ZSH alias with parameter

Solution 1:

You can't make an alias with arguments*, it has to be a function. Your function is close, you just need to quote certain arguments instead of the entire commands, and add spaces inside the [].

gitall() {
    git add .
    if [ "$1" != "" ] # or better, if [ -n "$1" ]
    then
        git commit -m "$1"
    else
        git commit -m update
    fi
    git push
}

_{*: Most shells don't allow arguments in aliases, I believe csh and derivatives do, but you shouldn't be using them anyway.}

Solution 2:

If you really need to use an alias with a parameter for some reason, you can hack it by embedding a function in your alias and immediately executing it:

alias example='f() { echo Your arg was $1. };f'

I see this approach used a lot in .gitconfig aliases.