https://github.com/opsdisk/doskeys

BASH alias-like shortcuts for Windows
https://github.com/opsdisk/doskeys

Last synced: about 2 months ago
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BASH alias-like shortcuts for Windows

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/opsdisk/doskeys
• Owner: opsdisk
• Created: 2015-08-30T18:11:01.000Z (over 10 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2016-07-24T20:33:32.000Z (over 9 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-03-05T14:56:14.995Z (12 months ago)
• Size: 3.91 KB
• Stars: 25
• Watchers: 4
• Forks: 6
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md

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README

          
### Introduction

Ever wanted to have persistent, BASH-like aliases for Windows?  Unfortunately, Windows makes this a little more convoluted, but it is still possible!

In the Unix world, users have the ability to create a file, usually called `.bash_aliases`, that contains user-defined shortcuts for executing commands.  The example below greps out a case-insensitive string from a process list:

    alias psg='ps -ef | grep -i $1'

Where `$1` is the first argument (a string in this case) to grep for.  An example would be:

    user@box:~# psg fire

    root       4604   4409 71 19:33 ?        00:00:04 /usr/bin/firefox

In the Windows world, these command line shortcuts (macros) are created using Doskey, defined as

> The Doskey utility lets you encapsulate command strings as easy-to-enter macros. (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff382652.aspx)

### Create Your Macros

The first step is to create a text file of your macros, and save it as whatever you like, [doskey_macros.txt](https://github.com/opsdisk/doskeys/blob/master/doskey_macros.txt) is used in this example.  Below are some of my most used macros:

    h=doskey /history

    ps=tasklist $*

    ls=dir /a /x $*

    lt=dir /a /x /od $*

    d=cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop

    p=ping yahoo.com -n 1 || ping 8.8.8.8 -n 1

    findgrep=dir /s /a /b \*$1*

    n=notepad $*

    e=explorer .

    cya=shutdown /f /s /t 0

    reboot=shutdown /f /r /t 0

    pspath=wmic process get processid,parentprocessid,executablepath

    psg=tasklist | findstr /i $1

    nsg=netstat -nao | findstr /i $1

    nd=mkdir $1 $t cd $1

    cp=copy $*

    mv=move $*

    ifconfig=ipconfig $*

    macros=doskey /macros

    ip=powershell -noni -nop -ep bypass -c "$c=new-object System.Net.WebClient;$e=$c.DownloadString('http://icanhazip.com');write-host $e"

    ..=cd ..

    home=cd %USERPROFILE%

Most of them should be self-explanatory...play around with them to see how they work. Just like with the BASH aliases, `$1` represents the first user-defined argument, `$*` represents all the user-defined arguments, and `$t` is used to chain commands (like `&` on the command line).  More details and options can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/doskey.mspx?mfr=true

In order to load the Doskey macros after opening a cmd.exe shell, the command is:

    doskey /macrofile=doskey_macros.txt

That's kind of a pain to do every time you launch a shell, so how can we make it persistent so that it loads every time?  

### Make the Doskey Macros Persistent

The `autorun` registry key found here `hklm\software\microsoft\command processor` can be used to load your Doskey macros automatically when cmd.exe is launched.

    reg query "hklm\software\microsoft\command processor" /v autorun

    

    reg add "hklm\software\microsoft\command processor" /v autorun /t reg_expand_sz /d "doskey /listsize=999 /macrofile=c:\users\opsdisk\doskey_macros.txt" /f

When cmd.exe is launched, it automatically loads the doskey_macros.txt file!  To my knowledge, these do not work for PowerShell (powershell.exe) shells. 

The code can be found here: https://github.com/opsdisk/doskeys

Comments, suggestions, and improvements are always welcome. Be sure to follow [@opsdisk](https://twitter.com/opsdisk) on Twitter for the latest updates.