHistoryEntry > queryEntries( const QDateTime &start = QDateTime(), const QDateTime &end = QDateTime(),
diff --git a/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.cpp b/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.cpp
index 5faa6484e90..c2e46065872 100644
--- a/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.cpp
@@ -111,13 +111,15 @@ QStringList QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::providerIds() const
   return mProviders.keys();
 }
 
-bool QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::addEntry( const QString &providerId, const QVariantMap &entry, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options )
+long long QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::addEntry( const QString &providerId, const QVariantMap &entry, bool &ok, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options )
 {
-  return addEntry( QgsHistoryEntry( providerId, QDateTime::currentDateTime(), entry ), options );
+  return addEntry( QgsHistoryEntry( providerId, QDateTime::currentDateTime(), entry ), ok, options );
 }
 
-bool QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, HistoryEntryOptions options )
+long long QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, bool &ok, HistoryEntryOptions options )
 {
+  ok = true;
+  long long id = -1;
   if ( options.storageBackends & Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile )
   {
     QDomDocument xmlDoc;
@@ -130,24 +132,92 @@ bool QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, History
     if ( !runEmptyQuery( query ) )
     {
       QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Couldn't story history entry in database!" ) );
-      return false;
+      ok = false;
+      return -1;
     }
+    id = static_cast< int >( sqlite3_last_insert_rowid( mLocalDB.get() ) );
   }
 
-  return true;
+  return id;
 }
 
 bool QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::addEntries( const QList<QgsHistoryEntry> &entries, HistoryEntryOptions options )
 {
+  bool ok = true;
   if ( options.storageBackends & Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile )
   {
     runEmptyQuery( QStringLiteral( "BEGIN TRANSACTION;" ) );
     for ( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry : entries )
-      addEntry( entry, options );
+      addEntry( entry, ok, options );
     runEmptyQuery( QStringLiteral( "COMMIT TRANSACTION;" ) );
   }
 
-  return true;
+  return ok;
+}
+
+QgsHistoryEntry QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::entry( long long id, bool &ok, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend backend ) const
+{
+  ok = false;
+  switch ( backend )
+  {
+    case Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile:
+    {
+      if ( !mLocalDB )
+      {
+        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Cannot open database to query history entries" ) );
+        return QgsHistoryEntry( QVariantMap() );
+      }
+
+      QString sql = QStringLiteral( "SELECT provider_id, xml, timestamp FROM history WHERE id=%1" ).arg( id );
+
+      int nErr;
+      sqlite3_statement_unique_ptr statement = mLocalDB.prepare( sql, nErr );
+
+      if ( nErr == SQLITE_OK && sqlite3_step( statement.get() ) == SQLITE_ROW )
+      {
+        QDomDocument doc;
+        if ( !doc.setContent( statement.columnAsText( 1 ) ) )
+        {
+          QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Cannot read history entry" ) );
+          return QgsHistoryEntry( QVariantMap() );
+        }
+
+        ok = true;
+        return QgsHistoryEntry(
+                 statement.columnAsText( 0 ),
+                 QDateTime::fromString( statement.columnAsText( 2 ), QStringLiteral( "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" ) ),
+                 QgsXmlUtils::readVariant( doc.documentElement() ).toMap()
+               );
+      }
+
+      QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Cannot find history item with matching ID" ) );
+      return QgsHistoryEntry( QVariantMap() );
+    }
+  }
+  BUILTIN_UNREACHABLE
+}
+
+bool QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::updateEntry( long long id, const QVariantMap &entry, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend backend )
+{
+  switch ( backend )
+  {
+    case Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile:
+    {
+      QDomDocument xmlDoc;
+      xmlDoc.appendChild( QgsXmlUtils::writeVariant( entry, xmlDoc ) );
+      const QString entryXml = xmlDoc.toString();
+
+      QString query = qgs_sqlite3_mprintf( "UPDATE history SET xml='%q' WHERE id = %d;",
+                                           entryXml.toUtf8().constData(), id );
+      if ( !runEmptyQuery( query ) )
+      {
+        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Couldn't update history entry in database!" ) );
+        return false;
+      }
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  BUILTIN_UNREACHABLE
 }
 
 QList<QgsHistoryEntry> QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::queryEntries( const QDateTime &start, const QDateTime &end, const QString &providerId, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackends backends ) const
diff --git a/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.h b/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.h
index c2ad09e2fe4..3de06d2331f 100644
--- a/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.h
+++ b/src/gui/history/qgshistoryproviderregistry.h
@@ -162,19 +162,51 @@ class GUI_EXPORT QgsHistoryProviderRegistry : public QObject
      *
      * The \a providerId specifies the history provider responsible for this entry.
      * Entry options are specified via the \a options argument.
+     *
+     * \param providerId associated QgsAbstractHistoryProvider::id()
+     * \param entry entry to add
+     * \param ok will be set to TRUE if entry was successfully added
+     * \param options options
+     *
+     * \returns ID of newly added entry.
      */
-    bool addEntry( const QString &providerId, const QVariantMap &entry, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
+    long long addEntry( const QString &providerId, const QVariantMap &entry, bool &ok SIP_OUT, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
 
