Questions tagged [alias]
Use this tag for questions concerning use of alias in macOS
200
questions
141
votes
3
answers
279k
views
How can I list and edit all defined aliases in Terminal?
A friend who owned my current Mac before me created a lot of alias commands. Is there a way to list all defined aliases and the command that is associated with them?
And if so, am I able to edit ...
- 1,607
39
votes
2
answers
165k
views
Why must I source .bashrc every time I open terminal for aliases to work? [duplicate]
I added this line into my ~/.bashrc file.
alias myserver='ssh [email protected]'
However, when I open terminal and run myserver, terminal complains that
-bash: myserver: command not found
...
- 2,035
32
votes
1
answer
17k
views
Can't cd into alias
I have two aliases in my home directory: devbootcamp and bookshelf. I can cd into devbootcamp but not bookshelf but I'm not sure why. I don't remember how I made the alias to devbootcamp but I ...
- 1,200
28
votes
2
answers
29k
views
How to create an alias with drag and drop?
In MacOSX, when dragging a file or folder one can force a copy instead of a move by pressing option. I think that there used to be a way to alternatively create an alias but can't find which key to ...
- 503
28
votes
2
answers
16k
views
What's the difference between alias and link?
I see that the size of alias is 167.7kB, whereas symbolic link is just 4kB.
What's the difference between the two, or what's the purpose of them?
Which one is preferable? For the case that the link/...
- 5,694
24
votes
2
answers
70k
views
How do I create a symbolic link to a directory with a space in it?
I was trying to create a symbolic link using the following command:
ln -s "~/Foo Bar/" Foo
... but it didn't work (i.e. when I go into finder and try double clicking it, it says that it's pointing ...
- 23.9k
24
votes
5
answers
46k
views
Can I create a Desktop Shortcut/Alias to a Folder from the Terminal?
I'd like to create a desktop shortcut to a specific folder, buried deep within ~/Library/. Library is Hidden by default in Lion, and I'd like to keep it that way, for a variety of reasons. Is there a ...
- 1,520
21
votes
8
answers
56k
views
How to persistently define aliases in Terminal
I want to add aliases to my environment so that they are available in all Terminal instances.
I got this answer:
Yes, you can put it in your .bashrc, .bash_profile or .profile. On some systems the ...
- 1,602
14
votes
2
answers
35k
views
Creating aliases for iTerm 2 that work during ssh
I use numerous aliases set at a given UNIX environment. For example my current fish shell under OSX have these below
gm -> git merge
dk -> docker kill
and so on.
Now the challenge is I use iTerm 2 ...
- 250
14
votes
6
answers
8k
views
How to go to alias from terminal?
By alias, I mean the folder shortcut created when you right-click a folder in Finder and select "Make Alias". I can traverse symbolic links in Terminal with cd, but it doesn't work on aliases: bash: ...
- 391
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why are the alias so big in filesize in Mountain Lion?
I noticed the alias(es) that I create in Mountain Lion are very big in filesize (for example an alias to a folder is 5.8MB!)
Compared to Leopard, they were just about 500KB.
Why is this? and is ...
- 658
8
votes
2
answers
335
views
How can I make a soft link in Lion?
I realized today that an alias is not the same thing as a soft link in Lion. I made an alias of a folder in my Dropbox folder and moved the alias to my Desktop.
When I try to cd into this alias in ...
- 2,035
8
votes
1
answer
10k
views
What is the "On My Mac" folder in macOS Big Sur?
I have recently upgraded to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 from macOS 10.15.7 on my 2016 MacBook Pro.
In Finder, there is a new (?) folder called "On My Mac" which I have never seen before.
It ...
- 1,392
7
votes
3
answers
484
views
Link command in terminal vs ln vs symbolic link (ln -s) differences between them?
I've learnt about aliases and symbolic links ages ago, but only recently learnt of the link command from symbolic link vs. alias
Is the link command in terminal on my MacOS - version is Sonoma 14.4.1 ...
- 173
7
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Run lolcat after each command?
I'm trying to add an alias for lolcat that will invoke after each command put into the terminal.
I only know how to add it to select items, anyone know how to just make it a standard output?
