Alias Reference¶

Purpose: Complete reference for OraDBA shell aliases - the canonical location for all alias documentation.

Audience: All users who want to streamline database administration tasks.

Introduction¶

OraDBA provides 50+ shell aliases to streamline Oracle database administration tasks. Aliases are automatically loaded when you set your Oracle environment using oraenv.sh, giving you convenient shortcuts for common operations.

The alias system uses the Plugin System to detect product types and generates appropriate aliases. For databases, it automatically detects if your database is a CDB and generates PDB-specific aliases accordingly.

Alias Categories¶

Aliases are organized into these categories:

SQL*Plus & RMAN - Database connection shortcuts
Directory Navigation - Quick navigation to Oracle directories
Database Operations - Status, listener, process management
File Editing - Edit configuration files
Diagnostic - Log file access and viewing
PDB Management - Pluggable database shortcuts (auto-generated)

SQL*Plus Aliases¶

Quick access to SQL*Plus with various options:

Alias	Description	Command
`sq`	SQL*Plus as SYSDBA (basic)	`sqlplus / as sysdba`
`sqh`	SQL*Plus as SYSDBA (with rlwrap)	`rlwrap sqlplus / as sysdba`
`sqlplush`	SQL*Plus /nolog (with rlwrap)	`rlwrap sqlplus /nolog`
`sqoh`	SQL*Plus as SYSOPER (with rlwrap)	`rlwrap sqlplus / as sysoper`
`sessionsql`	SQL*Plus with dynamic terminal width	`sessionsql.sh`

Usage Examples:

# Connect as SYSDBA
sq

# Connect with command history (rlwrap)
sqh

# Connect with proper terminal formatting
sessionsql

# Connect as SYSOPER
sqoh

rlwrap Features:

Command history (up/down arrows)
Tab completion with SQL keywords
Line editing capabilities
Password filtering (when ORADBA_RLWRAP_FILTER=true)

sessionsql automatically detects your terminal width and configures SQL*Plus LINESIZE and PAGESIZE for optimal display.

RMAN Aliases¶

Recovery Manager connection shortcuts:

Alias	Description	Command
`rmanc`	RMAN with catalog/fallback	`rman target / [catalog ...]`
`rmanh`	RMAN with rlwrap (manual connect)	`rlwrap rman`
`rmanch`	RMAN with rlwrap + catalog	`rlwrap rman target / [catalog]`

Note: The rman command itself is not aliased to avoid conflicts with Oracle's native binary.

Usage Examples:

# Direct RMAN with catalog or fallback to target /
rmanc

# RMAN with rlwrap - connect manually at prompt
rmanh
RMAN> connect target /

# RMAN with rlwrap and catalog (uses ORADBA_RMAN_CATALOG if configured)
rmanch

# Standard Oracle RMAN command (not aliased)
rman target /

Catalog Configuration: Configure ORADBA_RMAN_CATALOG in oradba_customer.conf or sid.<SID>.conf:

# Global catalog (in oradba_customer.conf)
ORADBA_RMAN_CATALOG="rman_user/password@catdb"

# Per-database catalog (in sid.PRODDB.conf)
ORADBA_RMAN_CATALOG="rman_user@prodcat"

Connection Flexibility:

# Use rmanh for flexible connections
rmanh
RMAN> connect target /
RMAN> connect catalog rman@catdb

# Or specify at command line
rmanh target / catalog rman@catdb

Quick navigation to Oracle and OraDBA directories:

Oracle Directories¶

Alias	Description	Target Directory
`cdob`	Change to ORACLE_BASE	`$ORACLE_BASE`
`cdh`	Change to ORACLE_HOME	`$ORACLE_HOME`
`cdbn`	Change to bin directory	`$ORACLE_HOME/bin`
`cdn`	Change to network parent	`$TNS_ADMIN/..`
`cdt`	Change to TNS_ADMIN	`$TNS_ADMIN`
`cdl`	Change to local directory	`$ORADBA_LOCAL_BASE`

