How to create permanent PowerShell Aliases

Question

I want to create an alias of a cmdlet that doesn't expire after I close the current session of Powershell, let's say I have this alias :

C:\Users\Aymen> New-Alias Goto Set-Location

This perfectly creates the Goto alias, but I want to use it even after I close the current session, how can I achieve that.

Note:

The PowerShell Help system suggests that I can export the aliases I create, and import them next time I open a new session, actually that's not really what I'm looking, for, is there a direct clear way to keep having a alias after I create it through different sessions

Kakapo

IMO you're much better off putting scripts into the PATH. That way, the command will be available instantly to all your open shells and if you change it, the change will propagate to all subsequent uses without having to reload $profile or something. – Dariodariole

one liner: echo "Set-Alias bun pnpm" >> $profile && . $profile , full answer somewhere below. – Reichenberg

Answer 1

UPDATED - January 2021

It's possible to store in a profile.ps1 file any PowerShell code to be executed each time PowerShell starts. There are at least 6 different paths where to store the code depending on which user has to execute it. We will consider only 2 of them: the "all users" and the "only your user" paths (follow the previous link for further options).

To answer your question, you only have to create a profile.ps1 file containing the code you want to be executed, that is:

New-Alias Goto Set-Location

and save it in the proper path:

• "$Home\Documents" (usually C:\Users\<yourname>\Documents): only your user will execute the code. This is the recommended location You can quickly find your profile location by running echo $profile in PowerShell
• $PsHome (C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0): every user will execute this code

IMPORTANT: remember you need to restart your PowerShell instances to apply the changes.

TIPS

• If both paths contain a profile.ps1 file, the all-users one is executed first, then the user-specific one. This means the user-specific commands will overwrite variables in case of duplicates or conflicts.

• Always put the code in the user-specific profile if there is no need to extend its execution to every user. This is safer because you don't pollute other users' space (usually, you don't want to do that).
  Another advantage is that you don't need administrator rights to add the file to your user-space (you do for anything in C:\Windows\System32).

• If you really need to execute the profile code for every user, mind that the $PsHome path is different for 32bit and 64bit instances of PowerShell. You should consider both environments if you want to always execute the profile code.

  The paths are:

  • C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0 for the 64bit environment
  • C:\Windows\SysWow64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0 for the 32bit one (Yeah I know, the folder naming is counterintuitive, but it's correct).

Tamica

no error it just did not work, i am not sure if this is a permissions issue. I did actually get it to work ( i should i commented earlier ) . I had to create the folder \Users\{ME}\Documents\WindowsPowerShell and then add Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 non of the other paths works for me. – Finkelstein

According to linked article using "$HOME\Documents\WindowsPowerShell" and naming Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 restrict the scope to non-ISE and to current host, but shouldn't be a matter of permissions (same of "$Home\Documents\profile.ps1" should apply). Maybe it's not really so, I will give it a try, thank you for the information – Tamica

Hi @Naigel, I must use this approach to make it work: superuser.com/questions/516700/… so the final solution for me was create the file for profile: New-Item -path $profile -type file -force that created the folder and file Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 – Acoustician

This doesn't work for me, no matter what I do. This ended up working for me: vistax64.com/powershell/… – Armstead

@Tamica for alluser setup I needed to restart the machine, it may be better to update answer. – Dip

The best way to get the profile location might be to run "echo $profile" in your powershell window. – Stoffel

Remember to make a backup of your profile.ps1 file, as Windows Creators Update seems to clear the file at its default location!! – Veroniqueverras

in my case (powershell 6.1.3 win7 64bits), ISE profile is C:\Users\me\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShellISE_profile.ps1 and powershell is C:\Users\me\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 – Bemba

additionally, I had to set the execution policy to RemoteSigned: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/… – Web

If you're using this for PowerShell Core, the $PSHOME will be where that tool is installed. – Xeniaxeno

A better scheme to get the correct profile file: 1) Test the path: Test-Path $Profile 2) If necessary, create the file: New-Item -Path $Profile -Type File -Force 3) Edit the file: notepad $Profile – Susie

