How do I close an OS X application from the command line using a alias defined in my .bash_profile?
Use a function instead:
function quit {
osascript <<EOF
tell application "$*" to quit
EOF
}
Aliases can't have parameters. Aliases do a strict text substitution, where 'parameters' would kind of end up at the end.
I'd do a function, which can have parameters.
function quit
{
if [ $# -ne 0 ]; then
echo "usage: quit _appname_" >&2
return
fi
echo | osascript <<EOF
tell application "$1"
quit
end tell
EOF
}
Sorry, but I can't test this and verify today (no Mac), but the idea would work as a function.