Using aliases

An alias is an alternate name or shorthand name for a cmdlet or for a command element, such as a function, script, file, or executable file. You can run the command using the alias instead of the executable name.

Managing command aliases

PowerShell provides cmdlets for managing command aliases. The following command shows the cmdlets that manage aliases.

Get-Command -Noun Alias

CommandType Name         Version Source
----------- ----         ------- ------
Cmdlet      Export-Alias 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
Cmdlet      Get-Alias    7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
Cmdlet      Import-Alias 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
Cmdlet      New-Alias    7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
Cmdlet      Remove-Alias 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
Cmdlet      Set-Alias    7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

For more information, see about_Aliases.

Use the Get-Alias cmdlet to list the aliases available in your environment. To list the aliases for a single cmdlet, use the Definition parameter and specify the executable name.

Get-Alias -Definition Get-ChildItem

CommandType     Name
-----------     ----
Alias           dir -> Get-ChildItem
Alias           gci -> Get-ChildItem
Alias           ls -> Get-ChildItem

To get the definition of a single alias, use the Name parameter.

Get-Alias -Name gci

CommandType     Name
-----------     ----
Alias           gci -> Get-ChildItem

To create an alias, use the Set-Alias command. You can create aliases for cmdlets, functions, scripts, and native executables files.

Set-Alias -Name np -Value Notepad.exe
Set-Alias -Name cmpo  -Value Compare-Object

Compatibility aliases in Windows

PowerShell has several aliases that allow UNIX and cmd.exe users to use familiar commands in Windows. The following table show common commands, the related PowerShell cmdlet, and the PowerShell alias:

Windows Command Shell	UNIX command	PowerShell cmdlet	PowerShell alias
cd, chdir	cd	Set-Location	sl, cd, chdir
cls	clear	Clear-Host	cls clear
copy	cp	Copy-Item	cpi, cp, copy
del, erase, rd, rmdir	rm	Remove-Item	ri, del, erase, rd, rm, rmdir
dir	ls	Get-ChildItem	gci, dir, ls
echo	echo	Write-Output	write echo
md	mkdir	New-Item	ni
move	mv	Move-Item	mi, move, mi
popd	popd	Pop-Location	popd
	pwd	Get-Location	gl, pwd
pushd	pushd	Push-Location	pushd
ren	mv	Rename-Item	rni, ren
type	cat	Get-Content	gc, cat, type

Note

The aliases in this table are Windows-specific. Some aliases aren't available on other platforms. This is to allow the native command to work in a PowerShell session. For example, ls isn't defined as a PowerShell alias on macOS or Linux so that the native command is run instead of Get-ChildItem.

Creating alternate names for commands with parameters

You can assign an alias to a cmdlet, script, function, or executable file. Unlike some Unix shells, you cannot assign an alias to a command with parameters. For example, you can assign an alias to the Get-Eventlog cmdlet, but you cannot assign an alias to the Get-Eventlog -LogName System command. You must create a function that contains the command with parameters.

For more information, see about_Aliases.

Parameter aliases and shorthand names

PowerShell also provides ways to create shorthand names for parameters. Parameter aliases are defined using the Alias attribute when you declare the parameter. These can't be defined using the *-Alias cmdlets.

For more information, see the Alias attribute documentation.

In addition to parameter aliases, PowerShell lets you specify the parameter name using the fewest characters needed to uniquely identify the parameter. For example, the Get-ChildItem cmdlet has the Recurse and ReadOnly parameters. To uniquely identify the Recurse parameter you only need to provide -rec. If you combine that with the command alias, Get-ChildItem -Recurse can be shortened to dir -rec.

Don't use aliases in scripts

Aliases are a convenience feature to be used interactively in the shell. You should always use the full command and parameter names in your scripts.

• Aliases can be deleted or redefined in a profile script
• Any aliases you define may not be available to the user of your scripts
• Aliases make your code harder to read and maintain