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From Windows Hate to Linux Love: The Genesis of Aliashub

The year was 2017, and I was fed up with Windows. My laptop was running Windows 8.1, which I found to be hot garbage compared to the Windows XP I had loved. With Microsoft also ending support for Windows 7, I felt trapped. I briefly considered installing Windows XP, but I was done with Microsoft’s bloatware and shadow updates. I was determined to learn Linux, even if it killed me. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t.)

The Search for the Right Distro

My journey began with Ubuntu, as I had some prior exposure to it while helping a friend. However, its new interface was not to my liking, and it ran slowly on my under powered laptop. I searched for a better fit and eventually settled on Linux Mint Cinnamon. Its familiar look and feel made me fall in love with Linux and its powerful command line.

The Problem with the Command Line

Learning the command line was not difficult, but it was tedious. Typing commands like sudo apt install <package> or sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade was too much for me. While the graphical interfaces were available, they defeated the purpose of mastering the command line. I hated all the extra typing.

The Discovery of Aliases

I don’t remember exactly when I discovered aliases, but it was a game-changer. Suddenly, those long commands disappeared. sudo apt install became install, and sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade became upgrade. It was heaven.

By default, the bashrc file sourced a bash_aliases file for personal aliases, but it didn't create the file itself. So, I created the bash_aliases file, and for a time, I was on cloud nine.

The Birth of Aliashub

As my list of aliases grew, keeping them organized became a problem. I decided to use multiple files for my aliases and source them the same way bash_aliases was sourced. The only problem was that my bashrc file would get filled with references to all the different alias files. I knew there had to be a better way.

This is Linux, and customization is at its core. I gave bash_aliases a new purpose: it would now source all my alias files, allowing bashrc to simply source bash_aliases, as it always had. This was the beginning of Aliashub.

Aliashub has since evolved to do more than just organize my aliases. It handles any changes to my $PATH and styling, basically any change to my bash shell and environment.

The Repository

While I originally created Aliashub for myself, I’ve decided to share it with the world. You can find it at **github.com/ikeman32/aliashub. It has an install script and currently supports Debian and Arch-based distros. Optionally, you can install Starship** to customize your command line with 11 different configurations that you can change on the fly. There are other features as well, and it’s still a work in progress.

I invite you to explore Aliashub, contribute, or simply give it a try.