Make shortcut for directory in zsh

It is sometimes useful to create a shortcut to frequently used working directories so that I don’t have to type the path every time I open it in the terminal.

Using Aliases

To make an alias persistent, one can add the alias to the zsh configuration file

1. Open configuration file ~/.zshrc

2. Create an alias that cd to the desired directory

   alias workdir='cd /path/to/your/directory'
   # workdir is the name for your shortcut
   

3. Save the file and reload the configuration file

   source ~/.zshrc
   

4. Simply type workdir in the terminal to move to the desired directory

Create variable for the path

This can also be done by creating a variable representing the path for the directory in shell configuration file.

1. Open zsh shell configuration file ~/.zshrc

2. Create a variable for the path of the directory you wish to create a shortcut for

   workdir="/path/to/your/directory"
   # workdir is the name for your shortcut
   

3. Save the file and reload the configuration file

   source ~/.zshrc
   

4. Use the variable as follows

   cd $workdir