3

I regularly have to delete a local and remote Git branch. Therefore, I run the following commands:

$ git branch -d feature-branch
$ git push --delete origin feature-branch

Since I mostly execute these two commands in a row, I would like to create an alias for them. Here is my approach:

alias gpdo='git branch -d $1 && git push --delete origin $1

However, this fails with the following error:

fatal: branch name required

Michael Durrant
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JJD
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1 Answers1

8

When you want aliases to have parameters you can use functions, e.g.

$ gpdo () {
    git branch -d "$1" && git push --delete origin "$1"
}

Then you can do gpdo branch_name

This is also useful for multiple commands although they can also be done with an alias with multiple &&s if there are no parameters and no conditional logic, looping, etc. however when parameters are needed I switch to using functions

Git itself also allows aliases, for example see:

You may also find Git alias multi-commands with ; and && helpful

Community
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Michael Durrant
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  • I tested your function. Only the second command is executed. – JJD Dec 09 '15 at 11:27
  • Sorry again - but the solution does not work for me. – JJD Jan 20 '16 at 15:58
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    @JJD: This solution is clearly correct, given the question. You will need to provide a better diagnosis than "doesn't work" if you want help. For instance, are you certain that your supplied commands are correct? I have corrected the minor discrepancies between your question and this answer; you might want to retry the solution as I've edited it. – Warren Young Feb 10 '16 at 02:30
  • @JJD, shooting in the dark here: If the branch you are trying to delete is currently checked out, git won't let you delete it. (But even then there is no way that the shell can execute only the right side of a dual command connected with &&. You are simply mistaken.) – Wildcard Feb 10 '16 at 03:58
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    @WarrenYoung Finally, you nudged my nose into the dirt again. I had an alias configured somewhere else which overwrote the function. In short, the function by Michael works - thanks! One issue (worth a new question) is that there is no auto-completion for branch names when I use the function within zsh. – JJD Feb 11 '16 at 13:06