Unix in a Nutshell, 4th Edition

Name

alias

Synopsis

    alias [name [command]]

Assign name as the shorthand name, or alias, for command. If command is omitted, print the alias for name; if name also is omitted, print all aliases. Aliases can be defined on the command line, but more often they are stored in .tcshrc so that they take effect upon logging in. (See the section "Sample .tcshrc File" earlier in this chapter.) Alias definitions can reference command-line arguments, much like the history list. Use \!* to refer to all command-line arguments, \!^ for the first argument, \!\!:2 for the second, \!$ for the last, and so on. An alias name can also be any valid Unix command except alias or unalias; however, you lose the original command’s meaning unless you type \name. See also unalias and the earlier section “Special Aliases.”

Examples

Set the size for xterm windows under the X Window System:

    alias R 'set noglob; eval 'resize'; unset noglob'

Show aliases that contain the string “ls”:

    alias | grep ls

Run nroff on all command-line arguments:

    alias ms 'nroff -ms \!*'

Copy the file that is named as the first argument:

    alias back 'cp \!^ \!^.old'

Use the regular ls, not its alias:

    % \ls