Bash Aliases for Sleep-Deprived Parent Developers

• Parenting with Systems, Developer Productivity • 7 min read
#bash #aliases #productivity #cli #automation #git

It's 2:30 PM on a Tuesday. You've been awake since 4:32 AM (thanks, kiddo), you've just figured out the production bug, and your toddler is stirring from their nap. Your brain is running on coffee fumes and you have exactly 47 seconds to push a fix.

This would not be the ideal time to look up the exact git command syntax.

It's a good thing you've set up an alias for this precise situation:

quickfix runs git pull --rebase && git add . && git commit -m 'Quick fix' && git push in one command. Three seconds, and your work is shipped.

When your cognitive load is already maxed out on keeping tiny humans alive, every saved keystroke matters.

Why Aliases Matter More for Parent Developers

Typically, developers optimize for readability and best practices. Parent developers benefit from optimizing for speed and resumability. When your coding windows are measured in minutes and you have precious few more of those than functioning brain cells, every saved keystroke compounds.

The math is simple:

  • Average parent coding session: 15 minutes
  • Time spent on repetitive commands: 2-3 minutes
  • Time saved with good aliases: 2-3 minutes
  • Productivity increase: 15-20%

More importantly, aliases reduce cognitive load. When you're tired and distracted, muscle memory beats trying to remember command syntax.

The Parent Developer Aliases for Every Situation

I've organized these by the scenarios that actually happen in parent developer life! You can copy and paste these right into your .zshrc or .bashrc.

1. Emergency Git Workflows

These are for when things break and you need to act fast:

 1# The golden trio - save your work instantly
 2alias save="git add . && git commit -m 'WIP: interrupted by life' && git push"
 3alias quickfix="git pull --rebase && git add . && git commit -m 'Quick fix' && git push"
 4alias backup="git add . && git commit -m 'Backup before trying something' && git push"
 5
 6# When you return and can't remember what you were doing
 7alias last="git log --oneline -5"
 8alias status="git status && echo '---' && git log --oneline -3"
 9alias changes="git diff HEAD~1"
10
11# Quick branch management
12alias main="git checkout main && git pull"
13alias newbranch="git checkout -b"
14alias deletebranch="git branch -d"
15
16# When you need to abandon ship quickly
17alias abort="git reset --hard HEAD && git clean -fd"
18alias unstage="git reset HEAD ."

Real scenario: Production is broken, your kid is waking up, but you've found the fix. Use backup to save current state, change that == to a === (or is it a missing semicolon again?), quickfix to deploy, then go handle parenting. If it doesn't work, abort gets you back to safety.

2. Quick Project Switching

Parent developers juggle multiple projects in small time windows:

 1# Navigate to common project directories
 2alias work="cd ~/work && ls"
 3alias personal="cd ~/personal-projects && ls"
 4alias blog="cd ~/blog && code . && hugo server -D"
 5alias family="cd ~/family-projects && ls"
 6
 7# Quick environment setup
 8alias devup="docker-compose up -d && npm run dev"
 9alias devdown="docker-compose down && pkill -f 'node'"
10alias fresh="rm -rf node_modules && npm install && npm run dev"
11
12# Open common project combinations
13alias workday="code ~/work/current-project && cd ~/work/current-project"
14alias blogpost="cd ~/blog && hugo new content/posts/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)- && code ."

Parent-specific benefit: No time wasted navigating directories or remembering startup commands. blog opens your editor and starts the dev server in one command.

3. Development Environment Shortcuts

When you have 15 minutes to code, environment setup can't take 5 of them:

 1# Server management
 2alias serve="python -m http.server 8000"
 3alias nodeserve="npx serve -s build -l 3000"
 4alias hugoserve="hugo server -D --bind 0.0.0.0 --port 1313"
 5
 6# Testing shortcuts
 7alias test="npm test"
 8alias testwatch="npm test -- --watch"
 9alias testcoverage="npm test -- --coverage"
10
11# Package management
12alias ni="npm install"
13alias nid="npm install --save-dev"
14alias nig="npm install -g"
15alias nrun="npm run"
16
17# Quick file operations
18alias ll="ls -la"
19alias la="ls -la"
20alias ..="cd .."
21alias ...="cd ../.."
22alias ....="cd ../../.."
23
24# Process management
25alias ports="lsof -i -P -n | grep LISTEN"
26alias killnode="pkill -f node"
27alias killport="function _killport(){ lsof -ti:$1 | xargs kill -9; }; _killport"

4. Family Automation Helpers

These aren't strictly development, but they save time for coding:

