Git alias

This section will focus on Git aliases. To better understand the value of Git aliases we must first discuss what an alias is. The term alias is synonymous with a shortcut. Alias creation is a common pattern found in other popular utilities like bash shell. Aliases are used to create shorter commands that map to longer commands. Aliases enable more efficient workflows by requiring fewer keystrokes to execute a command. For a brief example, consider the git checkout command. The checkout command is a frequently used git command, which adds up in cumulative keystrokes over time. An alias can be created that maps git co to git checkout, which saves precious human fingertip power by allowing the shorter keystroke form: git co to be typed instead.

Git Alias Overview

It is important to note that there is no direct git alias command. Aliases are created through the use of the git config command and the Git configuration files. As with other configuration values, aliases can be created in a local or global scope.

To better understand Git aliases let us create some examples.

$ git config --global alias.co checkout
$ git config --global alias.br branch
$ git config --global alias.ci commit
$ git config --global alias.st status

The previous code example creates globally stored shortcuts for common git commands. Creating the aliases will not modify the source commands. So git checkout will still be available even though we now have the git co alias. These aliases were created with the --global flag which means they will be stored in Git's global operating system level configuration file. On linux systems, the global config file is located in the User home directory at /.gitconfig

[alias];
co = checkout;
br = branch;
ci = commit;
st = status;

This demonstrates that the aliases are now equivalent to the source commands.

Usage

Git aliasing is enabled through the use of git config, For command-line option and usage examples please review the git config documentation.