Aliases¶

Aliases are shortcuts for frequently used commands. They save typing and can add default options to commands.

Basic Syntax¶

alias name='command'
alias name="command with $variable"

Creating Aliases¶

Simple Shortcuts¶

alias ll='ls -lah'
alias la='ls -A'
alias l='ls -CF'
alias cls='clear'

Adding Default Options¶

alias ls='ls --color=auto'
alias grep='grep --color=auto'
alias df='df -h'
alias du='du -h'
alias free='free -h'

Safety Aliases¶

alias rm='rm -i'           # Confirm before delete
alias cp='cp -i'           # Confirm before overwrite
alias mv='mv -i'           # Confirm before overwrite
alias ln='ln -i'           # Confirm before overwrite

alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'
alias ....='cd ../../..'
alias ~='cd ~'
alias -- -='cd -'          # -- needed for -

Working with Aliases¶

List All Aliases¶

alias

alias ll='ls -lah'
alias la='ls -A'
...

Show Specific Alias¶

alias ll

alias ll='ls -lah'

Remove Alias¶

unalias ll

Remove All Aliases¶

unalias -a

Bypass Alias¶

Use backslash, quotes, or full path:

\rm file.txt              # Bypass rm alias
'rm' file.txt             # Also bypasses
/bin/rm file.txt          # Use full path
command rm file.txt       # Use command builtin

Alias vs Function¶

Aliases have limitations - use functions when you need:

Arguments in the middle of command
Multiple commands
Conditional logic

Alias Limitation¶

Arguments only go at the end:

alias greptxt='grep pattern'  # Args appended
greptxt file.txt              # grep pattern file.txt

Cannot put arguments elsewhere:

# This doesn't work as expected
alias myfind='find . -name "*" -type'
# Need a function instead

When to Use Functions¶

# Function - can place arguments anywhere
myfind() {
    find . -name "*.$1" -type f
}
myfind txt    # find . -name "*.txt" -type f

See Functions for more.

Common Alias Collections¶

Directory Listing¶

# Colors and formatting
alias ls='ls --color=auto'
alias ll='ls -lah'
alias la='ls -A'
alias l='ls -CF'
alias lt='ls -ltr'          # Sort by time
alias lS='ls -lhS'          # Sort by size

Git Aliases¶

alias g='git'
alias gs='git status'
alias ga='git add'
alias gc='git commit'
alias gp='git push'
alias gl='git pull'
alias gd='git diff'
alias gco='git checkout'
alias gb='git branch'
alias glog='git log --oneline --graph'

Docker Aliases¶

alias d='docker'
alias dc='docker compose'
alias dps='docker ps'
alias dpsa='docker ps -a'
alias di='docker images'
alias dex='docker exec -it'
alias dlog='docker logs -f'
alias drm='docker rm'
alias drmi='docker rmi'

System Commands¶

alias h='history'
alias j='jobs -l'
alias path='echo $PATH | tr ":" "\n"'
alias now='date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"'
alias week='date +%V'
alias ports='netstat -tuln'

Network Aliases¶

alias ip='curl -s ifconfig.me'
alias localip='ipconfig getifaddr en0'  # macOS
alias ping='ping -c 5'
alias wget='wget -c'                     # Resume downloads

macOS Specific¶

alias showfiles='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true && killall Finder'
alias hidefiles='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false && killall Finder'
alias cleanup='find . -type f -name "*.DS_Store" -delete'
alias flushdns='sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder'

Quick Edits¶

alias bashrc='${EDITOR:-vim} ~/.bashrc'
alias aliases='${EDITOR:-vim} ~/.bash_aliases'
alias reload='source ~/.bashrc'

Modern Tool Aliases¶

Replace classic tools with modern alternatives:

# If installed, use modern versions
command -v eza &>/dev/null && alias ls='eza'
command -v bat &>/dev/null && alias cat='bat'
command -v rg &>/dev/null && alias grep='rg'
command -v fd &>/dev/null && alias find='fd'
command -v btop &>/dev/null && alias top='btop'

Or make them conditional:

if command -v eza &>/dev/null; then
    alias ls='eza'
    alias ll='eza -lah'
    alias la='eza -a'
    alias lt='eza -lah --sort=modified'
    alias tree='eza --tree'
fi

Organizing Aliases¶

Separate File¶

Create ~/.bash_aliases:

# ~/.bash_aliases

# ──────────────────────────────────────────────
# Navigation
# ──────────────────────────────────────────────

alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'

# ──────────────────────────────────────────────
# Listing
# ──────────────────────────────────────────────

alias ll='ls -lah'
alias la='ls -A'

# ──────────────────────────────────────────────
# Git
# ──────────────────────────────────────────────

alias gs='git status'
alias gc='git commit'

Source it from .bashrc:

[[ -f ~/.bash_aliases ]] && source ~/.bash_aliases

Grouped by Purpose¶

# ~/.bash_aliases.d/git.sh
# ~/.bash_aliases.d/docker.sh
# ~/.bash_aliases.d/navigation.sh

Source all:

for file in ~/.bash_aliases.d/*.sh; do
    [[ -r "$file" ]] && source "$file"
done

Platform-Specific Aliases¶

Handle differences between Linux and macOS:

case "$(uname -s)" in
    Darwin)
        alias ls='ls -G'                    # macOS colors
        alias flushdns='sudo dscacheutil -flushcache'
        ;;
    Linux)
        alias ls='ls --color=auto'          # GNU colors
        alias open='xdg-open'               # Like macOS open
        ;;
esac

Debugging Aliases¶

Check What a Command Resolves To¶

type ls

ls is aliased to `ls --color=auto'

type -a ls

ls is aliased to `ls --color=auto'
ls is /bin/ls

See Expansion¶

alias ls

alias ls='ls --color=auto'

Common Mistakes¶

Spaces Around `=`¶

alias name = 'command'    # Wrong
alias name='command'      # Correct

Forgetting Quotes¶

alias ll=ls -la           # Wrong - only ls is aliased
alias ll='ls -la'         # Correct

Recursive Aliases¶

Aliases expand to themselves:

alias ls='ls --color=auto'    # OK - expands once
ls                             # Runs: ls --color=auto

If you need to avoid this:

alias ls='command ls --color=auto'

Try It¶

Create some aliases:

alias ll='ls -lah'
alias now='date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"'
alias myip='curl -s ifconfig.me'

Test them:
```
ll
now
myip
```
List and inspect:
```
alias
type ll
```

Bypass an alias:

\ll      # Error - ll is not a real command
\ls -la  # Works - bypasses ls alias

Make permanent:

echo "alias ll='ls -lah'" >> ~/.bash_aliases

Summary¶

Action	Syntax
Create alias	`alias name='command'`
List all aliases	`alias`
Show specific	`alias name`
Remove alias	`unalias name`
Bypass alias	`\command` or `command cmd`

Best practices:

Use quotes around the command
No spaces around =
Organize in separate file(s)
Use functions for complex logic
Check for tool existence before aliasing