Terminal Aliases & Functions

Terminal aliases and functions to reduce typing and improve workflow.

Setting Up Your Shell Configuration

Add these to your ~/.zshrc file, which loads when you open a new terminal.

Where to Add These

Add all aliases and functions to your ~/.zshrc file:

# Open your config
code ~/.zshrc

# After making changes, reload
source ~/.zshrc

# Or use this alias (add it first!)
alias reload='source ~/.zshrc'

Organization Tips

Structure your .zshrc like this:

# 1. Powerlevel10k
source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme

# 2. Environment Variables
export EDITOR='code'
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# 3. Aliases
# ... aliases go here ...

# 4. Functions
# ... functions go here ...

# 5. Plugin Sources (at the end)
source ~/.zsh/zsh-autosuggestions/zsh-autosuggestions.zsh
source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

Git Aliases

Shell aliases are faster than Git’s built-in aliases and integrate better with shell features.

Essential Git Shortcuts

# Status and Information
alias gs='git status'
alias gd='git diff'
alias gds='git diff --staged'
alias gl='git log --oneline --graph --decorate -10'
alias gll='git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all'
alias gb='git branch'
alias gba='git branch -a'
alias gr='git remote -v'

# Branch Operations
alias gco='git checkout'
alias gcb='git checkout -b'
alias gbd='git branch -d'
alias gbD='git branch -D'
alias gm='git merge'
alias gmm='git merge main'

# Commit Operations
alias gc='git commit'
alias gcm='git commit -m'
alias gca='git commit --amend'
alias gcan='git commit --amend --no-edit'

# Push and Pull
alias gp='git pull'
alias gpu='git push'
alias gpuf='git push --force-with-lease'
alias gpuo='git push --set-upstream origin $(git branch --show-current)'

# Stash Operations
alias gst='git stash'
alias gsta='git stash apply'
alias gstp='git stash pop'
alias gstl='git stash list'
alias gstd='git stash drop'

# Reset Operations
alias grh='git reset HEAD~1'
alias grhs='git reset --soft HEAD~1'
alias grhh='git reset --hard HEAD~1'
alias gclean='git clean -fd'

Aliases are simple command replacements. Functions can accept arguments and perform multiple operations.

Power Functions for Git

# Add, commit, and push in one command
gacp() {
    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
        echo "Usage: gacp 'commit message'"
        return 1
    fi
    git add .
    git commit -m "$1"
    git push
}

# Add and commit (without push)
gac() {
    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
        echo "Usage: gac 'commit message'"
        return 1
    fi
    git add .
    git commit -m "$1"
}

# Quick commit with timestamp
gacn() {
    git add .
    git commit -m "Update: $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
}

# Interactive rebase last n commits
greb() {
    if [ -z "$1" ]; then
        echo "Usage: greb [number of commits]"
        return 1
    fi
    git rebase -i HEAD~$1
}

# Clone and cd into directory
gclone() {
    git clone "$1" && cd "$(basename "$1" .git)"
}

# Show git log for specific file
glog() {
    git log --follow -p -- "$1"
}

# Undo last commit but keep changes
gundo() {
    git reset --soft HEAD~1
}

# Update branch from main
gup() {
    current=$(git branch --show-current)
    git checkout main
    git pull
    git checkout $current
    git merge main
}

Directory shortcuts reduce typing for frequently accessed paths.

Quick Movement

# Go up directories
alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'
alias ....='cd ../../..'
alias .....='cd ../../../..'
alias ......='cd ../../../../..'

# Go to common directories
alias dl='cd ~/Downloads'
alias dt='cd ~/Desktop'
alias dev='cd ~/Developer'
alias docs='cd ~/Documents'

# Go to specific project directories (customize these!)
alias proj='cd ~/Developer/projects'
alias work='cd ~/Developer/work'
alias personal='cd ~/Developer/personal'

Directory Functions

# Create and enter directory
mkcd() {
    mkdir -p "$1" && cd "$1"
}

# Go to git root
groot() {
    cd $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
}

# Go back to previous directory
alias back='cd -'

# List directory stack
alias dirs='dirs -v'

# Quick directory switching with stack
alias 1='cd -1'
alias 2='cd -2'
alias 3='cd -3'
alias 4='cd -4'
alias 5='cd -5'

File Operations

Modern replacements like eza and bat provide syntax highlighting, git integration, and better formatting.

