What The Alias

Recursively scans shell config files and collects alias definitions in order to:

• remind you of a random alias
• search for an alias
• train new aliases with spaced repetition (coming soon)
• instant search for an alias (coming sooner)

Shell alias trainer

I put a call to this tool into my .zshrc. Every time I open a terminal, I get reminded of one of the aliases I defined. This allows me to make even more use of aliases. In the past I often forgot that I even defined an alias, or what it was exactly.

Installation

WTA is written in Rust, and you can compile the executable from source via:

cargo build --release

You then find the executable at: target/release/wta. Include this directory in your system path, or copy/move the executable as you see fit.

Usage:

Quickly search for an alias:

wta <phrase to search>

For example:

$ wta git

    What The Alias v0.2.0

    Searching for: git

    "gco" => "git checkout"
    "gst" => "git status"
    "gd" => "git diff -w"
    "gl" => "git log --graph --oneline --all"
    "gcam" => "git commit -am"

Get reminded of a random alias:

wta reminder --random

For example:

$ wta reminder --random

    What The Alias v0.2.0

    Did you know?
    You can use the alias: "gd" instead of "git diff -w"

Supported shells

• Bash (.bashrc)
• Zsh (.zshrc)

Roadmap

Upcoming features:

Search aliases

Rough plan to implement this:

• phase 1: search by calling wta with arguments
• phase 2: interactive instant search

Spaced repetition reminder

Spaced repetition will help enforce the learning of new aliases.

Rough plan to implement this:

• collect and sync found aliases to a local SQLite database
• record last timestamp of last reminder, and count of how often reminded already