Creating Custom Git Commands

August 15, 2021 · 2 min read

Tired of juggling multiple commands to set up a new GitHub project? This guide introduces a clever scripting solution! We'll create a custom command that automates cloning a repository, navigating to the directory, installing dependencies, and opening the project in VSCode - all in one go!

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 ~/bin 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.

  #!/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 and connect with me here:

Creating Custom Git Commands

About Spencer Lepine

Stay up to date