A command aliasing tool using symlinks and S-expression configuration.

ally [command]

ally provides command aliasing through symlinks. Commands are defined in an S-expression configuration file and executed when the binary is invoked under different names.

The tool operates in three modes:

• ally: Display help
• shim: Create symlinks for all configured aliases
• alias: Execute configured command (any other name)

Set the ALLY_CONF environment variable to specify the configuration file path.

Configuration uses S-expression syntax:

(config
  (alias "ll" "ls -la")
  (alias "gs" "git status")
  (alias "gc" "git commit"))

ALLY_CONF : Path to configuration file (required)

ALLY_SHIM_DIR
: Directory for symlink creation (required for automatic symlink creation)

ALLY_VERBOSE : Enable verbose output when set to "true"

SHELL : Shell to use for command execution (default: sh)

1. Create configuration file:

   export ALLY_CONF=/path/to/config.conf

2. Place executable in your $PATH:

   mv ally ~/bin/ # if you have ~/bin in your $PATH

3. Create symlinks:

   export ALLY_SHIM_DIR=/path/to/shims
   ally shim

4. Use aliases:

   ll /etc
   gs
   gc -m "commit message"

0: Success
1: Configuration error or unknown command
127: Command not found

Other exit codes are propagated from executed commands.

Configuration with arguments:

(config
  (alias "build" "pnpm run build")
  (alias "docker-ps" "docker ps --format table"))

Execution passes additional arguments:

build         # Executes: pnpm run build
docker-ps -a  # Executes: docker ps --format table '-a'

It works well with direnv.

Configure .envrc like this:

export ALLY_CONF=$(pwd)/.allyconf
export ALLY_SHIM_DIR=$(pwd)/.aliases
PATH=${PATH}:$ALLY_SHIM_DIR

Then prepare configuration file:

(config
  ...)

Finally set symlink and it works well:

ally shim

Requires Scala Native. Use sbt for all build operations:

sbt compile          # Compile source
sbt test             # Run tests  
sbt nativeLink       # Build executable