Better Defaults

# List files (using eza for better output)
alias ls='eza --icons'
alias l='eza --icons'
alias ll='eza -la --icons --git'
alias la='eza -a --icons'
alias lt='eza --tree --level=2 --icons'
alias ltt='eza --tree --level=3 --icons'

# If eza not installed, fallback to standard
# alias ll='ls -alFh'
# alias la='ls -A'
# alias l='ls -CF'

# Better commands (install with brew first)
alias cat='bat --style=plain --paging=never'
alias find='fd'
alias grep='rg'
alias top='htop'
alias du='ncdu'
alias df='df -h'

# Safety nets
alias rm='rm -i'
alias cp='cp -i'
alias mv='mv -i'

# File operations
alias mkdir='mkdir -pv'
alias less='less -R'
alias tree='tree -C'

File Functions

# Extract any archive
extract() {
    if [ -f $1 ]; then
        case $1 in
            *.tar.bz2)   tar xjf $1     ;;
            *.tar.gz)    tar xzf $1     ;;
            *.bz2)       bunzip2 $1     ;;
            *.rar)       unrar e $1     ;;
            *.gz)        gunzip $1      ;;
            *.tar)       tar xf $1      ;;
            *.tbz2)      tar xjf $1     ;;
            *.tgz)       tar xzf $1     ;;
            *.zip)       unzip $1       ;;
            *.Z)         uncompress $1  ;;
            *.7z)        7z x $1        ;;
            *)     echo "'$1' cannot be extracted" ;;
        esac
    else
        echo "'$1' is not a valid file"
    fi
}

# Create a backup of a file
backup() {
    cp "$1" "$1.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
}

# Find files by name
ff() {
    find . -type f -name "*$1*"
}

# Find directories by name
fd() {
    find . -type d -name "*$1*"
}

# Quick look (preview on Mac)
ql() {
    qlmanage -p "$@" &>/dev/null
}

Development Shortcuts

Create aliases for frequently used npm commands.

Node.js / NPM

# NPM shortcuts
alias ni='npm install'
alias nis='npm install --save'
alias nid='npm install --save-dev'
alias nig='npm install -g'
alias nr='npm run'
alias nrs='npm run start'
alias nrd='npm run dev'
alias nrb='npm run build'
alias nrt='npm run test'
alias nrw='npm run watch'

# Yarn shortcuts
alias yi='yarn install'
alias ya='yarn add'
alias yad='yarn add -D'
alias yr='yarn run'
alias ys='yarn start'
alias yd='yarn dev'
alias yb='yarn build'
alias yt='yarn test'

# PNPM shortcuts
alias pi='pnpm install'
alias pa='pnpm add'
alias pad='pnpm add -D'
alias pr='pnpm run'
alias pd='pnpm dev'

# Node functions
node-clean() {
    find . -name "node_modules" -type d -prune -exec rm -rf '{}' +
    echo "All node_modules directories removed"
}

# List global packages
alias npmg='npm list -g --depth=0'

Python

# Virtual environment
alias ve='python3 -m venv venv'
alias va='source venv/bin/activate'
alias vd='deactivate'

# Pip shortcuts
alias pipi='pip install'
alias pipr='pip install -r requirements.txt'
alias pipf='pip freeze > requirements.txt'
alias pipu='pip install --upgrade pip'

# Django shortcuts
alias dj='python manage.py'
alias djr='python manage.py runserver'
alias djm='python manage.py makemigrations'
alias djmig='python manage.py migrate'
alias djs='python manage.py shell'
alias djc='python manage.py createsuperuser'

Docker

# Container operations
alias dps='docker ps'
alias dpsa='docker ps -a'
alias di='docker images'
alias dex='docker exec -it'
alias dl='docker logs'
alias dlf='docker logs -f'

# Cleanup
alias dclean='docker system prune -af --volumes'
alias drm='docker rm $(docker ps -aq)'
alias drmi='docker rmi $(docker images -q)'
alias drmf='docker rm -f $(docker ps -aq)'

# Docker Compose
alias dcu='docker-compose up'
alias dcud='docker-compose up -d'
alias dcd='docker-compose down'
alias dcr='docker-compose restart'
alias dcl='docker-compose logs'
alias dclf='docker-compose logs -f'
alias dcb='docker-compose build'

# Docker functions
dsh() {
    docker exec -it $1 /bin/sh
}

dbash() {
    docker exec -it $1 /bin/bash
}

Network & System

The killport function quickly terminates processes on specific ports.

