The Tiny Terminal Tweaks That Save Me Hours Every Week

If you’ve ever typed the same terminal command more than three times in one day, you’re doing too much. And if you’ve ever typed a long git command with half your brain hoping you don’t mess up a flag, yeah, I’ve been there too.

I guess in 2008 or so, I started adding aliases to my terminal setup, just little shortcuts for commands I use constantly. And it’s one of those things that feels too simple to matter… until you use it for a week. Then you’re hooked.

Whether you’re on Linux or macOS, adding aliases is easy. And once you’ve got a few good ones in place, your terminal starts to feel like your own little command center.

Why Aliases Are Worth Your Time

They save keystrokes, sure. But more importantly:

• They reduce mental friction, you don’t have to remember flags, file paths, or full commands
• They speed up repetitive tasks like git commits or checking logs
• They help you stay in flow, fewer moments of “ugh, what was that command again?”

And yeah, it’s satisfying to type gsave and know that behind the scenes, it just added, committed, and pushed your changes.

How to Add an Alias (macOS & Linux)

Just edit your shell config file. Most of us are using either bash or zsh, so:

# For bash users:
nano ~/.bashrc

# For zsh (default on macOS now):
nano ~/.zshrc

Then drop in your aliases like this:

alias gs="git status"
alias gsave="git add . && git commit -m 'wip' && git push"

Save, close, and reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc

Done. Now when you type gsave, you get a full git save-and-push in one line.

Some of My Go-To Aliases

These are the ones that landed in my terminal config that I use daily, for rest of the shortcuts, I use Dash for MacOS via Setapp pro version.

Feel free to steal or tweak:

alias ll='ls -lG'                          # cleaner file list
alias ..='cd ..'                           # one folder up
alias valet-php-log="tail -f ~/.config/valet/Log/php-fpm.log"  # PHP log viewer

# Git shortcuts
alias gs="git status"
alias gpush="git push"
alias gpull="git pull"
alias gsave="git add . && git commit -m 'wip' && git push"
alias gf="git fetch"
alias gaa="git add ."
alias gc="git add . && git commit -m "
alias gb="git branch"
alias gk="git checkout"
alias gr="git remote"
alias gm="git merge"
alias gsw="git switch "
alias greset="git reset HEAD --hard && git clean -fd"

# Laravel + Testing
alias art="php artisan"
alias punit='./vendor/bin/phpunit'
alias pest='./vendor/bin/pest'
alias pint='./vendor/bin/pint'

# Docker
alias dc="docker-compose"

# Python (default to v3)
alias python="python3"
alias pip="python3 -m pip"

Other Aliases You Might Want

These aren’t in my current setup, but might be useful depending on your stack:

alias reload="source ~/.zshrc"                    # quick reload
alias ports="lsof -i -P -n | grep LISTEN"         # see what ports are open
alias cls="clear"
alias hgrep="history | grep "                     # search your shell history
alias please="sudo"                               # humor + productivity

One Tip: Don’t Overdo It

You don’t need 100 aliases. Just start with the commands that annoy you the most. Add one or two every time you repeat something that makes you pause.

Over time, you’ll build a terminal experience that feels like yours, fast, familiar, and friction-free.

Final Thought

If you’re someone who spends a lot of time in the terminal, aliases are a no-brainer. It’s not just about speed, it’s about reducing those micro-decisions that add up over time. Fewer typos, fewer repetitive motions, more focus.

Start small. Customize as you go. And if you’ve got a favorite alias you swear by, I’d love to hear it.

I create a lot of bash scripts and use a lot while working on projects, I’ll try and share some cool ones as well. Stay tuned..