IMO the aliases for git should be in ~/.gitconfig instead. I have a bunch of these, like: [alias] br = branch co = checkout ci = commit -v

IMO the aliases for git should be in ~/.gitconfig instead. I have a bunch of these, like: [alias] br = branch co = checkout ci = commit -v sci = svn dcommit --interactive cp = cherry-pick l = log --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit l3 = log --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit -n3 lm = log --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit master.. rc = rebase --continue st = status -sb squash = !git rebase -i --autosquash $(git merge-base master HEAD) Also, I prefer to set aliases in my ~/.functions instead of in ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc. I find that this makes it easier to move the .functions file from one machine to another, especially on a lab/test machine with a shared account where I shouldn't be modifying things in the shared ~/.bashrc. To make this work, you can add this to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile: if [ -f ~/.functions ]; then . ~/.functions; fi This will source your .functions file if it exists when your .bashrc is run. A tweak to the "editbash" suggested alias will make it so that you don't have to reopen your terminal. My equivalent alias is "vif", for "vi .functions": alias vif='vi ~/.functions; . ~/.functions' Note that the second command (after the semicolon) sources the modified .functions file. Lastly: brevity is king. I love 'alias psgrep="ps aux | grep"', since I use it several times a day, but to "level up your shell game", keep it short. My alias for this command is "psg". The other alias that I use all the time is "d" -- "alias d='ls -lFh --color --group-directories -v'".