Today I would like to discuss the advantages of using git aliases, some considerations, and then I will share with you the aliases that I normally use:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are familiar with git, you should at least know a few of the most popular commands. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
git checkout<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\nGit provides a way to write an alias, or shortcut, to execute the same command. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
git co<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\nWhy using aliases?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
One of the main reasons to use aliases is to type less. In this example, we just save typing 6 characters every time we need to run the command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I tested this and it took me about 1 second to write the word checkout<\/code>, but only a few milliseconds to type co<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe reason for this is that QWERTY keyboards (the most popular keyboard configuration) are designed to type as slowly as possible, so it's not surprising that typing a simple word could take so long.<\/pre>\n\n\n\nEven if you can type faster than me, I’m sure that you can type co<\/code> a lot quicker than checkout<\/code>. Saving a second may not seem like much, but it has a cumulative effect on commands that are frequently used.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI tend to believe that it’s less likely to have spelling mistakes in a short command (although I have no proof of this), so if you use a short alias you’ll probably won’t need to re-type the command. And even if there’s a typo, re-writing a shorter command should be faster than typing again the whole thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One time, I met an engineer who used the aliases git co<\/code> and git oc<\/code> for the git checkout<\/code> command. She explained to me that she’d frequently change the order of the letters when typing, so this was her way to ensure that whatever she entered in her terminal would get the desired outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\nConsiderations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Whenever you create a new git alias you will have to remember it (otherwise it defeats the purpose). For this reason, my advice is to create aliases as you need them, and not just grab a list of aliases that someone else has created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I joined a new job some time ago I met someone that knew how powerful git aliases are. Because he wanted to help me, he shared his git aliases with me. I thanked him for his good intentions, but in the end I did not use his list. Why? Because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- that list was tailored to his own needs, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the characters that he used did not mean anything to me, so I really struggled at trying to remember them<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
To me, co<\/code> means checkout<\/code>, but perhaps you have an easier time remembering ck<\/code>, or ct<\/code>, or cho<\/code>? We’re all different, and our brains work in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI truly believe that you should use git aliases, and that it should be something that makes sense and adds value to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to setup a git alias<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
When setting up a git alias you can specify that they apply to your entire working environment (a.k.a. global), or just on a specific repository. It’s worth noting that whatever you decide is stored locally (this is not sent to the remote repository), and that you can update it anytime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This example shows how to set a global alias:<\/p>\n\n\n
git<\/span> config<\/span> --global<\/span> alias<\/span>.co<\/span> checkout<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\nAnd this is how it’s done on a specific repository.<\/p>\n\n\n
cd <repository-directory<\/span>><\/span>\ngit config alias.co checkout<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n