Command Line Magic

Commands List

• Change directory: cd directory/path/from-your-current-directory (use ../ to back up a level)
• Create a folder: mkdir
• Create a new file: touch filename
• Edit a file in Vim: vim filename
• Exit Vim: hit the escape key, then :wq and hit enter

Create aliases for commonly used commands

It saves a ton of time. I don’t love that you may end up forgetting what the actual command is, but the time it saves is huge, and it’s pretty easy to keep a github file with your aliases and add them to a new machine.

1. Create an aliases file. Type touch .aliases in your terminal.
2. Open the file. You can use your editor of choice. To be wild and crazy and stick with the CLI, use vim .aliases. (Make sure you’re in the directory that has your aliases file. Hit i for insert in order to add to or edit the file.)
3. Add whatever aliases you’d like. Here are my current github aliases:

     #Git
     alias gs='git status'
     alias ga='git add'
     alias gaa='git add .'
     alias gb='git branch'
     alias gbva='git branch -va'
     alias gc='git commit'
     alias gcm='git commit -m'
     alias gf='git fetch'
     alias gfp='git fetch -p'
     alias gp='git pull'
     alias gl='git log'
     alias gco='git checkout'
   

   #Git is just a commented line to keep things organized. If I type gs in my terminal, it runs git status.

4. Save the file. (In Vim, hit escape, then :wq, hit enter)
5. Open your bash profile. (vim .bash_profile - if you don’t have a bash profile go ahead and make one)
6. Add source ~/.aliases, save, and restart your CLI. Test out your aliases. It’s magic!

Edit what your CLI displays.

By default your text seems to always be one color, which makes it really hard to reference what you’ve done - your commands blend in with the output.

I can’t explain exactly how this works, it’s code I inherited from a friend, but it is a lifesaver. Add it to your .bash_profile and restart your CLI.

#command prompt customization
prompt() {
  local last_status=$?

  local WHITE="\[\033[1;37m\]"
  local GREEN="\[\033[0;32m\]"
  local CYAN="\[\033[0;36m\]"
  local GRAY="\[\033[0;37m\]"
  local BLUE="\[\033[0;34m\]"
  local LIGHT_BLUE="\[\033[1;34m\]"
  local YELLOW="\[\033[1;33m\]"
  local RED="\[\033[1;31m\]"
  local no_color='\[\033[0m\]'

  local time="${YELLOW}\d \@$no_color"
  local whoami="${GREEN}\u$no_color"
  local dir="${CYAN}\w$no_color"

  local branch
  if git rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>/dev/null ; then
    branch=$(git branch | awk '/^\*/ { print $2 }')
    branch="${branch:+$LIGHT_BLUE$branch }"
  else
    unset branch
  fi

  local driver
  if test -n "$M_DRIVER" ; then
    driver="$LIGHT_BLUE($M_DRIVER)"
  fi

  local last_fail
  if test $last_status -ne 0 ; then
    last_fail="=> ${YELLOW}Err: $last_status${no_color}\n"
  else
    unset last_fail
  fi

  PS1="\n$time $whoami $branch$dir\n$last_fail$driver$no_color \$ "
}
PROMPT_COMMAND=prompt
# retain $PROMPT_DIRTRIM directory components when the prompt is too long
PROMPT_DIRTRIM=3

Disclaimer:

This is definitely not an area of expertise for me, let me know if you have feedback or suggestions!