Trying to make a permanent Alias - UNIX

Question

I am trying to make a permanent alias (alias homedir='cd /export/home/Files/myName') in unix.

I am trying to add the command in the ~/.bashrc file, but I cannot find the file in my $HOME directory. The only bash file is see is .bash_history, Please help.

I even did a ls -a and still did not find it in my $HOME directory.

ok - thanks for that - will do - is there any structure? or just do $vi .bashrc? — Nidhin_toms, Mar 11 '15 at 18:55
thanks - i added the following line to the file (alias homedir='cd /export/home/Files/myName') ; but when i do homedir it says command not found — Nidhin_toms, Mar 11 '15 at 19:04
Seemingly obvious question: Are you using bash as your shell? — Kevin, Mar 11 '15 at 19:32
yes , right now I am using bash i think ; i get the error -bash: homedir: command not found — Nidhin_toms, Mar 11 '15 at 19:34
You're using bash as a login shell. You need to edit `~/.profile` instead. — Kevin, Mar 11 '15 at 19:39
you mean the .profile in my home directory? and just put the alias there? (alias homedir='cd /export/home/Files/myName' ) — Nidhin_toms, Mar 11 '15 at 19:40
Yes. Login shells source that instead of `.bashrc` or its equivalents. It's somewhat common to point one at the other with the `source` builtin so you don't need to edit both. — Kevin, Mar 11 '15 at 19:45
Don't forget to consult the Bash manual on [Startup Files](http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bash.html#Bash-Startup-Files). — Jonathan Leffler, Mar 11 '15 at 22:11
Is `/export/home/Files/myName` actually your home directory (`$HOME`)? If so, the alias is not necessary; `cd` with no arguments changes to your home directory. If not, perhaps `homedir` is not the best name for your alias. — Keith Thompson, Mar 11 '15 at 23:34
Sorry Keith - you are correct - the path you mentioned is actually my home directory ($HOME). I don't need an alias for that path as I can just specify $HOME itself. I just used that path as an example.... I will be using that alias for other paths — Nidhin_toms, Mar 12 '15 at 13:07

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

I would advise against placing your aliases directly in ~/.profile (which was suggested in the comments). The ~/.profile file is not specific to bash.

You should instead place your aliases in ~/.bashrc.

Why?

.bashrc is guaranteed to be specific to bash (or at least any future variant of it)
If you set everything up correctly, all of your shells can follow a similar convention. So you can have .bashrc, .zshrc, .tcshrc, .kshrc, etc.
- If you're like me and enjoy playing around with all the different shells, you will find this very very helpful

How to Set It Up

Place the following code in ~/.profile.

# if running bash
if [ -n "$BASH_VERSION" ]; then
    # include .bashrc if it exists
    if [ -f "$HOME/.bashrc" ]; then
        . "$HOME/.bashrc"
    fi
fi

This will ensure that ~/.bashrc runs if and only if you're using bash. So ultimately, ~/.profile is involved; but you still benefit from having all your aliases (and any other bash-specific commands) in a bash-specific file. The reason you need to add this to .profile is explained here: What's The difference between the different scripts for bash?.

Then add your aliases and other commands to ~/.bashrc. If ~/.bashrc does not already exist, just create it either with touch ~/.bashrc or vi ~/.bashrc.

Remember to re-apply ~/.bashrc whenever you modify it. Otherwise, you won't see the changes. To do that, run this code:

source ~/.bashrc

I did place the alias in the .bashrc file. I then relogged into Unix and ran the alias - nothing happened. So that's why I put the Alias in the profile. — Nidhin_toms, Mar 11 '15 at 22:41

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 12 '15 at 02:34

0

I found the solution. I added the alias to ~/.profile and restarted the session. It worked.

edited Mar 12 '15 at 02:34

Sildoreth

1,883
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answered Mar 11 '15 at 20:03

Nidhin_toms

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@peterh Actually, this post does answer the original question. It was just worded in such a way that it didn't sound like it. Also, note that the answerer here is the OP. I have updated the wording of the answer to make it clearer. – Sildoreth Mar 12 '15 at 02:37
It's ok sildoreth - your answer is more brief - I won't me marking mine as the correct answer even though you could do it that way .. I'll mark yours – Nidhin_toms Mar 12 '15 at 13:12
Did you mean you were going to mark my answer as the accepted answer? It looks like you forgot to do this. – Sildoreth Apr 07 '15 at 19:33

Trying to make a permanent Alias - UNIX

2 Answers2

Why?

How to Set It Up