OraDBA Directories¶

Alias	Description	Target Directory
`cdb`	Change to OraDBA base	`$ORADBA_PREFIX`
`etc`	Change to OraDBA etc	`$ORADBA_ETC`
`cde`	Change to OraDBA etc	`$ORADBA_ETC`
`log`	Change to OraDBA log	`$ORADBA_LOG`
`cdlog`	Change to OraDBA log	`$ORADBA_LOG`
`cdtmp`	Change to temp directory	`$ORADBA_TMP`

SID-Specific Directories (Dynamic)¶

These aliases are generated dynamically based on current ORACLE_SID:

Alias	Description	Target Directory
`cda`	Change to admin directory	`$ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_SID`
`cdc`	Change to control file directory	`$ORACLE_BASE/oradata/$ORACLE_SID`
`cdd`	Change to diagnostic dest	`$ORADBA_ORA_DIAG_SID`
`cddt`	Change to trace directory	`diagnostic_dest/trace`
`cdda`	Change to alert directory	`diagnostic_dest/alert`

Usage Examples:

# Navigate to ORACLE_HOME
cdh
pwd  # /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1

# Navigate to database admin directory
cda
pwd  # /u01/app/oracle/admin/FREE

# Navigate to trace directory
cddt
pwd  # /u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/free/FREE/trace

# Navigate to OraDBA configuration
etc
pwd  # /opt/oradba/etc

Convenience Variables¶

Short variables for use in commands or scripts:

Variable	Description	Value
`$cdh`	ORACLE_HOME path	`$ORACLE_HOME`
`$cdob`	ORACLE_BASE path	`$ORACLE_BASE`
`$cda`	Admin directory path	`$ORADBA_ORA_ADMIN_SID`
`$cdd`	Diagnostic dest path	`$ORADBA_ORA_DIAG_SID`
`$etc`	OraDBA etc path	`$ORADBA_ETC`
`$log`	OraDBA log path	`$ORADBA_LOG`

Usage Examples:

# Navigate using variables
cd $cdh/bin
cd $cda/scripts

# Use in commands
ls -l $etc/*.conf
vi $cda/pfile/init${ORACLE_SID}.ora

# Copy files
cp myfile.sql $cda/scripts/

Database Operations Aliases¶

Manage databases, listeners, and view status:

Status and Monitoring¶

Alias	Description	Command
`oraup` / `u`	Oracle environment overview	`oraup.sh`
`sta`	Database status	`dbstatus.sh`
`pmon`	Show running database processes	`ps -ef \\| grep pmon`

Usage Examples:

# Show all Oracle databases and their status
oraup
# or
u

# Show detailed status for current ORACLE_SID
sta

# Check running Oracle instances
pmon

oraup.sh displays:

All databases from oratab
Database status (OPEN, MOUNTED, NOMOUNT, DOWN)
Listener status
Oracle Home paths
Startup flags

Listener Commands¶

Alias	Description	Command
`lsnr`	Listener control	`lsnrctl`
`lsnrh`	Listener control (with rlwrap)	`rlwrap lsnrctl`
`lstat`	Listener status	`lsnrctl status`
`lstart`	Start listener	`lsnrctl start`
`lstop`	Stop listener	`lsnrctl stop`

Usage Examples:

# Check listener status
lstat

# Start listener
lstart

# Stop listener
lstop

# Interactive listener control with command history
lsnrh

Configuration Viewing¶

Alias	Description	Command
`oratab`	Display oratab file	`cat /etc/oratab`
`tns`	Display tnsnames.ora	`cat $TNS_ADMIN/tnsnames.ora`

File Editing Aliases¶

Quick access to edit configuration files:

