Aliases
Remarks:
Powershell naming system has quite strict rules of naming cmdlets (Verb-Noun template; see [topic not yet created] for more information). But it is not really convenient to write Get-ChildItems every time you want to list files in directory interactively.
Therefore Powershell enables using shortcuts - aliases - instead of cmdlet names.
You can write ls, dir or gci instead of Get-ChildItem and get the same result. Alias is equivalent to its cmdlet.
Some of the common aliases are:
| alias | cmdlet |
|---|---|
| %, foreach | For-EachObject |
| ?, where | Where-Object |
| cat, gc, type | Get-Content |
| cd, chdir, sl | Set-Location |
| cls, clear | Clear-Host |
| cp, copy, cpi | Copy-Item |
| dir/ls/gci | Get-ChildItem |
| echo, write | Write-Output |
| fl | Format-List |
| ft | Format-Table |
| fw | Format-Wide |
| gc, pwd | Get-Location |
| gm | Get-Member |
| iex | Invoke-Expression |
| ii | Invoke-Item |
| mv, move | Move-Item |
| rm, rmdir, del, erase, rd, ri | Remove-Item |
| sleep | Start-Sleep |
| start, saps | Start-Process |
In the table above, you can see how aliases enabled simulating commands known from other environments (cmd, bash), hence increased discoverability.
Get-Alias
To list all aliases and their functions:
Get-Alias
To get all aliases for specific cmdlet:
PS C:\> get-alias -Definition Get-ChildItem
CommandType Name Version Source
----------- ---- ------- ------
Alias dir -> Get-ChildItem
Alias gci -> Get-ChildItem
Alias ls -> Get-ChildItem
To find aliases by matching:
PS C:\> get-alias -Name p*
CommandType Name Version Source
----------- ---- ------- ------
Alias popd -> Pop-Location
Alias proc -> Get-Process
Alias ps -> Get-Process
Alias pushd -> Push-Location
Alias pwd -> Get-Location
Set-Alias
This cmdlet allows you to create new alternate names for exiting cmdlets
PS C:\> Set-Alias -Name proc -Value Get-Process
PS C:\> proc
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id SI ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- -- -----------
292 17 13052 20444 ...19 7.94 620 1 ApplicationFrameHost
....
Keep in mind that any alias you create will be persisted only in current session. When you start new session you need to create your aliases again. Powershell Profiles (see [topic not yet created]) are great for these purposes.
Contributors
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