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How do I create a Bash alias?

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bash

shell

macos

People also ask

Where do I put bash aliases?

bash_aliases is present under the user home directory and load it whenever you initiate a new terminal session. You can also create a custom alias file under any directory and add definition in either . bashrc or . profile to load it.

Does bash have aliases?

Bash aliases allow you to set a memorable shortcut command for a longer command. Bash aliases are essentially shortcuts that can save you from having to remember long commands and eliminate a great deal of typing when you are working on the command line.

How do you set up an alias?

The alias syntax The syntax for creating an alias is easy. You type the word "alias", followed by the name you want to give the alias, stick in an = sign and then add the command you want it to run – generally enclosed in single or double quotes. Single word commands like "alias c=clear" don't require quotes.

What is bash aliases in Linux?

An bash shell alias is nothing but the shortcut to commands. The alias command allows the user to launch any command or group of commands (including options and filenames) by entering a single word. Use alias command to display a list of all defined aliases. You can add user-defined aliases to ~/. bashrc file.


You can add an alias or a function in your startup script file. Usually this is .bashrc, .bash_login or .profile file in your home directory.

Since these files are hidden you will have to do an ls -a to list them. If you don't have one you can create one.


If I remember correctly, when I had bought my Mac, the .bash_login file wasn't there. I had to create it for myself so that I could put prompt info, alias, functions, etc. in it.

Here are the steps if you would like to create one:

  1. Start up Terminal
  2. Type cd ~/ to go to your home folder
  3. Type touch .bash_profile to create your new file.
  4. Edit .bash_profile with your favorite editor (or you can just type open -e .bash_profile to open it in TextEdit.
  5. Type . .bash_profile to reload .bash_profile and update any alias you add.

I just open zshrc with sublime, and edit it.

subl .zshrc

And add this on sublime:

alias blah="/usr/bin/blah"

Run this command in terminal:

source ~/.zshrc

Done.


On OS X you want to use ~/.bash_profile. This is because by default Terminal.app opens a login shell for each new window.

See more about the different configuration files and when they are used here: What's the difference between .bashrc, .bash_profile, and .environment?

and in relation to OSX here: About .bash_profile, .bashrc, and where should alias be written in?


MacOS Catalina and Above

Apple switched their default shell to zsh, so the config files include ~/.zshenv and ~/.zshrc. This is just like ~/.bashrc, but for zsh. Just edit the file and add what you need; it should be sourced every time you open a new terminal window:

nano ~/.zshenv alias py=python

Then do ctrl+x, y, then enter to save.

This file seems to be executed no matter what (login, non-login, or script), so seems better than the ~/.zshrc file.

High Sierra and earlier

The default shell is bash, and you can edit the file ~/.bash_profile and add aliases:

nano ~/.bash_profile alias py=python

Then ctrl+x, y, and enter to save. See this post for more on these configs. It's a little better to set it up with your alias in ~/.bashrc, then source ~/.bashrc from ~/.bash_profile. In ~/.bash_profile it would then look like:

source ~/.bashrc


In my .bashrc file the following lines were there by default:

# Alias definitions.
# You may want to put all your additions into a separate file like
# ~/.bash_aliases, instead of adding them here directly.
# See /usr/share/doc/bash-doc/examples in the bash-doc package.

if [ -f ~/.bash_aliases ]; then
    . ~/.bash_aliases
fi

Hence, in my platform .bash_aliases is the file used for aliases by default (and the one I use). I'm not an OS X user, but I guess that if you open your .bashrc file, you'll be able to identify what's the file commonly used for aliases in your platform.