--- title: Ubuntu Core – how to enable aliases for your snaps commands description: We are happy to announce that a new version of Ubuntu Core, based on snapd 2.21, has been released to the stable snaps channel yesterday. As with any stable release, your Ubuntu Core devices will update and reboot automatically. If you are using snaps on the desktop, the release will reach you through a snapd […] url: https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/ubuntu-core-how-to-enable-aliases-for-your-snaps-commands?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog) 2. Article --- [David Callé](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/author/davidc3-2 "More about David Callé") 28 January 2017 # Ubuntu Core – how to enable aliases for your snaps commands [core](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/tag/core) [Ubuntu Core](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/tag/ubuntu-core) --- Share the article We are happy to announce that a new version of Ubuntu Core, based on snapd 2.21, has been released to the stable snaps channel yesterday. As with any stable release, your Ubuntu Core devices will update and reboot automatically. If you are using snaps on the desktop, the release will reach you through a snapd package update on Ubuntu 16.04, 16.10 and 17.04. This release comes with several improvements you can read about in [the changelog](https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/snapcraft/2017-January/002493.html), but let’s focus on a big feature that will help people who snap very large software, especially software that comes with many commands (such as OpenStack, ImageMagick, most databases…) and their users. ## Introducing snap aliases When you launch a snap from the command line, you need to use the name of the snap, then the name of a command it contains. In most cases, you don’t notice it, because snapd simplifies the process by collapsing `.` into ``, when both are the same. This way, you don’t need to type `inkscape.inkscape`, but simply `inkscape` and get a familiar software experience. But when a snap contains multiple commands, with various names, things can become less familiar. If we take the PostgreSQL snap as an example, we can see it comes with many commands: `initdb`, `createdb`, etc. In this case, you have to run `postgresql96.initdb`, `postgresql96.createdb`, etc. The alias feature of snapd lets snaps declare their own aliases, for users to manually enable after install or for snap stores to declare as “auto-aliases” that will be enabled upon install. ## How to manually enable aliases To have an overview of all available aliases on a system, you can use the `snap aliases` command. For this example, I’ve installed a modified version of the `postgresql96` snap with aliases for all commands. ``` $ snap aliases App Alias Notes postgresql96.clusterdb clusterdb - postgresql96.createdb createdb - postgresql96.createlang createlang - postgresql96.createuser createuser - postgresql96.dropdb dropdb - postgresql96.droplang droplang - postgresql96.dropuser dropuser - postgresql96.ecpg ecpg - postgresql96.initdb initdb - [...] ``` As you can see, the snap now exposes aliases to snapd. They are not enabled yet, but it’s simply a matter of running `snap alias `. Note that you can pass multiple space-separated aliases to this command. Let’s enable the `createuser` alias. ``` $ snap alias postgresql96 createuser $ snap aliases | grep createuser postgresql96.createuser createuser enabled ``` I can now ensure that there is indeed a `createuser` command coming from a snap: ``` $ which createuser /snap/bin/createuser ``` And of course, run it: ``` $ createuser --help createuser creates a new PostgreSQL role. ``` To disable an alias you can use the `snap unalias` command. ## How to declare aliases Declaring a new alias in your snap is as easy as adding an `aliases` entry to your snapcraft.yaml `apps` keys. Let’s look at the `createuser` command in our snap: ``` [...] apps: [...] createuser: command: usr/bin/createuser plugs: [network] aliases: [createuser] [...] ``` And build your snap as usual with `snapcraft`, `snapcraft cleanbuild` or let it flow through your CI. See the full example for this snap in [this pull request](https://github.com/commandprompt/postgresql-snap/pull/44). That’s it, heads-on to [tutorials.ubuntu.com](https://tutorials.ubuntu.com) to make your own snap from scratch and give aliases a try! [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### So you need to add microcontrollers to your fleet: now what?](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/microcontrollers-ubuntu-core-golioth) Your Ubuntu Core fleet is running beautifully. OTA updates roll out in minutes. Every device is strictly confined, cryptographically attested, and carrying a 10 to 15 year long... 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