Create Shortcuts to Long and Complicated Paths in Linux (Gogo)

Gogo is a tool to bookmark directories with long and complicated paths in the Unix shell. Because the long paths are difficult to remember and cumbersome to type in, gogo provides a simple way to create shortcuts. In this article we'll see how to install gogo and use it.

Installing Git

We first need to have git installed in our system which will be needed for gogo installation. To install git in an Ubuntu system follow the below command ?

$ sudo apt install git

Running the above code gives us the following result ?

[sudo] password for ubuntu:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
git-man liberror-perl
????.
????..
Setting up liberror-perl (0.17-1.2) ...
Setting up git-man (1:2.7.4-0ubuntu1.7) ...
Setting up git (1:2.7.4-0ubuntu1.7) ...

Cloning Gogo Repository

After git is successfully installed, we clone gogo into the system using the below repository ?

$ git clone https://github.com/mgoral/gogo.git

Running the above code gives us the following result ?

Cloning into 'gogo'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 85, done.
remote: Total 85 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 85
Unpacking objects: 100% (85/85), done.
Checking connectivity... done.

Setting Up Gogo

Next we create a bin directory in the user's home directory in case it is not already there and copy gogo to this directory. We will execute gogo from this location ?

mkdir -p ~/bin
cp gogo/gogo.py ~/bin/

Adding Gogo to Bash Profile

Next we add gogo to bash profile and verify that it is added successfully ?

cat gogo/gogo.sh >> ~/.bashrc
tail ~/.bashrc

Running the above code gives us the following result ?

# Gogo from anywhere.
function gogo {
    CMD=`gogo.py $@`
    RET=$?
    eval "$CMD"
    return $RET
}

Using Gogo

Now we can use gogo by going into the directory whose alias we want to create. First let's see the current configuration of gogo ?

$ gogo -l

Running the above code gives us the following result ?

Current gogo configuration (sorted alphabetically):
- : -
default : /home/ubuntu
gogo : ~/.config/gogo
sshloc : ssh://ubuntu@127.0.0.1:/bin/bash /home/ubuntu

Creating Directory Aliases

Next go into the directory whose alias you want to create. When inside the directory, execute the gogo -a command to create the alias which can be used from anywhere ?

$ pwd
/home/ubuntu/Documents/tutorials/linux

# Create an alias named lt to this directory
$ gogo -a lt

$ gogo -l
Current gogo configuration (sorted alphabetically):
- : -
default : /home/ubuntu
gogo : ~/.config/gogo
lt : /home/ubuntu/Documents/tutorials/linux
sshloc : ssh://ubuntu@127.0.0.1:/bin/bash /home/ubuntu

# Go home and type the alias
$ cd ~
$ gogo lt
ubuntu@ubuntu:~/Documents/tutorials/linux$

Common Gogo Commands

Conclusion

Gogo simplifies navigation by creating shortcuts to frequently accessed directories. Once configured, you can instantly jump to any bookmarked location using simple aliases, saving time and reducing typing errors.