The Garden of Earthly Delights

A blog by printer_scanner.

Aliases

As this is a developer blog, it is important I show off my aliases. Over the years, I have developed strong opinions about what makes a good alias. The most important component of a good alias is memorability. The alias has to be significantly easier to remember than its command. It should solve a memory problem, not create one. I'll start with an example of what I think bad aliases are.

Bad Aliases #

alias gp='git push'
alias gpoh='git push origin HEAD'
alias gl='git pull'
alias gca='git commit -v -a'
alias gco='git checkout'
alias gta='git tag -a'

Is it really easier to remember gp than git push? Are you really saving time by reducing keystrokes? These may work for some people, but for me, this is a type of alias I will forget immediately after making it and find unused in my alias graveyard a year later.

My Most Used Aliases #

The marker of a good alias is that it is frequently used and well tended to. Over time, I've crafted a set of aliases and functions in my .zshrc file that help streamline my workflow and simplify repetitive tasks. Here's a look at some of my favorites and the reasoning behind them.

Clear and Destroy

alias clear="cd && clear"

clear on its own isn't destructive enough. I use clear usually always in moments of desperation when I have gone too far in the wrong direction and need to start over. I recommend this to anyone that appreciates a blank slate.

Ultra-Simple Server

alias serve="python3 -m http.server"

Python changed its start server syntax several years ago, and my brain wasn't able to catch up. I set this a few years back and live in bliss that I don't have to search for the command every few weeks. This is my most used alias anytime I need to spin up a simple server. This python server is in my opinion, the easiest way to start a local server.

Ultimate Image Resizer

resize() {
    read "prefix?Enter prefix: "
    i=1
    for file in *; do
        cwebp -q 75 "${file}" -o "${prefix}_${i}.webp"
        ((i++))
    done
}

I frequently need to resize images, and this function is ultra fast and allows me to batch-process images. Prompting for a prefix keeps my file names organized and prevents overwriting.

Which Yarn command was it?

go() {
    code .
    yarn
    yarn dev || yarn start || yarn serve
}

In 2024, yarn commands live in a fractured state. There is no consensus between templates on what command should be used to start a server, and I constantly need to re-remember the library I built for the project to know what command to use. This command instead tries everything for me, so I don't have to go look at the package.json. I would highly recommend it.

Conclusion #

A great alias saves time. Refrain from trying to reduce keystrokes; you'll never remember your abbreviations. Here is a link to my Github repository if you'd like to grab these.