Set-Alias

Syntax

Set-Alias
   [-Name] <String>
   [-Value] <String>
   [-Description <String>]
   [-Option <ScopedItemOptions>]
   [-PassThru]
   [-Scope <String>]
   [-Force]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Set-Alias cmdlet creates or changes an alias (alternate name) for a cmdlet or for a command element, such as a function, a script, a file, or other executable. You can also use Set-Alias to reassign a current alias to a new command, or to change any of the properties of an alias, such as its description. Unless you add the alias to the Windows PowerShell profile, the changes to an alias are lost when you exit the session or close Windows PowerShell.

Examples

Example 1: Create an alias for a Get-ChildItem

PS C:\> Set-Alias -Name list -Value get-childitem

This command creates the alias list for the Get-ChildItem cmdlet. After you create the alias, you can use list in place of Get-ChildItem at the command line and in scripts.

Example 2: Create an alias and omit parameter names

PS C:\> Set-Alias list get-location

This command associates the alias list with the Get-Location cmdlet. If list is an alias for another cmdlet, this command changes its association so that it now is the alias only for Get-Location .

This command uses the same format as the command in the previous example, but it omits the optional parameter names, Name and Value . When you omit parameter names, the values of those parameters must appear in the specified order in the command. In this case, the value of Name ( list ) must be the first parameter and the value of Value (get-location) must be the second parameter.

Example 3: Make an alias read-only

PS C:\> Set-Alias scrub Remove-Item -Option ReadOnly -Passthru | Format-List

This command associates the alias scrub with the Remove-Item cmdlet. It uses the ReadOnly option to prevent the alias from being deleted or assigned to another cmdlet.

The PassThru parameter directs Windows PowerShell to pass an object that represents the new alias through the pipeline to the Format-List cmdlet. If the PassThru parameter were omitted, there would be no output from this cmdlet to display (in a list or otherwise).

Example 4: Create an alias for Notepad.exe

PS C:\> Set-Alias np c:\windows\notepad.exe

This command associates the alias, np , with the executable file for Notepad. After the command completes, to open Notepad from the Windows PowerShell command line, just type np .

This example demonstrates that you can create aliases for executable files and elements other than cmdlets.

To make the command more generic, you can use the Windir environment variable (${env:windir}) to represent the C\Windows directory. The generic version of the command is Set-Alias np ${env:windir}\notepad.exe .

Example 5: Create an alias for a command with parameters

PS C:\> function CD32 {set-location c:\windows\system32}

PS C:\> Set-Alias go cd32

These commands show how to assign an alias to a command with parameters, or even to a pipeline of many commands.

You can create an alias for a cmdlet, but you cannot create an alias for a command that consists of a cmdlet and its parameters. However, if you place the command in a function or a script, then you can create a useful function or script name and you can create one or more aliases for the function or script.

In this example, the user wants to create an alias for the command Set-Location C:\windows\system32 , where Set-Location is a cmdlet and C:\Windows\System32 is the value of the Path parameter.

To do this, the first command creates a function called CD32 that contains the Set-Location command.

The second command creates the alias go for the CD32 function. Then, to run the Set-Location command, the user can type either CD32 or go .

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None or System.Management.Automation.AliasInfo

When you use the PassThru parameter, Set-Alias generates a System.Management.Automation.AliasInfo object representing the alias. Otherwise, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Notes

• An alias is an alternate name or nickname for a cmdlet or command element. To run the cmdlet, you can use its full name or any valid alias. For more information, see about_Aliases.
• To create a new alias, use Set-Alias or New-Alias. To delete an alias, use Remove-Item.
• A cmdlet can have multiple aliases, but an alias can only be associated with one cmdlet at a time. If you use Set-Alias to associate the alias with a different cmdlet, it is no longer associated with the original cmdlet.
• You can create an alias for a cmdlet, but you cannot create an alias for a command with parameters and values. For example, you can create an alias for Set-Location , but you cannot create an alias for Set-Location C:\Windows\System32 . To create an alias for a command, create a function that includes the command, and then create an alias to the function.
• To save the aliases from a session and use them in a different session, add the Set-Alias command to your Windows PowerShell profile. Profiles do not exist by default. To create a profile in the path stored in the $profile variable, type New-Item -Type file -Force $profile . To see the value of the $profile variable, type $profile .
• You can also save your aliases by using Export-Alias to copy the aliases from the session to a file, and then use Import-Alias to add them to the alias list for a new session.
• You can also refer to Set-Alias by its built-in alias, sal . For more information, see about_Aliases.

Related Links

• Export-Alias
• Get-Alias
• Import-Alias
• New-Alias