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

Use the alias command:

alias p="python"

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

Answer 2

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. I.e., 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 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.