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BASH Shell Aliases

Last updated 2026-08-20 · 4 notes · 4 tags

Tags: bash aliases terminal config

Aliases are short shortcuts for longer commands. They live in your shell config file (~/.bashrc for Bash).

Edit and reload

nano ~/.bashrc

After saving:

source ~/.bashrc

Note: If a new alias does not work, you forgot to source or you edited a different file than the shell is using.

Example aliases

Replace placeholders before you save the file.

Note: The rm alias below needs trash-cli — set it up first in Safe delete.

# Safer delete (requires trash-cli — see Safe delete above)
alias rm='trash-put'

# Short listing
alias ll='ls -al'

# Jump to projects
alias proj='cd ~/projects'

# Common Git status
alias gs='git status'

# Optional: your timezone
# export TZ='Your/Timezone'

Example helper that shows fetch + status:

gsync() {
    echo "=== Fetching from GitHub ==="
    git fetch --all --tags
    echo
    echo "=== Local branches ==="
    git branch -vv
    echo
    echo "=== Repository status ==="
    git status
}

Note: Function blocks like gsync() also go in ~/.bashrc, then reload with source ~/.bashrc.

Environment variables (API keys)

Store secrets in your private shell config or a local .env file that is not committed to Git.

# EXAMPLES ONLY — never commit real keys
# export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-your-key-here"
# export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Note: Real keys in a public GitHub repo can be stolen by bots within minutes. Revoke any key that was pushed by mistake.

PATH extras (placeholders)

Tools like pipx often add a line similar to:

export PATH="$PATH:/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/bin"

On WSL, a Windows GUI app path might look like:

# Example only — adjust to your Windows username and install path
# alias ollama="/mnt/c/Users/YOUR_WINDOWS_USERNAME/AppData/Local/Programs/Ollama/ollama.exe"

Note: Copy paths from your own machine (which / File Explorer address bar). Do not reuse someone else’s username paths.

Common mistakes

  • Comment lines with # so you remember why an alias exists.
  • After you change ~/.bashrc, open a new terminal (or run source ~/.bashrc) to confirm everything still loads.

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