How to set an alias in a macOS or Linux shell#

Setting an Alias#

To set an alias, use the alias command followed by the alias name and the command you want to alias.

alias alias_name='command'

For example, to create an alias for ls -la, you can use:

alias ll='ls -la'

Making Aliases Permanent#

To make aliases permanent, add them to your shell’s configuration file. For Bash, add the alias to ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile. For Zsh, add the alias to ~/.zshrc.

echo "alias ll='ls -la'" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Conclusion#

Setting aliases can save you time and effort by creating shortcuts for frequently used commands. By adding aliases to your shell’s configuration file, you can make them permanent and available every time you open a terminal.