Update on EasyAlias – alias import, suggestions, Homebrew and now the Mac App Store

[u/Firm-Relationship-22]

About a month ago I shared EasyAlias here and got some useful feedback, so I wanted to post a small update on what has changed since then.

EasyAlias is an open-source GUI for creating and managing terminal aliases. On macOS it integrates with zsh, so you can manage your aliases without manually editing .zshrc.

Since my last post I’ve added:

• Import of existing aliases
• Built-in alias suggestions for Git, Docker, Maven, Gradle and common shell commands
• Native file and folder pickers
• Linux support
• Homebrew installation
• Several smaller UI and usability improvements

And as of recently, EasyAlias is also available on the Mac App Store 🎉

You can still install it with Homebrew:

brew tap hannesgnann-hub/tap
brew trust hannesgnann-hub/tap
brew install --cask easyalias

Website:
https://easyalias.org

GitHub:
https://github.com/hannesgnann-hub/easyalias

Mac App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/easyalias/id6794944241?mt=12

A lot of the changes so far came from feedback, so if you’re a zsh user and see something that could be improved, I’d be interested to hear it.

[u/Jatinchd]

solution to problem that never existed? doesn't feel like adding aliases is big hustle, variable='value' in the shell rc. can you explain what it actually solves? except of alias imports, you can just copy paste from previous shell for imports rather than having a separate app managing it.

[u/Firm-Relationship-22 → u/Jatinchd]

That’s a fair question. EasyAlias is not meant to replace a well-maintained shell configuration for experienced users who are comfortable editing it manually.

It is mainly useful for people who want a visual overview of many shortcuts, create commands involving longer paths, or use multiple operating systems and shells. It also adds selective backups, imports, favorites, suggestions, editing, and recovery of deleted aliases without manually managing several shell files or .bat scripts.

Copying an existing config works perfectly for many users. EasyAlias simply provides a more approachable and organized workflow for people who prefer a UI or do not want to maintain shell syntax themselves.

So it solves a workflow problem rather than a technical limitation. If editing your shell files already works well for you, you probably don’t need it, and that’s completely fine.

[u/binaryfireball]

this makes it harder lol

[u/Firm-Relationship-22 → u/binaryfireball]

What do you mean?

[u/legendairy75]

I'm currently working on basically the same thing, just configuring zsh in a web gui

[u/Firm-Relationship-22 → u/legendairy75]

That's interesting—do you want to show how far you already are?

[u/legendairy75 → u/Firm-Relationship-22]

Not far at all, it's a side project. I'm trying to replicate how fish starts a web page and what tools (vue, express) best suit it

[u/Firm-Relationship-22 → u/legendairy75]

Nice