How to add aliases to your Linux

Using a Linux Operating System, there is a high level of customization, depending on your preferences or needs.

One important thing is to create aliases to the most common commands in order to optimize the time you use. In mi case, I love to use .. instead of cd .. or update to update all my Linux software pending updates.

Here I put my list of aliases for Ubuntu (based on Debian) or CentOS (based on RHEL) distribution. It is not big but it is what I mostly use in the servers I have with Linux.

Ubuntu (Or Debian based)

In case you are using a Ubuntu distribution (Or Debian based), first you have to edit the file ~/.bash_aliases like this:

root@rhea:~# vi ~/.bash_aliases

And insert these lines:

alias l="ls -lh --color"
alias rm="rm -i"
alias ..="cd .."
alias ...="cd ../.."
alias ....="cd ../../.."
alias update='sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt dist-upgrade'
alias clean='sudo apt autoclean && sudo apt autoremove && sudo apt clean'

Then you can update the aliases used in your current session:

root@rhea:~# source ~/.bash_aliases
root@rhea:~#

And from that moment, you can use them.

CentOS (Or RHEL based)

In case of CentOS distribution (Or RHEL based), there is one more step. First off, you have to edit the file ~/.bashrc like this:

root@rhea:~# vi ~/.bashrc

Then insert these lines:

if [ -f ~/.bash_aliases ]; then
    . ~/.bash_aliases
fi

After this, you can edit the file ~/.bash_aliases like this:

root@rhea:~# vi ~/.bash_aliases

to insert these lines:

alias l="ls -lh --color"
alias rm="rm -i"
alias ..="cd .."
alias ...="cd ../.."
alias update='sudo yum list updates && sudo yum update && sudo yum upgrade'
alias clean='sudo yum clean all && sudo yum autoremove'

And finally, you can update the aliases in your current session:

root@rhea:~# source ~/.bashrc
root@rhea:~#