alias command in Linux: command shortcuts, examples

Q: The alias is gone after reopening the terminal

You created it on the command line but never saved it to ~/.bashrc. Add it there.

Q: I need to temporarily run the real command

The \ prefix (\rm file) or command rm file runs the original, bypassing the alias.

Overview

alias is a shortcut: a short name the shell expands into a command. It is handy for frequent commands with flags. It is an interactive-shell feature — aliases do not work in scripts by default (write functions there instead, see bash-scripting).

Options

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alias barely has any flags: it takes name='command' pairs. The useful ones are -p (print the list in a form suitable for re-execution, same as with no arguments) and unalias -a (remove every alias of the current session at once).

An alias created on the command line lives only until you close the terminal. To make it permanent, add it to ~/.bashrc (per user):

bash

echo "alias ll='ls -lah'" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc              # apply in the current session (or open a new terminal)

Ubuntu's default system aliases live in ~/.bash_aliases (sourced by ~/.bashrc). More on profiles and $PATH — env-vars.

An alias does not take arguments the way a beginner expects: alias gl='git log' gets substituted before the rest of the line, so gl -5 works (it becomes git log -5), but an alias cannot insert an argument in the middle of a command — that needs a shell function (see bash-scripting).

Option	What it does	Example
`-p`	Print all current aliases in a form suitable for re-execution (same as with no arguments).	`alias -p`
`-a`	Remove all aliases of the current session at once. dangerous	`unalias -a`

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Recipes

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Examples

bash

alias                         # show all current aliases
alias ll='ls -lah'            # create an alias
alias gs='git status'
alias ..='cd ..'
alias grep='grep --color=auto'
type ll                       # check what it expands to (see which/type)
unalias ll                    # remove one
\ls                           # run the ORIGINAL, bypassing the alias (backslash)
command ls                    # same — without alias expansion

Troubleshooting

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The alias is gone after reopening the terminal

You created it on the command line but never saved it to ~/.bashrc. Add it there.

alias does not work in a script / under sudo

That is expected: aliases are not inherited by a non-interactive shell or by sudo. Solutions: a function in ~/.bashrc, or sudo with the full command. To reuse it as root: sudo bash -ic 'alias_name' (crude), or just spell out the command by hand.

I need to temporarily run the real command

The \ prefix (\rm file) or command rm file runs the original, bypassing the alias.

alias — command shortcuts

Cheat sheet