Oracle Configuration Files¶

Alias	Description	Target File
`vio`	Edit oratab	`/etc/oratab`
`vit`	Edit tnsnames.ora	`$TNS_ADMIN/tnsnames.ora`
`vil`	Edit listener.ora	`$TNS_ADMIN/listener.ora`
`visql`	Edit sqlnet.ora	`$TNS_ADMIN/sqlnet.ora`
`vildap`	Edit ldap.ora	`$TNS_ADMIN/ldap.ora`

OraDBA Configuration Files¶

Alias	Description	Target File
`vis`	Edit standard config	`$ORADBA_ETC/oradba_standard.conf`
`vic`	Edit customer config	`$ORADBA_ETC/oradba_customer.conf`
`vii`	Edit SID config	`$ORADBA_ETC/sid.$ORACLE_SID.conf`

Usage Examples:

# Edit tnsnames.ora
vit

# Edit your customer configuration
vic

# Edit SID-specific configuration
vii

Diagnostic Aliases¶

Access and monitor Oracle diagnostic files:

Alert Log Access (Dynamic)¶

Alias	Description	Command
`taa`	Tail alert log (follow)	`tail -f -n 50 $ORADBA_SID_ALERTLOG`
`vaa`	View alert log (less)	`less $ORADBA_SID_ALERTLOG`
`via`	Edit alert log (vi)	`vi $ORADBA_SID_ALERTLOG`

Usage Examples:

# Watch alert log in real-time
taa

# Browse alert log
vaa

# Search alert log
via
/ORA-

Note: These aliases automatically point to the standard text alert log (alert_$ORACLE_SID.log), not the XML version.

Diagnostic Tools¶

Alias	Description	Command
`adrcih`	ADRCI with rlwrap	`rlwrap adrci`

Usage Example:

# Interactive ADRCI with command history
adrcih
ADRCI> show homes
ADRCI> set home diag/rdbms/free/FREE
ADRCI> show alert -tail 50

Information Display Aliases¶

OraDBA provides convenient aliases to display important paths and configuration hierarchy:

Path and Configuration Display¶

Alias	Description	Function
`sqa`	Show SQLPATH directories	`show_sqlpath`
`pth`	Show PATH directories	`show_path`
`cfg`	Show OraDBA config hierarchy	`show_config`

Usage Examples:

# Display SQLPATH directories with validation
sqa
# Output:
# SQLPATH Directories:
# ===================
#  1. /opt/oracle/local/oradba/sql                            [[OK]]
#  2. /opt/oracle/product/23ai/dbhome_1/sqlplus/admin         [[OK]]
#  3. /opt/oracle/product/23ai/dbhome_1/rdbms/admin           [[OK]]

# Display PATH directories
pth
# Output:
# PATH Directories:
# =================
#  1. /opt/oracle/product/23ai/dbhome_1/bin                   [[OK]]
#  2. /usr/local/bin                                          [[OK]]
#  3. /usr/bin                                                [[OK]]

# Display OraDBA configuration load order
cfg
# Output:
# OraDBA Configuration Hierarchy:
# ================================
# SID: FREE
# Config Directory: /opt/oracle/local/oradba/etc
# 
# Load Order (later configs override earlier):
# ---------------------------------------------
#  1. oradba_core.conf                                [[OK] loaded]
#  2. oradba_standard.conf                            [[OK] loaded]
#  3. oradba_customer.conf (optional)                 [- not configured]
#  4. sid._DEFAULT_.conf (optional)                   [[OK] loaded]
#  5. sid.FREE.conf (optional)                        [[OK] loaded]

Features:

Validation: Shows which directories/files exist with [[OK]] or are missing with [[X]]
Hierarchy: cfg displays the 5-level configuration hierarchy and load order
Status indicators:
[[OK] loaded] - File exists and was loaded
[[X] MISSING - REQUIRED] - Required file not found
[- not configured] - Optional file not present

These aliases help troubleshoot:

Path issues (missing directories in PATH/SQLPATH)
Configuration precedence (which config file will take priority)
Missing required configuration files

PDB Aliases (Auto-Generated)¶

For Container Databases (CDB), OraDBA automatically generates aliases for each Pluggable Database (PDB).

