Giving a Command a Nickname with alias

alias is for when "typing this long command every single time is a pain." alias attaches a short nickname to an existing command, so you can invoke it under that nickname instead.

Use it in the form alias nickname='original-command'. Afterward, simply typing the nickname produces the same result as running the original command.

Running alias ll='ls -la' means from then on, just typing ll gives you the same detailed file listing as running ls -la.

A common early mistake is that, just like export, an alias also disappears when you close the terminal. To keep it permanently, you need to write it into a file like .bashrc.

In real work, this is set up a lot for boosting efficiency — shortening a long, frequently-used command, like turning git status into gs.