README.md 7.1 KB

Common Aliases Plugin

This plugin creates helpful shortcut aliases for many commonly used commands.

To use it add common-aliases to the plugins array in your zshrc file:

plugins=(... common-aliases)

Aliases

ls command

Alias Command Description
l ls -lFh List files as a long list, show size, type, human-readable
la ls -lAFh List almost all files as a long list show size, type, human-readable
lr ls -tRFh List files recursively sorted by date, show type, human-readable
lt ls -ltFh List files as a long list sorted by date, show type, human-readable
ll ls -l List files as a long list
ldot ls -ld .* List dot files as a long list
lS ls -1FSsh List files showing only size and name sorted by size
lart ls -1Fcart List all files sorted in reverse of create/modification time (oldest first)
lrt ls -1Fcrt List files sorted in reverse of create/modification time(oldest first)
lsr ls -lARFh List all files and directories recursively
lsn ls -1 List files and directories in a single column

File handling

Alias Command Description
rm rm -i Remove a file
cp cp -i Copy a file
mv mv -i Move a file
zshrc ${=EDITOR} ~/.zshrc Quickly access the ~/.zshrc file
dud du -d 1 -h Display the size of files at depth 1 in current location in human-readable form
duf* du -sh Display the size of files in current location in human-readable form
t tail -f Shorthand for tail which outputs the last part of a file

* Only if the duf command isn't installed.

find and grep

Alias Command Description
fd* find . -type d -name Find a directory with the given name
ff find . -type f -name Find a file with the given name
grep grep --color Searches for a query string
sgrep grep -R -n -H -C 5 --exclude-dir={.git,.svn,CVS} Useful for searching within files

* Only if the fd command isn't installed.

Other Aliases

Alias Command Description
h history Lists all recently used commands
hgrep fc -El 0 \| grep Searches for a word in the list of previously used commands
help man Opens up the man page for a command
p ps -f Displays currently executing processes
sortnr sort -n -r Used to sort the lines of a text file
unexport unset Used to unset an environment variable

Global aliases

These aliases are expanded in any position in the command line, meaning you can use them even at the end of the command you've typed. Examples:

Quickly pipe to less:

$ ls -l /var/log L
# will run
$ ls -l /var/log | less

Silences stderr output:

$ find . -type f NE
# will run
$ find . -type f 2>/dev/null
Alias Command Description
H \| head Pipes output to head which outputs the first part of a file
T \| tail Pipes output to tail which outputs the last part of a file
G \| grep Pipes output to grep to search for some word
L \| less Pipes output to less, useful for paging
M \| most Pipes output to more, useful for paging
LL 2>&1 \| less Writes stderr to stdout and passes it to less
CA 2>&1 \| cat -A Writes stderr to stdout and passes it to cat
NE 2 > /dev/null Silences stderr
NUL > /dev/null 2>&1 Silences both stdout and stderr
P 2>&1\| pygmentize -l pytb Writes stderr to stdout and passes it to pygmentize

File extension aliases

These are special aliases that are triggered when a file name is passed as the command. For example, if the pdf file extension is aliased to acroread (a popular Linux pdf reader), when running file.pdf that file will be open with acroread.

Reading Docs

Alias Command Description
pdf acroread Opens up a document using acroread
ps gv Opens up a .ps file using gv
dvi xdvi Opens up a .dvi file using xdvi
chm xchm Opens up a .chm file using xchm
djvu djview Opens up a .djvu file using djview

Listing files inside a packed file

Alias Command Description
zip unzip -l Lists files inside a .zip file
rar unrar l Lists files inside a .rar file
tar tar tf Lists files inside a .tar file
tar.gz echo Lists files inside a .tar.gz file
ace unace l Lists files inside a .ace file

Some other features

  • Opens urls in terminal using browser specified by the variable $BROWSER
  • Opens C, C++, Tex and text files using editor specified by the variable $EDITOR
  • Opens images using image viewer specified by the variable $XIVIEWER
  • Opens videos and other media using mplayer