The launcher starts feeling like yours when it learns your words.

Shorter is useful. Familiar is better.

The obvious use for an alias is shortening a command you type often. That is enough reason to have them.

alias -add yt open "YouTube Music"
yt

But the more interesting part is naming the action the way you already think about it. `home` can open the drawer. `bughunt` can start the search you use when debugging. `night` can apply the setup you want before bed. The launcher does not need to decide which words feel natural to you.

alias -add home apps -ls
alias -add bughunt search -gg RETUI notifications
alias -add night preset -apply midnight

The commands stay deliberately small

RETUI rejects the most direct loops: an alias cannot expand to itself, and its value cannot begin by invoking the same alias again. It is a practical guard, not a theorem prover. An alias is still something you should be able to read.

A parameter turns one word into a reusable shape

The default parameter marker is `%`. Put it in the alias content, then supply the value after the alias name.

alias -add find search -gg %
find RETUI modules

With more than one marker, the default parameter separator is a comma.

alias -add tell post %,%
tell https://example.com/status,"build complete"

`alias_param_marker`, `alias_param_separator`, and `alias_replace_all_markers` live in Behaviour settings. When replace-all is enabled and fewer values are supplied than markers, the first value fills the remaining markers.

Workflow aliases are still just aliases

The default command separator is `;`, so an alias can expand into several ordinary RETUI commands. Add workflow aliases through `alias.txt`, because the live prompt splits semicolons before `alias -add` receives its content.

focus=module -show timer; timer 25m; notifications -off

focus

There is no separate recipe database or visual flow editor behind this. Run each command on its own, open `alias -file`, join the ones that belong together, then give the line a name. After saving, `alias -ls` shows exactly what RETUI loaded.

That is why aliases sit at the centre of RETUI automation. They hide repetition, not intent.

Script aliases stay in their own lane

A Termux script alias is not a home-screen command alias. The `-s` scope keeps script names available where a script path is expected.

alias -add -s check /data/data/com.termux/files/home/retui/check.sh
termux -run check

That distinction prevents a convenient script name from pretending it is a launcher command. Termux still owns and runs the file; RETUI only resolves the short name in the right context.

Aliases work well with persistent terminal tools

The optional tmux workspace already knows how to focus an existing named window before creating one. An alias can make that behaviour feel like launching an app.

alias -add MC tmux launch mc
alias -add LOGS tmux launch logs
alias -add BASH2 tmux switch 2:bash

Type `MC` again and RETUI returns to the existing Midnight Commander window instead of creating another copy. The alias stays small because the workspace owns the session logic.

The file is not an implementation secret

`alias.txt` is plain text. A normal entry is one `name=value` line. Script scope is written beside the name.

home=apps -ls
focus=module -show timer; timer 25m; notifications -off
check|s=/data/data/com.termux/files/home/retui/check.sh

You can create aliases through commands and edit the file directly when that is faster. Backup and restore keep the file with the rest of your RETUI configuration.

Delete the clever ones you never use

The best alias is short, memorable, and attached to a real repeated action. The worst alias is an impressive abbreviation you have to look up every time.

I would rather keep five words that have become muscle memory than fifty ideas saved for a hypothetical future. Run `alias -ls` occasionally. If a name no longer matches how you use the launcher, remove it.