Creating Custom Git Commands

Every time I clone a repository from GitHub, I always run the same set of commands. This is prone to typos and simply inconvenient. There is a simple solution of combining each step into a single command that automatically runs everything for us.

In this example, I need to clone a GitHub repository, move into the new directory, and then open the project in VSCode.

Instead of multiple commands:

  git clone https://github.com/spencerlepine/readme-crawler
  cd readme-crawler
  code .

It would great to run one command:

    clone https://github.com/spencerlepine/readme-crawler

To achieve this, we can create a script in the

 directory. Make sure this path matches up with your configuration for the terminal (e.g.

 ```PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin```

).

Let’s create a custom script to combine the git commands.



```sh
  #!/bin/bash

  ((!$#)) && echo missing git URL argument! && exit 1

  git clone $1
  basename=$(basename $1)
  reponame=${basename%.*}
  cd $reponame
  npm install
  code .

Use this script or create your own, and follow these steps to set up the custom command:

• Navigate to usr/local/bin ->
  
  cd ~/../../usr/local/bin
  

• Run
  
  vim clone
  

  • Paste the script

• Save the file:

  • *press ‘ESC’
  • *press ‘SHIFT’ + ‘:’
  • *type ‘wq’ + ENTER

• Create an executable

  
  chmod +x clone
  

• Run the command!

  
  clone https://github.com/spencerlepine/manyshiba-bot.git
  

Viola! This script will accept one command line argument of the destination repo URL. It will automatically open the new project in VSCode in one command.

Follow my journey or connect with me here:

• LinkedIn: /in/spencerlepine
• Email: spencer.sayhello@gmail.com
• Portfolio: spencerlepine.com
• GitHub: @spencerlepine
• Twitter: @spencerlepine