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Linux for Starters: Your Guide to Linux – Get Started with the Terminal – Part 9

Last Updated on May 22, 2022

Aliases

A bash alias is simply a keyboard shortcut, a means of replacing a long command sequence with a shortened version.

A fresh installation of Ubuntu already comes provided with some aliases. They can be viewed with the shell builtin command alias.

Linux for Starters - aliases

As you can see there are 8 aliases available in the shell. So to issue the command ls -alF, we only need to type la.


Create New Aliases

Creating aliases in bash is easy. The syntax is as follows:

alias alias_name="command_to_run"

An alias declaration starts with the alias keyword followed by the alias name, an equal sign and the command you want to run when you type the alias. The command needs to be enclosed in quotes and with no spacing around the equal sign. Each alias needs to be declared on a new line.

Let’s say we want to create an alias to make it quicker to search the shell history for specific text. Say we were browsing manual pages with the man command but couldn’t remember the precise manual page we were viewing. We’re going to use the history shell builtin combined with an external command called grep. grep prints lines that match patterns.

First we start nano (a simple text editor) and edit the file .bashrc

$ nano ~/.bashrc

Add the following line to the bottom of the file.

alias gh="history|grep"

Save the file with Ctrl+O and press return. Then press Ctrl+X to exit nano.

Make the new alias available in your current shell by typing:

$ source ~/.bashrc

or close the current shell and start a new one.

In the image below, we’ve run “gh man”. This search the history and prints any line that contains the text “man”.

Linux for Starters - alias

We’re about to issue the command !133. That’s an exclamation point followed by the number 133.

This instructs the shell to execute line 133 of our history. In this case that’s the command “man whereis”.

Page 4 – External Commands

Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Types of Commands
Page 2 – Shell Builtins
Page 3 – Aliases
Page 4 – External Commands
Page 5 – Navigate the shell efficiently
Page 6 – Appendix – Explanation of Shell Builtins


All articles in this series:

Linux For Starters: Your Guide to Linux
1What is Linux? Why use Linux? What do I need?
2Choose a Linux distribution meeting your specific needs and requirements.
3Make a bootable Ubuntu USB stick in Windows.
4We show you how to install Ubuntu 21.04 on your hard disk.
5Things to do after installing Ubuntu.
6Navigating your way around the Desktop.
7Updating the system, install new software.
8Open source replacements for proprietary Windows desktop software.
9Get started with the power and flexibility of the terminal.
10We cover the basics of files and permissions.
11Getting help from your system.
12Learn all about the file system.
13Manipulating files from the shell.
14Maintain your system with these simple tips.
15Managing users on your system.
16Explore different desktops to GNOME 3.
17Gaming on Linux.
18Protect your privacy with this guide.
19Access the Windows desktop from Linux using a remote desktop client.
20Set up a virtual machine running Ubuntu as the host and openSUSE as the guest.
21Wine lets you run Windows programs on Linux without emulation.
22Extend your GNOME desktop with extensions and themes.
XUseful Linux commands.
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3 Comments
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Dave Leach
Dave Leach
2 years ago

This is for beginners? Every other word seems undefined. I can read Supreme Court briefs and medical research but not this! The most important thing unexplained is what can be accomplished with these commands. If someone is willing to talk to me to explain these things, I am willing to suggest easier explanations.

Rooster
Rooster
2 years ago
Reply to  Dave Leach

Every other word seems undefined?? I think you should read more of the guide before coming to your discourteous comment.

You’ll learn a lot from Part 11, as that shows you how to find what you can do with the commands.

housekid
housekid
2 years ago

Well, I have not figured out just who you all really are yet….. maybe I won’t be able to>?. But, this is the best “Everything About Linux” I have ever found, on the Internet! And I have been doing Linux in many flavors from 1994! Mostly, I go between Debian and Kubuntu, which I use because of the KDE desktop, which I really like, works great for me to do anything I need!
Wow….. I now have a place to send those I try to talk into using Linux and out of paying that expensive Microsoft tax. I bailed out of Microsoft Windows 95SE in 94′. Furthermore, I have never looked back, and I have kept my money to donate to the many parts of Linux that don’t fly the “Blue Screen Of Death” for a fortune.
Don’t go away anytime soon, I’m going to work even harder now to talk others into dumping Windoz!