Aliasaurus

Aliasaurus is a simple Windows app to view, organize, and edit Windows aliases.

Usage

Simply create a new alias, specifying the name and command:

Then run the new alias:

>time
Fri 20/12/2024  9:48:39.43

Alias File

On starting the app, Aliasaurus will check that there is a HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun registry key. If it does not exist (or is pointing to a different file), Aliasaurus will create it and set it to %APPDATA%\aliasarus\alias.cmd. This file is used to load the aliases into the environment variables when a new command prompt is opened. If the alias.cmd file does not exist, Aliasaurus will automatically create it and set it to an empty file.

Warning

If the AutoRun registry key already exists but is pointing to a different file, Aliasaurus will overwrite it.

The directory of the alias file (%APPDATA%\aliasarus) can be viewed in the File Explorer with the File > Open Alias Directory.

Viewing, Editing, and Saving Aliases

Aliasaurus will read the alias.cmd file and load the aliases into the app. The user can then view, add, edit, and delete aliases. Aliases can have multi-line commands. The aliases are saved to the alias.cmd file when:

• An edited alias is saved
• The order of the aliases is changed

Terminal

A new terminal needs to be opened to use a newly-saved alias. This can be done quickly using Run > Open Terminal or the Open Terminal button in the toolbar. This will open a new Command Prompt window.

Backup

A backup of the alias file can be created using File -> Create Backup. This will create a timestamped backup file in the %APPDATA%\aliasarus directory. The backup has to be manually restored.

Theme

There are two themes available: Light and Dark. The theme can be changed in the File > Preferences menu. Your selection is saved to settings and preserved across app sessions.

Light Mode

Dark Mode

Development

Prerequisites

• Python 3.13.0
• Requirements installed via pip install -r requirements.txt
• Docker (for building the installer)

Running Locally

From the command line:

python aliasaurus.py

The app can alternatively be run in VS Code using the Aliasaurus launch configuration or the run build task.

Clean

rm -rf dist build aliasaurus.spec resources/GIT_SHA installer/*.exe

Build Executable

Important

Building the executable is done locally for now using Python 3.13.0.

Build into a single executable using PyInstaller:

git rev-parse --short=8 HEAD > resources/GIT_SHA
pyinstaller --onefile --noconsole --add-data "resources;resources" --icon=resources/logo.ico aliasaurus.py

The executable (aliasaurus.exe) will be in the dist directory.

Build Installer

Build the installer using Docker:

docker run --rm -v .:/work amake/innosetup:innosetup6 installer/installer.iss