How do I alias a command line command? (Mac)
Question:
I’m on a mac, and I write quite a bit of python scripts.
Every time I need to run them, I have to type ‘python script_name.py‘. Is there I way to make it so I only have to type like ‘p script_name.py‘? It would save some time 😀
Answers:
You can add an alias to your ~/.profile file:
alias p="python"
Note that you can also make a Python script executable with chmod +x script.py. You can then execute it using:
./script.py
You will need to add the following line to the top of your Python code for this to work:
#!/usr/bin/env python
This is called shebang.
I am assuming you are running your script from the command line right? If so, add the following line as the first line in your script:
#!/usr/bin/python
or alternatively
#!/usr/bin/env python
in case the python command is not located in /usr/bin, and then issue the following command once at the Unix/terminal prompt (it makes your script “executable”):
chmod +x script_name.py
from then on you only need to type the name of the script at the command prompt to run it. No python part of the command needed. I.e., simply
./script_name.py
will run the script.
You can also of course go with the alias, but the above is a cleaner solution in my opinion.
For the alias
alias p="python"
should go into your ~/.bashrc file
Use the alias command:
alias p="python"
You’ll probably want to add this to your ~/.bashrc.
You can add aliases in the ~/.zshrc file:
alias gs="git status"
alias gc="git commit -m"
alias ga="git add"
alias p="python"
Then close and reopen the terminal to apply the changes.
I’m on a mac, and I write quite a bit of python scripts.
Every time I need to run them, I have to type ‘python script_name.py‘. Is there I way to make it so I only have to type like ‘p script_name.py‘? It would save some time 😀
You can add an alias to your ~/.profile file:
alias p="python"
Note that you can also make a Python script executable with chmod +x script.py. You can then execute it using:
./script.py
You will need to add the following line to the top of your Python code for this to work:
#!/usr/bin/env python
This is called shebang.
I am assuming you are running your script from the command line right? If so, add the following line as the first line in your script:
#!/usr/bin/python
or alternatively
#!/usr/bin/env python
in case the python command is not located in /usr/bin, and then issue the following command once at the Unix/terminal prompt (it makes your script “executable”):
chmod +x script_name.py
from then on you only need to type the name of the script at the command prompt to run it. No python part of the command needed. I.e., simply
./script_name.py
will run the script.
You can also of course go with the alias, but the above is a cleaner solution in my opinion.
For the alias
alias p="python"
should go into your ~/.bashrc file
Use the alias command:
alias p="python"
You’ll probably want to add this to your ~/.bashrc.
You can add aliases in the ~/.zshrc file:
alias gs="git status"
alias gc="git commit -m"
alias ga="git add"
alias p="python"
Then close and reopen the terminal to apply the changes.