     /**
      * Adds an \a entry to the history logs.
+     *
+     * \param entry entry to add
+     * \param ok will be set to TRUE if entry was successfully added
+     * \param options options
+     *
+     * \returns ID of newly added entry.
      */
-    bool addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
+    long long addEntry( const QgsHistoryEntry &entry, bool &ok SIP_OUT, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
 
     /**
      * Adds a list of \a entries to the history logs.
      */
     bool addEntries( const QList< QgsHistoryEntry > &entries, QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions options = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry::HistoryEntryOptions() );
 
+    /**
+     * Returns the entry with matching ID, from the specified \a backend.
+     *
+     * \param id ID of entry to find
+     * \param ok will be set to TRUE if entry was found
+     * \param backend associated backend
+     *
+     * \returns matching entry if found
+     */
+    QgsHistoryEntry entry( long long id, bool &ok, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend backend = Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile ) const;
+
+    /**
+     * Updates the existing entry with matching \a id.
+     *
+     * This method allows the content of an entry to be updated, e.g. to add additional properties
+     * to the content. (Such as recording the results of after a long-running operation completes).
+     */
+    bool updateEntry( long long id, const QVariantMap &entry, Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend backend = Qgis::HistoryProviderBackend::LocalProfile );
+
     /**
      * Queries history entries which occurred between the specified \a start and \a end times.
      *
diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgshistoryproviderregistry.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgshistoryproviderregistry.py
index 00b825c4280..7475b9de15c 100644
--- a/tests/src/python/test_qgshistoryproviderregistry.py
+++ b/tests/src/python/test_qgshistoryproviderregistry.py
@@ -91,10 +91,12 @@ class TestQgsHistoryProviderRegistry(unittest.TestCase):
         reg = QgsHistoryProviderRegistry(useMemoryDatabase=True)
         self.assertFalse(reg.queryEntries())
 
-        reg.addEntry('my provider', {'some var': 5, 'other_var': [1, 2, 3], 'final_var': {'a': 'b'}},
-                     QgsHistoryProviderRegistry.HistoryEntryOptions())
-        reg.addEntry('my provider 2', {'some var': 6},
-                     QgsHistoryProviderRegistry.HistoryEntryOptions())
+        id_1, ok = reg.addEntry('my provider', {'some var': 5, 'other_var': [1, 2, 3], 'final_var': {'a': 'b'}},
+                                QgsHistoryProviderRegistry.HistoryEntryOptions())
+        self.assertTrue(ok)
+        id_2, ok = reg.addEntry('my provider 2', {'some var': 6},
+                                QgsHistoryProviderRegistry.HistoryEntryOptions())
+        self.assertTrue(ok)
 
         self.assertEqual(len(reg.queryEntries()), 2)
         self.assertEqual(reg.queryEntries()[0].providerId, 'my provider')
@@ -105,8 +107,22 @@ class TestQgsHistoryProviderRegistry(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(reg.queryEntries()[1].timestamp.date(), QDateTime.currentDateTime().date())
         self.assertEqual(reg.queryEntries()[1].entry, {'some var': 6})
 
+        entry, ok = reg.entry(1111)
+        self.assertFalse(ok)
+        entry, ok = reg.entry(id_1)
+        self.assertTrue(ok)
+        self.assertEqual(entry.providerId, 'my provider')
+        self.assertEqual(entry.timestamp.date(), QDateTime.currentDateTime().date())
+        self.assertEqual(entry.entry, {'some var': 5, 'other_var': [1, 2, 3], 'final_var': {'a': 'b'}})
+        entry, ok = reg.entry(id_2)
+        self.assertTrue(ok)
+        self.assertEqual(entry.providerId, 'my provider 2')
+        self.assertEqual(entry.timestamp.date(), QDateTime.currentDateTime().date())
+        self.assertEqual(entry.entry, {'some var': 6})
+
         entry = QgsHistoryEntry('my provider 3', QDateTime(2021, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), {'var': 7})
-        reg.addEntry(entry)
+        id_3, ok = reg.addEntry(entry)
+        self.assertTrue(ok)
         self.assertEqual(len(reg.queryEntries()), 3)
         self.assertEqual(reg.queryEntries()[0].providerId, 'my provider')
         self.assertEqual(reg.queryEntries()[0].timestamp.date(), QDateTime.currentDateTime().date())
@@ -144,6 +160,13 @@ class TestQgsHistoryProviderRegistry(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(len(entries), 1)
         self.assertEqual(entries[0].providerId, 'my provider 3')
 
+        # update an entry
+        self.assertTrue(reg.updateEntry(id_1, {'new_props': 54}))
+        entry, ok = reg.entry(id_1)
+        self.assertEqual(entry.providerId, 'my provider')
+        self.assertEqual(entry.timestamp.date(), QDateTime.currentDateTime().date())
+        self.assertEqual(entry.entry, {'new_props': 54})
+
         self.assertTrue(reg.clearHistory(Qgis.HistoryProviderBackend.LocalProfile))
         self.assertFalse(reg.queryEntries())