In our daily workflow, there are few commands that we have to run multiple times. Like npm run start, git commit -m "fixed the printer".
Typing the same command again and again is inefficient and also increases the chances of typo. I used to mistype (or still mistype 🤷‍♂️) git as gti a lot.
And yes, using up arrow we could go back to that command, but why to keep searching for that one command that you executed 10-15 commands back, when there is a better solution available.
Enter alias
Aliases are text substitutions that we could configure for common commands, so that we don’t have to type them fully.
How to add alias
To add aliases, we need to modify the configuration file of the shell.
Linux: file is usually present in the root folder
Windows: file is present at C:\Users\<your user name>
File name will depend on your shell. eg .bashrc for bash, .zshrc for zsh
General syntax is alias shortcut='full command'
Now whenever the shortcut is typed, shell will execute as if the full command was typed.
Useful Aliases
Here are some of the aliases that I use
alias c='clear'
# navigate directories
alias zshopen='vim ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc'
alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'
alias ....='cd ../../..'
# git
alias g='git '
alias gcm='git commit -m '
alias gc='git checkout '
alias gcb='git checkout -b '
alias ga='git add '
alias gpo='git push origin '
alias gpu='git push origin HEAD '
alias gpl='git pull '
alias gs='git stash '
alias gsa='git stash apply '
alias gsl='git stash list '
alias gss='git stash save '
# docker
WEB_CONTAINER="web_container_name"
DB="database_container_name"
alias d='docker '
alias du='docker compose up'
alias ds='docker compose stop'
alias dr="docker compose restart $WEB_CONTAINER"
alias dcd='docker compose down'
alias dps='docker ps'
alias da="docker attach $WEB_CONTAINER"
alias de="docker exec -it $WEB_CONTAINER /bin/bash"
alias dep='docker exec -it $DB /bin/bash -c "psql -U <database-name> -d <database-password> -x"'
# npm
alias nr='npm run '
alias nd='npm run dev'
# hugo
alias hs='hugo server'Usage
Now we could just press c instead of clear to clear the terminal.
Or type gc "hack internet" and it will be executed as git commit -m "hack internet".
Conclusion
I have been using aliases from past 6 months and finding them very useful.
PS: Add aliases which are personalized to you. With this, you won’t have to think which alias does what.