CODEWITHSUNDEEP
shellzshalias
Tamjid
Tamjid

Reputation: 5506

How to make an alias not immediately execute

I'm adding some aliases to my .zshrc file and wondering if I can add an alias that doesn't execute immediately?

Example of usage I want: I want to be able to have an alias for creating a new git branch Ideally I can type the alias gcb which will output git checkout -b in the terminal and doesn't execute, then I can add the new branch name and hit enter.

Note: I know I can do the following: command alias_name to prevent the alias immediately executing, but I'm seeking a way to do this without the command keyword as having to type that extra text almost defeats the purpose of the alias shortcut

Thanks!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1082

Answers (1)

user1934428
user1934428

Reputation: 22225

A definition

alias foo=bar

immediately defines the alias foo in the current zsh process. If you later type

foo x y

the command bar x y is executed. Note that by definition of zsh, this behaviour only works in interactive shells. If you want to exploit this in a shell script, you have to enable alias expansion explicitly.

Upvotes: 1

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