{"id":4545,"date":"2023-10-09T13:11:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T12:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/?p=4545"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:36:29","slug":"aliases-in-powershell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/2023\/10\/09\/aliases-in-powershell\/","title":{"rendered":"Aliases in PowerShell"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a list of aliases in PowerShell, e.g., alias cd<\/em><\/strong> for Set-Location<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, see my previous blog post PowerShell aliases and missing Microsoft documentation <\/a><\/em> (aliases in PowerShell are not<\/em><\/strong> in the official Microsoft documentation).<\/p>\n

See also my blog post Breaking into PowerShell <\/a><\/em> (2014).<\/p>\n

PowerShell also works on Linux!<\/h2>\n

For instance, on Ubuntu 20.04, it can be installed with (from the command-line):<\/p>\n

\r\nsnap --classic install powershell\r\n<\/pre>\n
The option “–classic” will suppress the scary warning “error: This revision of snap “powershell” was published using classic confinement and thus may perform arbitrary system changes outside of the security sandbox that snaps are usually confined to, which may put your system at risk. If you understand and want to proceed repeat the command including –classic.”<\/em><\/p>\n
Output:<\/p>\n
\r\npowershell 7.3.7 from Microsoft PowerShell\u2713 installed\r\n<\/pre>\n
Launch PowerShell:<\/p>\n
\r\npwsh\r\n<\/pre>\n
Output:<\/p>\n
\r\nPowerShell 7.3.7\r\nPS \/home\/mortensen> \r\n<\/pre>\n
Running the following line from the first mentioned blog post gave the expected result:<\/p>\n
\r\nGet-Alias | select Name, Definition, DisplayName | Sort-Object Definition, Name\r\n<\/pre>\n
Though the formatting line fails:<\/p>\n
\r\nGet-Alias | select Name, Definition, DisplayName | sort Definition, Name | foreach { "<tr> <td>{0,1}<\/td> <td>{1,1}<\/td> <\/tr>" -f $_.Name, $_.Definition }\r\n<\/pre>\n
Output:<\/p>\n
\r\n\/usr\/bin\/sort: cannot read: Definition,: No such file or directory\r\n<\/pre>\n
Resolution:<\/p>\n
Use the cmdlet<\/a> Sort-Object<\/a> instead of its alias ‘sort’ (that works on Windows):<\/p>\n
\r\nGet-Alias | select Name, Definition, DisplayName | Sort-Object Definition, Name | foreach { "<tr> <td>{0,1}<\/td> <td>{1,1}<\/td> <\/tr>" -f $_.Name, $_.Definition }\r\n<\/pre>\n
Portability<\/h2>\n
As the previous section demonstrated, PowerShell scripts may break when moved from Windows to Linux, at least with the default configuration of PowerShell.<\/p>\n
For example, cp<\/em><\/strong>, sort<\/em><\/strong>, cd<\/em><\/strong>, ps<\/em><\/strong>, mv<\/em><\/strong>, and rm<\/em><\/strong> don’t work on Linux (or don’t work as expected). See the next section for some details.<\/p>\n
Aliases in PowerShell on Linux (7.3.7)<\/h2>\n
Note that, unlike on Windows, the aliases corresponding to the native ones on Linux are absent<\/em><\/strong>. For example, ls<\/em><\/strong> (Get-ChildItem<\/a>), cp<\/em><\/strong> (Copy-Item<\/a>), sort<\/em><\/strong> (Sort-Object<\/a>), cd<\/em><\/strong> (Set-Location<\/a>), ps<\/em><\/strong> (Get-Process<\/a>), mv<\/em><\/strong> (Move-Item<\/a>), rm<\/em><\/strong> (Remove-Item<\/a>), rmdir<\/em><\/strong> (Remove-Item<\/a>), and cat<\/em><\/strong> (Get-Content<\/a>).<\/p>\n
They are absent from the list of aliases, but they may<\/em> work as intended, as presumably the native Linux ones are called out to. Or they are degraded to text only (not really part of PowerShell pipeline(?)).<\/p>\n
For example, “Get-ChildItem | Get-Member” has type “System.IO.FileInfo”, whereas for the missing alias (on Linux), “ls | Get-Member” has type TypeName: System.String.<\/p>\n
mkdir seems to be an exception. It is a cmd-let(?), but it doesn’t follow normal full Verb-Noun naming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Alias<\/th>\nCmdlet<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
clc<\/td>\nClear-Content<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
clhy<\/td>\nClear-History<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cls<\/td>\nClear-Host<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cli<\/td>\nClear-Item<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
clp<\/td>\nClear-ItemProperty<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
clv<\/td>\nClear-Variable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cvpa<\/td>\nConvert-Path<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
copy<\/td>\nCopy-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cpi<\/td>\nCopy-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dbp<\/td>\nDisable-PSBreakpoint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ebp<\/td>\nEnable-PSBreakpoint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
etsn<\/td>\nEnter-PSSession<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
exsn<\/td>\nExit-PSSession<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
epal<\/td>\nExport-Alias<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
epcsv<\/td>\nExport-Csv<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
%<\/td>\nForEach-Object<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
foreach<\/td>\nForEach-Object<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fc<\/td>\nFormat-Custom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fhx<\/td>\nFormat-Hex<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fl<\/td>\nFormat-List<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ft<\/td>\nFormat-Table<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fw<\/td>\nFormat-Wide<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gal<\/td>\nGet-Alias<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dir<\/td>\nGet-ChildItem<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gci<\/td>\nGet-ChildItem<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gcm<\/td>\nGet-Command<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gc<\/td>\nGet-Content<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
type<\/td>\nGet-Content<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gerr<\/td>\nGet-Error<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ghy<\/td>\nGet-History<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
h<\/td>\nGet-History<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
