Difference between revisions of "Aliases in .bashrc"

Aliases in .bashrc (view source)

Revision as of 16:58, 4 March 2022

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 __TOC__
 <translate>
-==What's .bashrc? What is an alias?== <!--T:1-->
+==What's a bashrc? What's a alias?== <!--T:1-->
 * '''.bashrc''' is the ''configuration file'' for bash, a linux shell/command interpreter.
 * An '''alias''' is a ''substitute for a (complete) command''. It can be thought of as a shortcut.
 * '''.bashrc''' is found in the ''home folder'' of a user ( ~ ) . It is a hidden file, to see it show hidden files in your file manager or use '''ls -a'''
-==Backup your current .bashrc==
+==Backup your current ~/.bashrc==
-It can be useful to backup the ~/.bashrc before editing it, as it allows one to be able to easily recover from the unexpected. To make a backup of your current .bashrc . Open a terminal and execute
+It can be useful to backup the ~/.bashrc before editing it, as it allows one to be able to easily recover from the unexpected. To make a backup of your current .bashrc . Open a terminal and execute:
 {{UserCmd|command=cp ~/.bashrc ~/.bashrc.bak}}
 The original .bashrc can be restored with by executing
 {{UserCmd|command=cp -i ~/.bashrc.bak ~/.bashrc}}
 ==Note==
-Any changes made to the .bashrc will have no effect on any currently open terminal windows. To test newly updated changes in your .bashrc open a new terminal or use the command:
+Any changes made to the ~/.bashrc will have no effect on any currently open terminal windows. To test newly updated changes in your ~/.bashrc open a new terminal or use the command:
-{{UserCmd|command=source .bashrc}}
+{{UserCmd|command=source ~/.bashrc}}
 == Aliases Examples ==
 Aliases can turn a complex command string into a simple custom made command that one can type in the Terminal.
-The following can be added to the .bashrc file.
+=== Standard syntax ===
+Creating aliases in bash is very straight forward. The syntax is as follows:
+{{File|file=~/.bashrc|
+content=<pre>...
+alias alias_name="command_to_run"
+...</pre>}}
 === For updating your system ===
 To upgrade the system via pacman, the command used is
 {{UserCmd|command=sudo pacman -Syu}}
-This can be aliased in .bashrc with
+This can be aliased in ~/.bashrc with
 {{File|file=~/.bashrc|
 content=<pre>...
@@ Line 33: / Line 38: @@
 ...</pre>}}
 === For editing commonly used files ===
-To edit '''.bashrc''' itself and automatically reload bash configuration file (so that changes made to .bashrc can be implemented in current terminal session)
+To edit '''~/.bashrc''' itself and automatically reload bash configuration file (so that changes made to .bashrc can be implemented in current terminal session)
 {{File|file=~/.bashrc|
 content=<pre>...
@@ Line 54: / Line 59: @@
 alias grubup="sudo update-grub"
 ...</pre>}}
+==Creating Bash Aliases with Arguments (Bash Functions)==
+Sometimes you may need to create an alias that accepts one or more arguments. That’s where bash functions come in handy.
+The syntax for creating a bash function is very easy. They can be declared in two different formats:
+{{File|file=~/.bashrc|
+content=<pre>...
+function_name () {
+  [commands]
+}
+...</pre>}}
+or
+{{File|file=~/.bashrc|
+content=<pre>...
+function function_name {
+  [commands]
+}
+...</pre>}}
+To pass any number of arguments to the bash function simply, put them right after the function’s name, separated by a space. The passed parameters are $1, $2, $3, etc., corresponding to the position of the parameter after the function’s name. The $0 variable is reserved for the function name.
+Let’s create a simple bash function which will create a directory and then navigate into it:
+{{File|file=~/.bashrc|
+content=<pre>...
+mkcd ()
+{
+  mkdir -p -- "$1" && cd -P -- "$1"
+}
+...</pre>}}
+Now instead of using mkdir to create a new directory and then cd to move into that directory , you can simply type:
+{{UserCmd|command=mkcd new_directory}}
+==Keeping bash alias in a different file==
+Bash allows you to add local aliases in your ~/.bashrc file. To do this create a file called ~/.bash_aliases and add these contents in your ~/.bashrc file:
+{{File|file=~/.bashrc|
+content=<pre>...
+if [ -e $HOME/.bash_aliases ]; then
+    source $HOME/.bash_aliases
+fi
+...</pre>}}
+Now you can add any aliases in your ~/.bash_aliases file and then load them into your Bash session with the source ~/.bashrc command.
 ==Conclusion==
 This list is not comprehensive. Almost anything that is commonly used can be shortened with an alias
 ==See Also==
 [https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/index.html Bash documentation]
+[https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/bash#Aliases ArchWiki]
 </translate>
 [[Category:Contents Page{{#translation:}}]]
 [[Category:Terminal{{#translation:}}]]