You can see that here:

:h viminfo

If you exit Vim and later start it again, you would normally lose a lot of information. The viminfo file can be used to remember that information, which enables you to continue where you left off.

:h netrwhist

The file ".netrwhist" holds history when netrw (and vim) is not active.

You can see that here:

:h viminfo

If you exit Vim and later start it again, you would normally lose a lot of information. The viminfo file can be used to remember that information, which enables you to continue where you left off.

:h .netrwhist

The file ".netrwhist" holds history when netrw (and vim) is not active.