Alias that runs a command using sudo

Question

Im always running a particular app as root because it requires more privileges. I usually just sudo it. I want to make an alias that is something similar to: alias myCmd='sudo nohup /path/to/binary > /dev/null 2>&1 &'

The problem arises when sudo prompts for password and then nothing will happen actually. How can it be done?

Answer 1

Use a shell script instead of an alias.

in ~/.bashrc:

export PATH="$PATH":~/bin

your script in ~/bin/runthat:

#!/bin/bash
sudo nohup /path/to/binary > /dev/null 2>&1 &

Then to run it, just do it like:

$ runthat

Or if you skipped the PATH step, then run it like:

$ ~/bin/runthat

If this is a system-wide (all users) script instead of just you, then put it in /usr/local/bin instead.

Or also you could use a function. eg. in ~/.bashrc:

runthat() {
    sudo nohup /path/to/binary > /dev/null 2>&1 &
}

Also just FYI and not a direct answer to the question, another alternative is to put it in the sudoers file:

sudo visudo
    (your editor pops up here)
    username ALL=NOPASSWD: /path/to/binary

And now it won't ask for a password at all. (which means lower security... maybe some security exploit will now let malware run this app too... so make sure you accept that small risk)

Answer 2

Add this at the bottom of your ~/.bashrc

alias sudo="sudo " # space after sudo