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:D

Answer 1

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. Ie, 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

Answer 2

Use the alias command:

alias p="python"

You'll probably want to add this to your ~/.bashrc.

Answer 3

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 .

Answer 4

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.