In short: "New-Alias NAME COMMAND" >> $PROFILE. – Overrefinement

This answer was very helpfull. My way of getting an bash-like alias: (1) notepad $PsHome\Profile.ps1 (2) inside notepad add function my_alias_for_pws_foo(){ Set-Location } (3) press enter & write Set-Alias go my_alias_for_pws_foo (4) save notepad, exit, exit & restart powershell (4) Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned if you did not already – Silici

using Set-Alias might be faster. – Cider

Answer 2

It's not a good idea to add this kind of thing directly to your $env:WINDIR powershell folders, unless you truly want your alias to be global.
The recommended way is to add it to your personal profile:

cd $env:USERPROFILE\Documents
md WindowsPowerShell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
cd WindowsPowerShell
New-Item Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 -ItemType "file" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
powershell_ise.exe .\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

Now add your alias to the Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 file that is now opened:

function Do-ActualThing {
    # do actual thing
}

Set-Alias MyAlias Do-ActualThing

Then save it, and refresh the current session with:

. $profile

Note: Just in case, if you get permission issue like

CategoryInfo : SecurityError: (:) [], PSSecurityException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnauthorizedAccess

Try the below command and refresh the session again.

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Aleutian

Great comment. Very clear, although my powershell doesn't have touch. – Sandbank

@Sandbank try new-item – Aleutian

In order to allow the execution of my profile script, I had to do one extra step. Run Powershell as an Administrator, and execute Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser. The -Scope option makes it a bit more secure. – Mobster

This is a great method! Please not that the function itself also becomes available in the shell, so you don't really need the Set-Alias part. Just call the function MyAlias. Also, to pass on arguments, use @Args, eg function gs { git status @Args } – Screeching

@Screeching I like being explicit about the Set-Alias because I like to name my methods using the appropriate PS conventions with the appropriate Verbs. But yes, if you're not picky, you can just name your method whatever you intend to invoke. – Aleutian

@Mobster This is exactly I was struggling with, for hours. Thank you, I am done now. – Citole

Very clear, should be the accepted answer thank you! – Banlieue

UPDATE 2022: I had to use $env:USERPROFILE\Documents\PowerShell as folder for the profile file. (I'm using powershell V 7.2.2) – Witter

Thanks. Of course we cannot change Microsoft program settings without disabling security. Feels like home – Horlacher

Answer 3

Open a Windows PowerShell window and type:

notepad $profile

Then create a function, such as:

function goSomewhereThenOpenGoogleThenDeleteSomething {
    cd C:\Users\
    Start-Process -FilePath "http://www.google.com"
    rm fileName.txt
}

Then type this under the function name:

Set-Alias google goSomewhereThenOpenGoogleThenDeleteSomething

Now you can type the word "google" into Windows PowerShell and have it execute the code within your function!

Summons

$profile doesn't seem to be a default environment variable in windows 10. What is it supposed to be pointing to? – Eskil

@Eskil - The $PROFILE automatic variable stores the paths to the PowerShell profiles that are available in the current session. It is included in Windows PowerShell. – Summons

This was bar none the simplest solution provided. – Leesen

I had to enable 'Enable PowerShell Scripts' (in another answer) to get this to work. Seriously super simple! – Masterpiece

Great solution, worth noting that the file under $profile may not exist yet. Can be manually created though. – Millepore

I got Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 cannot be loaded. The file C:\Users\me\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 is not digitally signed. - meh, Microsoft's classic. Will use Mingw I guess) – Horlacher

Answer 4

2018, Windows 10

You can link to any file or directory with the help of a simple PowerShell script.

Writing a file shortcut script

Open Windows PowerShell ISE. In the script pane write:

New-Alias ${shortcutName} ${fullFileLocation}

Then head to the command-line pane. Find your PowerShell user profile address with echo $profile. Save the script in this address.

The script in PowerShell's profile address will run each time you open powershell. The shortcut should work with every new PowerShell window.

Writing a directory shortcut script

It requires another line in our script.

function ${nameOfFunction} {set-location ${directory_location}}
New-Alias ${shortcut} ${nameOfFunction} 

The rest is exactly the same.

Enable PowerShell Scripts

By default PowerShell scripts are blocked. To enable them, open settings -> Update & Security -> For developers. Select Developer Mode (might require restart). .

Scroll down to the PowerShell section, tick the "Change execution policy ..." option, and apply.

Dyke

echo $profile is an awesome tip for helping finding the correct location to add the file. Thank you for the comprehensive answer – Cleromancy

Answer 5

I found that I can run this command:

notepad $PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts

and it opens my default powershell profile (for Current User, All Hosts). I found that here.