Network Utilities

# IP addresses
alias myip='curl -s http://ipecho.net/plain; echo'
alias localip='ipconfig getifaddr en0'
alias ips="ifconfig -a | grep -o 'inet6\? \(addr:\)\?\s\?\(\(\([0-9]\+\.\)\{3\}[0-9]\+\)\|[a-fA-F0-9:]\+\)' | awk '{ sub(/inet6? (addr:)? ?/, \"\"); print }'"

# Network functions
ports() {
    lsof -PiTCP -sTCP:LISTEN
}

port() {
    lsof -i :$1
}

# Kill port
killport() {
    lsof -ti:$1 | xargs kill -9
}

# Flush DNS
alias flush-dns='sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder'

# Speed test
alias speedtest='curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sivel/speedtest-cli/master/speedtest.py | python -'

# Serve current directory
alias serve='python3 -m http.server'
alias serve-php='php -S localhost:8000'

System Maintenance

# System info
alias cpu='top -l 1 | grep "CPU usage"'
alias mem='top -l 1 | grep "PhysMem"'

# Cleanup
cleanup() {
    echo "🧹 Starting cleanup..."

    # Homebrew
    brew cleanup
    brew autoremove

    # NPM
    npm cache clean --force 2>/dev/null

    # Yarn
    yarn cache clean 2>/dev/null

    # PNPM
    pnpm store prune 2>/dev/null

    # Docker
    docker system prune -f 2>/dev/null

    echo "✅ Cleanup complete!"
}

# Update everything
update-all() {
    echo "📦 Updating Homebrew..."
    brew update && brew upgrade

    echo "📦 Updating global NPM packages..."
    npm update -g

    echo "📦 Updating Powerlevel10k..."
    git -C ~/powerlevel10k pull

    echo "✅ All updates complete!"
}

# System maintenance
alias empty-trash='rm -rf ~/.Trash/*'
alias show-hidden='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder'
alias hide-hidden='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO; killall Finder'

Utility Functions

Useful Helpers

# Weather
weather() {
    curl "wttr.in/${1:-}"
}

# Calculator
calc() {
    echo "$*" | bc -l
}

# Google from terminal
google() {
    open "https://www.google.com/search?q=$*"
}

# Generate random password
genpass() {
    openssl rand -base64 ${1:-16}
}

# Show PATH in readable format
path() {
    echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n'
}

# Markdown preview
mdpreview() {
    pandoc "$1" | lynx -stdin
}

# JSON pretty print
alias json='python -m json.tool'

# URL encode/decode
urlencode() {
    python -c "import sys, urllib.parse as ul; print(ul.quote_plus(sys.argv[1]))" "$1"
}

urldecode() {
    python -c "import sys, urllib.parse as ul; print(ul.unquote_plus(sys.argv[1]))" "$1"
}

Project Starters

Project starter functions automate scaffolding, opening the editor, and starting dev servers.

Quick Project Creation

# React app
create-react() {
    npx create-react-app $1
    cd $1
    code .
    npm start
}

# Next.js app
create-next() {
    npx create-next-app@latest $1
    cd $1
    code .
    npm run dev
}

# Vite app
create-vite() {
    npm create vite@latest $1
    cd $1
    npm install
    code .
    npm run dev
}

# Node.js API
create-node() {
    mkdir $1 && cd $1
    npm init -y
    npm install express cors dotenv
    npm install -D nodemon

    cat > index.js << 'EOF'
const express = require('express');
const cors = require('cors');
require('dotenv').config();

const app = express();
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;

app.use(cors());
app.use(express.json());

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ message: 'API is running!' });
});

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});
EOF

    cat > .env << 'EOF'
PORT=3000
EOF

    # Update package.json scripts
    npm pkg set scripts.start="node index.js"
    npm pkg set scripts.dev="nodemon index.js"

    echo "node_modules/\n.env\n*.log" > .gitignore

    code .
}

# Python Flask app
create-flask() {
    mkdir $1 && cd $1
    python3 -m venv venv
    source venv/bin/activate
    pip install flask python-dotenv

    cat > app.py << 'EOF'
from flask import Flask, jsonify
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
def hello():
    return jsonify({"message": "Flask API is running!"})

if __name__ == '__main__':
    port = int(os.environ.get('PORT', 5000))
    app.run(debug=True, port=port)
EOF

    cat > .env << 'EOF'
PORT=5000
EOF

    cat > requirements.txt << 'EOF'
flask
python-dotenv
EOF

    echo "__pycache__/\n*.pyc\nvenv/\n.env" > .gitignore

    code .
}

The Complete .zshrc Template

Here’s everything together:

# ============================================
# Powerlevel10k
# ============================================
source ~/powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme

# ============================================
# Environment Variables
# ============================================
export EDITOR='code'
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

# ============================================
# History Configuration
# ============================================
HISTSIZE=50000
SAVEHIST=50000
setopt HIST_IGNORE_DUPS
setopt HIST_FIND_NO_DUPS
setopt SHARE_HISTORY

# ============================================
# All Aliases and Functions from Above
# ============================================
# [Insert all the aliases and functions here]