Each PDB gets two aliases:

Simple form (e.g., pdb1) - Connect directly to PDB1
Prefixed form (e.g., pdbpdb1) - Same with 'pdb' prefix for clarity

Quick Example:

# List available PDBs
echo $ORADBA_PDBLIST

# Connect to PDB1
pdb1
SQL> show con_name

For complete PDB alias documentation, configuration options, troubleshooting, and advanced usage, see PDB Alias Reference.

Help and Information Aliases¶

Alias	Description	Command
`alih`	Display alias help	`cat $ORADBA_PREFIX/doc/alias_help.txt`
`alig`	Search aliases	`alias \\| grep -i`
`version`	Show OraDBA version	`oradba_version.sh -i`

Usage Examples:

# Quick alias reference
alih

# Find aliases containing "sql"
alig sql

# Show OraDBA version and installation info
version

General Utility Aliases¶

Additional convenience aliases:

Alias	Description	Command
`c`	Clear screen	`clear`
`m`	More	`more`
`l`	List all (long format)	`ls -al`
`ll`	List all (detailed)	`ls -alb`
`lr`	List reverse time order	`ls -ltr`
`lsl`	List recent 20 files	`ls -lrt \\| tail -n 20`
`psg`	Search processes	`ps -ef \\| grep`
`sqa`	Show SQLPATH directories	`show_sqlpath`
`pth`	Show PATH directories	`show_path`
`cfg`	Show config hierarchy	`show_config`
`save_cron`	Backup crontab	`crontab -l > ~/crontab.txt.$(date)`

rlwrap Integration¶

OraDBA automatically uses rlwrap when available, providing:

Command history - Navigate with up/down arrows
Tab completion - Tool-specific keywords
Line editing - Emacs/vi editing modes
Password filtering - Hide passwords from history (optional)

Completion Files¶

OraDBA includes completion files for enhanced tab completion:

SQL*Plus (rlwrap_sqlplus_completions) - SQL commands, SET/SHOW parameters, views, privileges
RMAN (rlwrap_rman_completions) - Backup/restore commands, keywords
lsnrctl (rlwrap_lsnrctl_completions) - Listener commands, parameters
ADRCI (rlwrap_adrci_completions) - Diagnostic commands

Installing rlwrap¶

RHEL/Oracle Linux/CentOS:

sudo yum install rlwrap

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install rlwrap

macOS:

brew install rlwrap

Password Filtering¶

Enable password filtering to hide passwords from command history:

# In oradba_customer.conf
export ORADBA_RLWRAP_FILTER="true"

Requirements:

rlwrap installed
Perl with RlwrapFilter module

What gets filtered:

Password prompts (SQL*Plus, RMAN)
CONNECT commands with passwords
CREATE/ALTER USER statements

See rlwrap Filter Configuration for details.

Custom Aliases¶

Add your own aliases in oradba_customer.conf:

# Custom SQL*Plus connections
alias sqdev='sqlplus user/pass@devdb'
alias sqtest='sqlplus user/pass@testdb'

# Custom directory shortcuts
alias cdarch='cd /backup/oracle/archive'
alias cdbkp='cd /backup/oracle'

# Custom RMAN shortcuts
alias fullbackup='rman target / cmdfile=${ORADBA_PREFIX}/rcv/backup_full.rman'

# Custom functions
backup_config() {
    local backup_dir="/backup/config/$(date +%Y%m%d)"
    mkdir -p "$backup_dir"
    cp ${ORADBA_ETC}/*.conf "$backup_dir/"
    echo "Configuration backed up to: $backup_dir"
}

Dynamic Alias Generation¶

How It Works¶

When you set your Oracle environment with oraenv.sh, the generate_sid_aliases() function automatically:

Queries database for diagnostic_dest parameter
Generates SID-specific aliases (taa, vaa, via, cda, cdd, cddt, cdda)
Creates directory navigation aliases based on actual paths
Falls back to convention-based paths if database is unavailable

Example¶

$ source oraenv.sh FREE
Setting environment for ORACLE_SID: FREE

$ type taa
taa is aliased to `if [ -f "${ORADBA_SID_ALERTLOG}" ]; then tail -f -n 50 ${ORADBA_SID_ALERTLOG}; ...'

