Alias a command in Windows Terminal using Powershell as the default profile

Question

I want to alias the following 2 commands (combining ssh with fuzzy finder) in the Windows Terminal which uses the default profile as PowerShell:

fzf_ssh: ssh $(cat .ssh_known_hosts | fzf)
fzf_ssh_tmux: ssh $(cat .ssh_known_hosts | fzf) -t tmux a

(The file .ssh_known_hosts is a file I created with the username@hostname entries)

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I found the following article, but they are aliasing it for cmd: save-your-precious-dev-time-with-command-aliases-in-windows-terminal.

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The following post suggests updating the $profile file of PowerShell with Set-Alias: windows_terminal_how_do_you_set_aliass
I made the following entry in the $profile file:

Set-Alias -Name fzf_ssh -Value ssh $(cat .ssh_known_hosts | fzf)
Set-Alias -Name fzf_ssh_tmux -Value ssh $(cat .ssh_known_hosts | fzf) -t tmux a

But on launching a new Windows Terminal session, the commands get executed and open the fuzzy finder which is not what I want. I just want it to alias those 2 commands.

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How can I achieve this?

Answer 1

You must define functions rather than aliases, because in PowerShell an alias is simply another name for a command, and therefore doesn't support passing arguments:

function fzf_ssh      { ssh (cat .ssh_known_hosts | fzf) }
function fzf_ssh_tmux { ssh (cat .ssh_known_hosts | fzf) -t tmux a }

See this answer for background information.

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As for what you tried:

• Since an alias is just another name for a command, the -Value parameter of Set-Alias accepts just one argument, namely the name of the command for which to create the alias.

• The command enclosed in $(...), the subexpression operator, is executed instantly (as an aside: (...), the grouping operator, as used above, is usually sufficient).

  • Use of $(...), (...) and @(...), the array-subexpression operator, when used outside of a script block ({ ... }) always execute right away.

• Thereafter, your attempt to (positionally) pass additional arguments ($(...)) to Set-Alias ultimately causes a syntax error (A positional parameter cannot be found ...).