dp alias

Create, update, or delete tool name aliases and command correction rules.

Usage

dp alias <from> <to>
dp alias --delete <from>
dp alias --cmd <name> --flag <old> <new>
dp alias --cmd <name> --replace <new>
dp alias --cmd <name> <from> <to>
dp alias --tool <tool> --param <param> <from> <to>
dp aliases

Flags

Flag	Default	Description
–delete	false	Delete an existing alias or rule
–cmd NAME		Command name for CLI corrections (implies tool=Bash, param=command)
–flag OLD,NEW		Flag correction within a command (requires –cmd)
–replace NEW		Substitute the command itself (requires –cmd)
–tool NAME		Tool name for parameter corrections (advanced)
–param NAME		Parameter name to correct (requires –tool)
–regex	false	Treat FROM as a regex pattern (requires –tool/–param)
–message TEXT		Custom message shown when correction fires

Tool Name Aliases

Map a hallucinated tool name to the correct one:

dp alias read_file Read
dp alias search_files Grep
dp alias --delete read_file

Command Flag Corrections

Fix incorrect CLI flags scoped to a specific command:

# scp uses -R (not -r) for recursive
dp alias --cmd scp --flag r R

# With a custom message
dp alias --cmd scp --flag r R --message "scp uses -R for recursive"

# Delete the rule
dp alias --delete --cmd scp --flag r

When dp pave --hook is active, this automatically rewrites scp -r to scp -R in any Bash tool call. Combined flags are handled too: -rP 22 becomes -RP 22.

Command Substitution

Replace one command with another:

# Use ripgrep instead of grep
dp alias --cmd grep --replace rg

# With a message
dp alias --cmd grep --replace rg --message "Use ripgrep instead of grep"

This rewrites grep -rn pattern . to rg -rn pattern . while leaving other commands in a pipeline untouched.

Literal Replacement

Replace a literal string within a specific command’s context:

dp alias --cmd scp "user@old-host:" "user@new-host:" --message "Host migrated"

Advanced: Tool/Param Corrections

For non-Bash tools or arbitrary parameter corrections:

# Correct a path in an MCP tool
dp alias --tool MyMCPTool --param input_path "/old/path" "/new/path"

# Regex replacement
dp alias --tool Bash --param command --regex "curl -k" "curl --cacert cert.pem"

Listing Rules

dp aliases

Output:

FROM            TO           TYPE      COMMAND   CREATED
read_file       Read         alias               2026-02-01 09:15:33
r               R            flag      scp       2026-02-01 09:16:12
grep            rg           command   grep      2026-02-01 09:17:44

Validation

--cmd and --tool/--param are mutually exclusive
--flag requires --cmd
--replace requires --cmd
--flag and --replace are mutually exclusive
--regex requires --tool/--param
--tool and --param must appear together

The alias command manages both tool name mappings and command correction rules. Tool name aliases define how incorrect tool names should be resolved. Command correction rules define how parameters should be rewritten when a tool is called.

Aliases and rules are upserted: creating one that already exists updates it. This makes it safe to run commands idempotently.

Rules are identified by a composite key: (from, tool, param, command, match_kind). This means you can have multiple rules for the same command targeting different flags.

When you create rules, they take effect immediately if dp pave --hook is installed. The hook checks rules on every tool call and applies corrections transparently.

Common workflow for command corrections:

Notice the AI keeps using wrong flags (e.g., scp -r fails)
Create a rule: dp alias --cmd scp --flag r R
Install the hook: dp pave --hook
Future scp -r calls are automatically corrected to scp -R

Best practices:

Add --message to explain why the correction exists
Use --cmd for CLI corrections (most common case)
Use --tool/--param only for MCP or non-Bash tools
Review rules with dp aliases periodically

Desire Path Documentation