$ echo $ORADBA_SID_ALERTLOG
/u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/free/FREE/trace/alert_FREE.log

$ cddt
$ pwd
/u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/free/FREE/trace

Configuration¶

Enable/Disable Aliases¶

Control alias loading in oradba_core.conf:

# Enable (default)
ORADBA_LOAD_ALIASES="true"

# Disable all aliases
ORADBA_LOAD_ALIASES="false"

Disable Specific Aliases¶

Override specific aliases in oradba_customer.conf:

# Disable an alias by unaliasing it
unalias sq

# Or redefine it
alias sq='echo "Use sqh instead"'

Troubleshooting¶

Aliases Not Loading¶

Check if aliases are enabled:

echo $ORADBA_LOAD_ALIASES
# Should show: true

Enable debug mode:

DEBUG=1 source oraenv.sh FREE

Verify oradba_aliases.sh exists:

ls -l ${ORADBA_PREFIX}/lib/oradba_aliases.sh

Dynamic Aliases Not Generated¶

Check ORACLE_SID is set:

echo $ORACLE_SID
# Should show your SID

Check database connectivity:

sqlplus -S / as sysdba <<< "SELECT instance_name FROM v\$instance;"

Check diagnostic_dest parameter:

sqlplus -S / as sysdba <<< "SHOW PARAMETER diagnostic_dest"

rlwrap Not Working¶

Check if rlwrap is installed:

which rlwrap
# Should show: /usr/bin/rlwrap or similar

Verify rlwrap configuration:

echo $RLWRAP_COMMAND
echo $RLWRAP_OPTS

Test rlwrap directly:

rlwrap -i -c sqlplus / as sysdba

Install if missing:

# RHEL/OL
sudo yum install rlwrap

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install rlwrap

# macOS
brew install rlwrap

Complete Alias Reference¶

For a quick reference card, use:

alih

This displays a condensed list of the most commonly used aliases.

Best Practices¶

Learn the essentials first - Focus on sq, cdh, taa, oraup
Use rlwrap aliases - sqh and rmanh provide better command history
Customize in customer config - Add personal aliases to oradba_customer.conf
Use convenience variables - $cdh, $cda, $etc in scripts and commands
Check alias definitions - Use type alias_name to see what it does
Document custom aliases - Comment your aliases in customer config

Alias Reference¶

Introduction¶

Alias Categories¶

SQL*Plus Aliases¶

RMAN Aliases¶

Directory Navigation Aliases¶

Oracle Directories¶

OraDBA Directories¶

SID-Specific Directories (Dynamic)¶

Convenience Variables¶

Database Operations Aliases¶

Status and Monitoring¶

Listener Commands¶

Configuration Viewing¶

File Editing Aliases¶

Oracle Configuration Files¶

OraDBA Configuration Files¶

Diagnostic Aliases¶

Alert Log Access (Dynamic)¶

Diagnostic Tools¶

Information Display Aliases¶

Path and Configuration Display¶

PDB Aliases (Auto-Generated)¶

Help and Information Aliases¶

General Utility Aliases¶

rlwrap Integration¶

Completion Files¶

Installing rlwrap¶

Password Filtering¶

Custom Aliases¶

Dynamic Alias Generation¶

How It Works¶

Example¶

Configuration¶

Enable/Disable Aliases¶

Disable Specific Aliases¶

Troubleshooting¶

Aliases Not Loading¶

Dynamic Aliases Not Generated¶

rlwrap Not Working¶

Complete Alias Reference¶

Best Practices¶

See Also¶

Navigation¶