history<\/td>\nGet-History<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gi<\/td>\nGet-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gp<\/td>\nGet-ItemProperty<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gpv<\/td>\nGet-ItemPropertyValue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gjb<\/td>\nGet-Job<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gl<\/td>\nGet-Location<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pwd<\/td>\nGet-Location<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gm<\/td>\nGet-Member<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gmo<\/td>\nGet-Module<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gps<\/td>\nGet-Process<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gbp<\/td>\nGet-PSBreakpoint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gcs<\/td>\nGet-PSCallStack<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gdr<\/td>\nGet-PSDrive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gsn<\/td>\nGet-PSSession<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gu<\/td>\nGet-Unique<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gv<\/td>\nGet-Variable<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
group<\/td>\nGroup-Object<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ipal<\/td>\nImport-Alias<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ipcsv<\/td>\nImport-Csv<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ipmo<\/td>\nImport-Module<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
icm<\/td>\nInvoke-Command<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
iex<\/td>\nInvoke-Expression<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ihy<\/td>\nInvoke-History<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
r<\/td>\nInvoke-History<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ii<\/td>\nInvoke-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
irm<\/td>\nInvoke-RestMethod<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
iwr<\/td>\nInvoke-WebRequest<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
measure<\/td>\nMeasure-Object<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
md<\/td>\nmkdir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
mi<\/td>\nMove-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
move<\/td>\nMove-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
mp<\/td>\nMove-ItemProperty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nal<\/td>\nNew-Alias<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ni<\/td>\nNew-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nmo<\/td>\nNew-Module<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ndr<\/td>\nNew-PSDrive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nsn<\/td>\nNew-PSSession<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nv<\/td>\nNew-Variable<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
oh<\/td>\nOut-Host<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
popd<\/td>\nPop-Location<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pushd<\/td>\nPush-Location<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rcjb<\/td>\nReceive-Job<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rcsn<\/td>\nReceive-PSSession<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
del<\/td>\nRemove-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
erase<\/td>\nRemove-Item<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rd<\/td>\nRemove-Item<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ri<\/td>\nRemove-Item<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rp<\/td>\nRemove-ItemProperty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rjb<\/td>\nRemove-Job<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rmo<\/td>\nRemove-Module<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rbp<\/td>\nRemove-PSBreakpoint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rdr<\/td>\nRemove-PSDrive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rsn<\/td>\nRemove-PSSession<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rv<\/td>\nRemove-Variable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ren<\/td>\nRename-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rni<\/td>\nRename-Item<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rnp<\/td>\nRename-ItemProperty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rvpa<\/td>\nResolve-Path<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
select<\/td>\nSelect-Object<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sls<\/td>\nSelect-String<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sal<\/td>\nSet-Alias<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
si<\/td>\nSet-Item<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sp<\/td>\nSet-ItemProperty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cd<\/td>\nSet-Location<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
chdir<\/td>\nSet-Location<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sl<\/td>\nSet-Location<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sbp<\/td>\nSet-PSBreakpoint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
set<\/td>\nSet-Variable<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sv<\/td>\nSet-Variable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sajb<\/td>\nStart-Job<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
saps<\/td>\nStart-Process<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
spjb<\/td>\nStop-Job<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
spps<\/td>\nStop-Process<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wjb<\/td>\nWait-Job<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
?<\/td>\nWhere-Object<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
where<\/td>\nWhere-Object<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
echo<\/td>\nWrite-Output<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For a list of aliases in PowerShell, e.g., alias cd for Set-Location, see my previous blog post PowerShell aliases and missing Microsoft documentation (aliases in PowerShell are not in the official Microsoft documentation). See also my blog post Breaking into …<\/p>\n
  Aliases in PowerShell<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,36,24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4545"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6194,"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545\/revisions\/6194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pmortensen.eu\/world2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}