List Git aliases

Question

How do I print a list of my git aliases, i.e., something analogous to the bash alias command?

Answer 1

I use this alias in my global ~/.gitconfig

# ~/.gitconfig

[alias]
    aliases = !git config --get-regexp ^alias\\. | sed -e s/^alias.// -e s/\\ /\\ $(printf \"\\043\")--\\>\\ / | column -t -s $(printf \"\\043\") | sort -k 1

to produce the following output

$ git aliases
aliases   --> !git config --get-regexp ^alias\. | sed -e s/^alias.// -e s/\ /\ $(printf "\043")--\>\ / | column -t -s $(printf "\043") | sort -k 1
ci        --> commit -v
cim       --> commit -m
co        --> checkout
logg      --> log --graph --decorate --oneline
pl        --> pull
st        --> status
...       --> ...

(Note: This works for me in git bash on Windows. For other terminals you may need to adapt the escaping.)

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Explanation

1. !git config --get-regexp ^alias\\. prints all lines from git config that start with alias.
2. sed -e s/^alias.// removes alias. from the line
3. sed -e s/\\ /\\ $(printf \"\\043\")--\\>\\ / replaces the first occurrence of a space with \\ $(printf \"\\043\")--\\> (which evaluates to #-->).
4. column -t -s $(printf \"\\043\") formats all lines into an evenly spaced column table. The character $(printf \"\\043\") which evaluates to # is used as separator.
5. sort -k 1 sorts all lines based on the value in the first column

$(printf \"\043\")

This just prints the character # (hex 043) which is used for column separation. I use this little hack so the aliases alias itself does not literally contain the # character. Otherwise it would replace those # characters when printing. Note: Change this to another character if you need aliases with literal # signs.

Answer 2

I created a git alias called (strangely enough) alias for exactly this purpose... handy from time to time if you use aliasing enough...

$ git config --global alias.alias "config --get-regexp ^alias\."

Note, the regex makes sure the line starts with alias..

Answer 3

$ git config --get-regexp alias

Answer 4

Using git var and filtering only those that start with alias:

git var -l | grep -e "^alias"

Answer 5

There is a built-in function... try

$ __git_aliases

lists all the aliases :)

Answer 6

This answer builds upon the answer by johnny. It applies if you're not using git-alias from git-extras.

On Linux, run once:

git config --global alias.alias "! git config --get-regexp ^alias\. | sed -e s/^alias\.// -e s/\ /\ =\ /"

This will create a permanent git alias named alias which gets stored in your ~/.gitconfig file. Using it will list all of your git aliases, in nearly the same format as they are in the ~/.gitconfig file. To use it, type:

$ git alias
loga = log --graph --decorate --name-status --all
alias = ! git config --get-regexp ^alias\. | sed -e s/^alias\.// -e s/\ /\ =\ /

The following considerations apply:

• To prevent the alias alias from getting listed as above, append | grep -v ^'alias ' just before the closing double-quote. I don't recommend this so users don't forget that the the command alias is but an alias and is not a feature of git.

• To sort the listed aliases, append | sort just before the closing double-quote. Alternatively, you can keep the aliases in ~/.gitconfig sorted.

• To add the alias as a system-wide alias, replace --global (for current user) with --system (for all users). This typically goes in the /etc/gitconfig file.