- 171
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
difference ZSH and BASH for $RANDOM?
I just switched from Ubuntu to macOS (due to work reasons). And I wanted to transfer my bash aliases to zsh, but they are not working completely.
alias HPC1='ssh -l [username] [server1]'
alias HPC2='...
- 349
7
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Limitations of iCloud+ own domain
What are the limitations of iCloud+ own domain in regard to emails?
Use Custom Email Domain with iCloud Mail
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212514
I am looking for:
a single domain which I ...
- 297
7
votes
4
answers
14k
views
How do I fix failed aliases?
I had two external hard disks: External and Backup. External had many aliases which pointed to other files on the same disk. Backup was used to backup External.
External failed, and I now use Backup, ...
- 1,479
7
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Best practices to move macOS Mail.app storage to an external drive?
I have a system with fairly small internal storage (500GB) so I have attached a reasonably quick external storage device (256GB) that will be constantly mounted. To free up space on the internal ...
- 1,455
6
votes
4
answers
9k
views
OS X won't create any symbolic links, creates aliases instead
No matter how I try to create an symbolic link OS X refuses to play along and instead creates an alias. I've tried several tools and also through the terminal using the ln command.
I am on a fresh ...
- 61
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How to find all the aliases within a given file system?
I would like to avoid any future problems with aliases (empty files created with the Finder, not to be confused with symbolic links) I might have used in the past and which may stay within the system.
...
- 12.2k
6
votes
1
answer
673
views
How can I create a Finder alias in a bash script that reads arguments from the command-line?
I'd like to write a bash script that takes 2 inputs:
path to actual file
path of a Finder alias file (not a unix link) to be created that refers to 1.
The bash script should pass these inputs to an ...
- 163
6
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Adding SMB share to sidebar in OSX Mountain Lion
Is there a way to add an SMB share to the sidebar in Finder, such that when I click on the alias, it mounts the share and opens it up like a regular folder? You can do this in Linux and Windows, and ...
- 213
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Can an alias be added to the dock via the command line?
I found this article but it handles the GUI solution.
I would like to automate the setup of a new machine, and do that I've created Dropbox shares of a number of my common configurations. (I could ...
- 749
5
votes
2
answers
12k
views
symbolic link vs. alias
Disclaimer: I work with programmers, but am not one myself and have no real / formal knowledge of how an OS works; please be patient if the following makes plain my ignorance :)
I am trying to ...
- 259
5
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How to move a folder containing aliases to another machine without breaking the aliases?
I've got a large folder of music with lots of aliases to tunes that are spread throughout subfolders of the main tunes folder. For example I might keep the original files sorted by artist, and then ...
- 153
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Alias for network drive
In the Finder > Connect To Server window I have an IP address I connect to. Is there a way to make a nickname or alias for this server?
user588
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How to make an alias (Cmd-L) using command line?
With Finder, Cmd-L is a short-cut to make an alias of a file/directory. How can I use the command line to do that?
I tried 'ln -s', but it generates the 'Symbolic Link', not 'Alias'.
- 5,694
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Using 'alias' in bash script in OSX
I write some scripting and I want to make it work on Linux and Mac. The problem is, that "Implementations of sed, readlink, zcat, etc. are different on OS X and Linux."
So I tried THIS approach, but ...
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Created a symlink but Finder shows it as an Alias
When I try to backup my iPhone, iTunes gives me an error, saying that it cannot make a Backup because the backup is damaged or not compatible.
To move the backup folder I have followed the steps as ...
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
AppleScript to show package contents of hidden original of alias
I'm attempting to build an Automator workflow (which will be saved as a Service, so that I can both access it from contextual menus and invoke it with a keyboard shortcut), that will function much ...
- 127
5
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Sierra Finder aliases appearing as generic icons
Since updating to macOS Sierra, many Finder aliases appear as generic document icons rather than as the informative icons that were available in previous versions of OS X.
Is there something I can do ...
- 11.8k
5
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Find a specific file with automator
The basic question is:
How can I pass a filename to the Spotlight search module in Automator?
The essential problem:
I have hundreds of broken aliases scattered throughout a particular directory ...