1# Quick system checks
2alias diskspace="df -h | grep -E '^/dev/' | awk '{print \$5 \" \" \$6}' | sort -rn"
3alias memcheck="free -h"
4alias cpucheck="top -bn1 | grep 'Cpu(s)' | awk '{print \$2}' | cut -d'%' -f1"
5
6# Family computer management
7alias updateall="sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo apt autoremove -y"
8alias cleanup="sudo apt autoremove -y && sudo apt autoclean"
9alias fixwifi="sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager"

5. Content Creation Workflows

For when you're building in public (like writing this blog):

1# Blog post management
2alias newpost="hugo new content/posts/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-"
3alias preview="hugo server -D --bind 0.0.0.0"
4alias publish="git add . && git commit -m 'New post' && git push"
5
6# Quick content ideas capture to a file
7alias idea="echo '$(date +%Y-%m-%d): ' >> ~/content-ideas.md && code ~/content-ideas.md"
8alias ideas="code ~/content-ideas.md"

Installation Guide for Busy Parents

Step 1: Back Up Your Current Setup

1# Always backup first - parent developers can't afford to break their environment
2cp ~/.bashrc ~/.bashrc.backup
3cp ~/.zshrc ~/.zshrc.backup 2>/dev/null || echo "No zsh config found"

Step 2: Add Aliases Gradually

You may not want to add everything at once. Start with the aliases that seem most useful to you to start with, then build on your new workflow gradually.

Step 3: Test Safely

Before relying on aliases in a high-pressure end-of-nap scenario, try them out (late at night after everyone is guaranteed to be asleep… I hope).

Step 4: Add More Over Time

As you get comfortable, add the categories that matter most to your workflow. I recommend this order:

  1. Emergency git workflows
  2. Project switching
  3. Development environment shortcuts
  4. Family automation helpers
  5. Content creation workflows

Advanced Parent Developer Aliases

Once you're comfortable with the basics, these power-user aliases can save even more time:

Git Superpowers

1# One-command pull request workflow
2alias pr="git push && gh pr create --fill"
3
4# Quick conflict resolution
5alias conflicts="git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U"
6alias resolve="git add . && git commit -m 'Resolve conflicts'"
7
8# Branch cleanup
9alias cleanup-branches="git branch --merged | grep -v main | xargs -n 1 git branch -d"

Project Templates

1# Start new projects instantly
2alias new-react="npx create-react-app"
3alias new-hugo="hugo new site"
4alias new-node="mkdir -p new-project && cd new-project && npm init -y"

Multi-Project Management

1# Update all your projects at once
2alias update-all-repos="find ~/projects -name '.git' -type d -execdir git pull \;"
3alias status-all-repos="find ~/projects -name '.git' -type d -execdir git status -s \;"

Making Aliases Stick

1. Start Small

Pick 3-5 aliases that solve your most frequent pain points. Master those before adding more.

2. Use Muscle Memory

The best aliases feel natural to type. save works because it's obvious. qf for quickfix might be faster, but you'll forget it.

3. Document Your Aliases

Keep a cheat sheet until they become automatic:

1# List all your custom aliases
2alias

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"Command not found" Errors

1# Check if aliases are loaded
2alias save
3# If empty, your shell config isn't being sourced
4
5# Make sure you're editing the right file
6echo $SHELL  # Shows /bin/bash or /bin/zsh

Aliases Not Persisting

1# For bash users
2echo "source ~/.bashrc" >> ~/.bash_profile
3
4# For zsh users
5echo "source ~/.zshrc" >> ~/.zprofile

Git Aliases Conflicting

1# Check existing git aliases
2git config --list | grep alias
3
4# Remove conflicts
5git config --global --unset alias.save

The Compound Effect

Here's what really matters: these aliases don't just save individual seconds—they reduce context switching overhead.

When you can execute complex workflows in single commands, you spend more mental energy on actual problem-solving instead of remembering syntax.

After using these aliases for a month, my typical 15-minute coding session breaks down like this:

  • 30 seconds: Environment setup (down from 3 minutes)
  • 14 minutes: Actual coding and problem-solving
  • 30 seconds: Save and cleanup

That's a 20% increase in actual coding time, which compounds over weeks and months.

What's Next

These aliases handle the command-line productivity side, but parent developers need more than just faster typing. In my next post, I'll cover CLI tools and workflows designed specifically for 15-minute coding windows—including AI-assisted context recovery, project state management, and emergency deployment strategies.

The goal isn't just to type faster—it's to think faster and recover context instantly when your coding time is fragmented.

Download: Want all these aliases in one file? I've created a ready-to-install bash aliases collection that you can source directly into your shell configuration.