Terminal – How to Create an Alias with a Variable

aliascommand linemacbook proterminal

I want to create an Alias for my Terminal to quick-search inside files.

In Ubuntu is was: alias gre="egrep -rnw ". I used it like that $ gre 'my search string'.

Now I want this for my local MacBook-Terminal. I found out that I have to use grep only like this grep -r 'search string' .

How can I add an Alias like the one in Ubuntu?

I think it's something like this: alias gre="grep -r $theTerminalParameter ."

If I test it in the Terminal: alias test="grep -r $var ." and check the "content" of that alias with alias test i get that information:

alias test='grep -r .' so my Variable doesn't appear in the alias.

How can I use an Alias for that task.

Best Answer

You can't use alias for arbitrary substitutions. You can use a function instead.

function gre() {
  grep -r "$@" .
}
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