Then add an alias. For example, here is my alias of jn for jupyter notebook (I hate typing out the cumbersome jupyter notebook every time):

Set-Alias -Name jn -Value C:\Users\words\Anaconda3\Scripts\jupyter-notebook.exe

Eskil

Answer 6

Just to add to this list of possible locations...

This didn't work for me: \Users\{ME}\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

However this did: \Users\{ME}\OneDrive\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

If you don't have a profile or you're looking to set one up, run the following command, it will create the folder/files necessary and even tell you where it lives! New-Item -path $profile -type file -force

Bulletproof

that last command worked for me. I didn't have any of the previous directories mentioned – Caskey

Answer 7

to create the profile1.psl file, type in the following command:

new-item $PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts -ItemType file -Force

to access the file, type in the next command:

ise $PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts

note if you haven't done this before, you will see that you will not be able to run the script because of your execution policy, which you need to change to Unrestricted from Restricted (default).

to do that close the script and then type this command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser

then:

RemoteSigned

then this command again:

ise $PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts

then finally type your aliases in the script, save it, and they should run every time you run powershell, even after restarting your computer.

Leesaleese

You probably want: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned. Don't go recommending Unrestricted. Source: itprotoday.com/management-mobility/… – Interleaf

Answer 8

This is a little bit fancy... but it works:

Step 1: Create a Powershell Profile:

FILE: install_profile.ps1
# THIS SCRIPT BLOWS AWAY YOUR DEFAULT POWERSHELL PROFILE SCRIPT
#   AND INSTALLS A POINTER TO A GLOBAL POWERSHELL PROFILE

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"

function print ([string]$msg)
{
    Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green $msg
}

print ""

# User's Powershell Profile
$psdir  = "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\WindowsPowerShell"
$psfile = $psdir + "\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1"

print "Creating Directory: $psdir"
md $psdir -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | out-null

# this is your auto-generated powershell profile to be installed
$content = @(
    "",
    ". ~/Documents/tools/profile.ps1",
    ""
)

print "Creating File: $psfile"
[System.IO.File]::WriteAllLines($psfile, $content)

print ""

# Make sure Powershell profile is readable
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser Unrestricted

Step 2: then in tools ~/Documents/tools/profile.ps1:

function Do-ActualThing {
    # do actual thing
}

Set-Alias MyAlias Do-ActualThing

Step 3:

$ Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser Unrestricted $ . ./install_profile.ps1

Pronouncement

Answer 9

It's a matter of personal taste, but I prefer to store my aliases together in a separate file and call Import-Alias in the profile.

$profileDir = Split-Path $PROFILE -Parent
$profileFile = Join-Path $profileDir profile.ps1
$aliasFile = Join-Path $profileDir aliases.csv
New-Alias -Name npp -Value "C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe" -Description "Notepad++"
Export-Alias -Name npp -Path $aliasFile -Append
ise $profileFile

Then in the ISE, put this line in your profile.ps1

Import-Alias -Path (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot aliases.csv)

Plasmagel

Answer 10

For the 1-Liner bros

echo "Set-Alias bun pnpm" >> $profile && . $profile

this will run pnpm if you type bun, the && . $profile will refresh current session, useful if some frameworks depend on other underlying package managers like you can also use to make ps1 and shell scripts compatible across OS,

• also killing and restarting pshell => these aliases are guranteed to persist, tested with terminal and vscode.

if you want to inspect and manually edit (required vscode)

code $profile

code is cli to open vscode iydk. use this for debug if you mess up pipe append :)

Reichenberg

Answer 11

Offering simplest solution:

1. Open powershell
2. Write to profile for all users: notepad $PsHome\Profile.ps1:

function Goto() {

#function name is alias, set of commands are the body

Set-Location

} 3. Save & exit notepad 4. Set powershell permissions: Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned 5. Restart powershell & write goto

Silici

Answer 12

echo "Set-Alias ll dir" >> $profile
. $profile

Hyaluronidase

Borked my $profile, had to open "C:\Users\adamd\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1" in notepad and changed it from s e t - ... to set-alias -name "unzip" -value "expand-archive". – Glycol

Strange I tested in both Powershell 5 and 7 without problem. Perhaps your format will be more standard. – Hyaluronidase