Docker exec linux terminal create alias

Question

I have a running and detached container. I want to create a command alias there before attaching to that container.

When I am attached to the container and I type:

alias bar='foo'

an alias is created, and might be checked by:

alias

command.

but if I want to do the same by docker exec command ie this way

docker exec -it <container-name> /bin/bash -c "alias bar='foo'"

it does not work, probably because when I'm attached to the container and type into its terminal

/bin/bash -c "alias bar='foo'"

it does not work as well.

Do you know how to modify alias bar='foo' so it works together with docker exec command applied to a detached container?

Answer 1

Alias in your bashrc file does not directly accept parameters. Although in your case you will have to create a function and alias that.

You can add following on your ~/.bashrc

dexec() {
    docker exec -it "$1" /bin/bash
    echo "$1"
}

you can also use /bin/sh instead of /bin/bash

and don't forget to do

source ~/.bashrc

ideally, you can do something like this

dexec <container_id/container_name>