Linux users frequently find themselves repeating the same commands. Continuously typing or copying these commands can slow down your workflow and take your focus away from the actual tasks at hand.

To save time, you can create aliases for the commands you use most often. Aliases act as personalized shortcuts that stand in for a command (or group of commands), possibly including specific options. There's a good chance you're already using some aliases on your Linux system without even realizing it.

View Existing Aliases in Linux

You can view all aliases currently defined in your session by simply running the alias command.

<code>$ alias</code>

The output will show you the default aliases set up for your user in the Ubuntu system.

As shown, using the ll command is the same as executing ls -alF.

<code>$ ll
$ ls -alF</code>

You can define an alias with a short name that represents a longer command of your choice.

How to Set Up Aliases in Linux

Creating aliases is straightforward and fast. You can make two kinds of aliases – temporary and permanent, both of which we’ll explore below.

Creating Temporary Aliases in Linux

All you need to do is type the word alias, followed by the shortcut name you'd like to use, then an "=" sign, and finally enclose the full command in quotes.

The format is:

<code>$ alias shortName="your custom command here"</code>

Here’s a real example:

<code>$ alias wr=”cd /var/www/html”</code>

Once created, you can use the "wr" shortcut to quickly navigate to the webroot directory. However, this alias will only last for the current terminal session.

If you open a new terminal window, this alias won’t be available anymore. If you want your alias to persist across sessions, you'll need to create a permanent alias.

Creating Permanent Aliases in Linux

To retain aliases between sessions, you should store them in your shell configuration file. This file depends on the shell you are using:

• Bash – ~/.bashrc
• ZSH – ~/.zshrc
• Fish – ~/.config/fish/config.fish

The syntax used is essentially the same as when creating a temporary alias. The key difference is that this time, you’re saving it into a file. For instance, in bash, you can edit the .bashrc file with your preferred editor:

<code>$ vim ~/.bashrc</code>

Locate where you’d like to insert your aliases. It’s common practice to add them at the end of the file. For clarity, you may also include a comment before listing your aliases, such as:

<code>#My custom aliases
<strong>alias home=”ssh -i ~/.ssh/mykep.pem [email?protected]”</strong>
<strong>alias ll="ls -alF"</strong></code>

Save the file after adding your aliases. These changes will automatically load in your next terminal session. To apply them immediately in your current session, run:

<code>$ source ~/.bashrc</code>

To remove an alias created in the terminal, use the unalias command.

<code>$ unalias alias_name
$ unalias -a [removes all aliases]</code>

Conclusion

This guide has shown how you can create your own aliases to avoid retyping commonly used commands repeatedly. Now consider the commands you use most often and start creating shortcuts for them in your shell environment.

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