# ============================================
# Plugin Sources (at the end)
# ============================================
source ~/.zsh/zsh-autosuggestions/zsh-autosuggestions.zsh
source ~/.zsh/zsh-syntax-highlighting/zsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh

# FZF
[ -f ~/.fzf.zsh ] && source ~/.fzf.zsh

# NVM
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

# Powerlevel10k instant prompt (keep at end)
[[ ! -f ~/.p10k.zsh ]] || source ~/.p10k.zsh

Quick Reference

Most Used Shortcuts

Command	What It Does	Keystrokes Saved
`gacp "msg"`	Git add, commit, push	40+
`gac "msg"`	Git add, commit	20+
`gs`	Git status	8
`mkcd dir`	Make and enter directory	10
`..`	Go up one directory	6
`ll`	List files with details	8
`ni`	NPM install	10
`nr dev`	NPM run dev	8

Frequently Asked Questions

Will these aliases work on Linux or WSL?

Most will work perfectly on Linux/WSL. The Mac-specific ones (like qlmanage for Quick Look) won’t work, but the vast majority are cross-platform. The core git, npm, and navigation aliases work everywhere.

What if an alias conflicts with an existing command?

You can check for conflicts with which [command] or type [command]. If there’s a conflict, either choose a different alias name or use \command to call the original (e.g., \ls for the real ls).

How do I remember all these aliases?

You don’t need to! Start with 5-10 that solve your biggest pain points. Use alias to list all aliases, or create a aliases-help function that shows your most-used ones. They’ll become muscle memory within a week.

Can I use these with bash instead of zsh?

Yes, but you’ll need to put them in ~/.bashrc instead of ~/.zshrc. Some syntax might need minor adjustments, particularly for functions and array operations.

Do aliases slow down my terminal?

No, aliases have virtually no performance impact. They’re simple text replacements. Even with hundreds of aliases, your terminal will start instantly. Functions are also lightweight unless they do heavy computation.

Should I version control my .zshrc file?

Yes! Create a dotfiles repository on GitHub. This lets you sync configurations across machines and restore your setup instantly on new computers. Just be careful not to commit sensitive information.

What's the difference between .zshrc and .zprofile?

.zshrc runs for every new terminal session (interactive shells). .zprofile runs once at login. Put aliases and functions in .zshrc, and PATH exports in .zprofile or both.

Can I organize aliases into separate files?

Absolutely! Create files like ~/.aliases, ~/.functions, and source them in your .zshrc with source ~/.aliases. This keeps things organized and makes sharing specific configs easier.

How do I temporarily disable an alias?

Use unalias [name] to remove it for the current session, or comment it out in .zshrc with # for permanent removal. You can also use \command to bypass an alias once.

What if a function isn't working?

Check syntax with which [function-name] or type [function-name]. Make sure you’ve sourced your .zshrc after changes with source ~/.zshrc or opened a new terminal. Add echo statements for debugging.

Get Started

Productivity for Mac Users

n8n University

Terminal Aliases & Functions

Terminal Aliases & Functions

Setting Up Your Shell Configuration

Where to Add These

Organization Tips

Git Aliases

Essential Git Shortcuts

Power Functions for Git

Directory Navigation

Quick Movement

Directory Functions

File Operations

Better Defaults

File Functions

Development Shortcuts

Node.js / NPM

Python

Docker

Network & System

Network Utilities

System Maintenance

Utility Functions

Useful Helpers

Project Starters

Quick Project Creation

The Complete .zshrc Template

Quick Reference

Most Used Shortcuts

Frequently Asked Questions

Get Started

Productivity for Mac Users

n8n University

​Terminal Aliases & Functions

​Setting Up Your Shell Configuration

​Where to Add These

​Organization Tips

​Git Aliases

​Essential Git Shortcuts

​Power Functions for Git

​Directory Navigation

​Quick Movement

​Directory Functions

​File Operations

​Better Defaults

​File Functions

​Development Shortcuts

​Node.js / NPM

​Python

​Docker

​Network & System

​Network Utilities

​System Maintenance

​Utility Functions

​Useful Helpers

​Project Starters

​Quick Project Creation

​The Complete .zshrc Template

​Quick Reference

​Most Used Shortcuts

​Frequently Asked Questions

Terminal Aliases & Functions

Setting Up Your Shell Configuration

Where to Add These

Organization Tips

Git Aliases

Essential Git Shortcuts

Power Functions for Git

Directory Navigation

Quick Movement

Directory Functions

File Operations

Better Defaults

File Functions

Development Shortcuts

Node.js / NPM

Python

Docker

Network & System

Network Utilities

System Maintenance

Utility Functions

Useful Helpers

Project Starters

Quick Project Creation

The Complete .zshrc Template

Quick Reference

Most Used Shortcuts

Frequently Asked Questions