- 2,821
5
votes
2
answers
776
views
Difficulty setting the 'Open with app' to an alias
I am trying to set MacVim, installed via homebrew, to be the default HEX file editor. I started this task by creating an alias to MacVim.app located in /usr/local/Cellar/macvim/7.3-61 and placing the ...
- 274
5
votes
1
answer
380
views
AppleScript: alias reference is not changing after renaming a folder
I'm new to AppleScript and after doing:
set folder_name to "New_Folder"
tell application "Finder" to make new folder at desktop
set my_folder to result as alias
tell application "Finder" to set the ...
- 51
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is it possible to edit a macOS alias with vim?
I like to use macOS's alias feature to not have to make redundant files. These aliases work great with Chrome and TextEdit. When I open them with vim, however, I get a giant messy file (presumably the ...
4
votes
2
answers
17k
views
How do I use arguments together with bash aliases
Today, I learned the very handy trick:
man [some command] -t | open -f -a Preview
I'd like to create an alias in my .bash_profile file as a shortcut. In order for this to work, I need to pass an ...
- 1,116
4
votes
3
answers
395
views
Alias - 'Show Original' in new tab
Update:
After the two answers so far I have moved the goalposts slightly. I need multiple selections & tabs - the existing answers; one has multi-select capability, the other gives me tabs, which ...
- 116k
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How to use AppleScript in a bash script to create an alias for an app?
I need to create an alias on my Desktop to an app in my Applications folder, using a bash script file.
As far as I know, it's only possible with AppleScript.
Unfortunately, my AppleScript skills are ...
- 455
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How to create an Alias with a Variable inside?
I want to create an Alias for my Terminal to quick-search inside files.
In Ubuntu is was: alias gre="egrep -rnw ". I used it like that $ gre 'my search string'.
Now I want this for my local MacBook-...
- 203
4
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Make shortcuts to directories via terminal
My problem is: whenever I'm coding, I work inside folders that are inside other folders and it's a long way to type:
cd /folder1/folder2/.../folderN
I know it's possible to make a shortcut to the ...
- 2,284
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
List all aliases starting with a particular string
To improve on the steps I have to take to complete some actions on my Mac, I have created many aliases. Example:
To open System Preferences, which I have to do often to manage multiple monitors, I ...
- 2,625
4
votes
1
answer
7k
views
How to edit Symbolic Links in OS X?
I had painstakingly gone through and created symlnks to a whole host of files in my system. I couldn't use aliases because they were failing to be copied with RSync, and also certain apps I use to ...
- 2,821
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why don't my aliases in .bashrc work?
I have Lion on my Mac Air. I wrote some aliases in ~/.bashrc file, which looks like:
# Aliases
alias p='pdflatex *.tex;open *.pdf'
alias bromine='ssh [email protected]'
I then sourced my ....
- 2,035
4
votes
2
answers
55k
views
How can I exit "bash"?
I don't know how to get my .profile aliases back in to the terminal every time I try them, this error massage comes up:
apaw:~ apaw$ cdp
-bash: cdp: command not found
How do i exit this -bash? I ...
- 193
4
votes
1
answer
8k
views
How do I change the icon of an alias to a custom ICO file?
I've created a couple of aliases to Wine executables that I put in my dock, but by default they're all coming up with the standard page icon. I would like to customize these icons using custom ICO ...
- 495
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Alias of app not showing up in launchpad
I downloaded this application (code composer studio from TI) and installed it and two applications showed up inside a folder called "TI (other)", one application called eclipse and another called "...
- 305
4
votes
2
answers
551
views
terminal custom commands source every time
After following this comment I added all my startup/alias commands to ~/.bashrc file and in ~/.bash_profile I added source ~/.bashrc
But still my aliases are not working. I have to manually source ~/...
- 151
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Limit number for "Hide my Email"?
I am in the process of modifying all my accounts to assign a unique email address to each one via the "Hide my Email" function.
I am currently at 273 addresses created for the occasion but I ...
- 41
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How do I make aliases hidden in macOS?
When I enter in Terminal:
chflags hidden location_of_alias
it hides the actual original folder the alias points to but it does not actually hide the alias itself.
How do I do it?
- 43