Alias command with $ sign

Asked May 17 '21 at 19:33

Active May 17 '21 at 19:33

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How could I run this command as an alias?

alias findsum='find /home/sams/ -name sum.txt -exec grep -H "$1" {} \;'

This should be very simple, but I am not able to make it work.

findsum test
find: paths must precede expression: `test'

asked May 17 '21 at 19:33

user1156544

4

Bash aliases don't accept arguments - see In Bash, when to alias, when to script, and when to write a function? – steeldriver May 17 '21 at 19:36
Mmm.. they do. I use them often – user1156544 May 17 '21 at 19:43
I can confirm bash aliases do accept argument...and most use it without even noticing too :) (eg: like the ls alias on most distro, which most use additional argument with...) @steeldriver – Nordine Lotfi May 17 '21 at 19:47
4

@NordineLotfi The alias doesn't accept an argument. The alias is expanded without any consideration for what follows. Then the arguments are passed to the command. – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' May 17 '21 at 19:49
So, how can I make this work alias findsum='find /home/sams/ -name sum.txt -exec grep -H "$1" {} \;' I can't find an answer in the linked post and someone decided to close the question – user1156544 May 17 '21 at 19:52
You're right. misunderstood what was meant by the word "argument" :D @Gilles'SO-stopbeingevil' – Nordine Lotfi May 17 '21 at 19:55
@user1156544 the linked question gives you the answer - you can't do this with an alias (because aliases can't take arguments), you need to write findsum as a function. e.g. findsum () { find /home/sams/ -name sum.txt -exec grep -H "$1" {} + ; }. – cas May 18 '21 at 01:57

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