boundary/website/content/docs/domain-model/aliases.mdx

---
layout: docs
page_title: Alias resource
description: >-
  Learn about using the alias resource to transparently connect to targets without having to provide the target ID or target name and scope ID.
---

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> [!IMPORTANT]  
> **Documentation Update:** Product documentation previously located in `/website` has moved to the [`hashicorp/web-unified-docs`](https://github.com/hashicorp/web-unified-docs) repository, where all product documentation is now centralized. Please make contributions directly to `web-unified-docs`, since changes to `/website` in this repository will not appear on developer.hashicorp.com.
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# Aliases

An alias is a globally unique, DNS-like string that is associated with a destination resource.
Examples of valid aliases are `webserver` and `webserver.boundary`.
You can establish a session to a target by referencing its alias, instead of having to provide a target ID or target name and scope ID.
For example, if you have an alias `boundary.dev`, you can use it to connect to a target with the following command: `boundary connect ssh boundary.dev`.

## Attributes

Aliases have the following attributes:

- `-description=<string>` - Specifies the optional description you want to use to describe the alias for identification purposes.
- `-destination-id=<string>` - Specifies the ID of the target that the alias points to.
- `-name=<string>` - Specifies the optional name you want to use to describe the alias for identification purposes.
- `-scope-id=<string>` - Scope in which to create the alias. The default is `global`.
  You can also specify the scope using the BOUNDARY_SCOPE_ID environment variable.
  At this time, aliases are only supported for the global scope.
- `-value=<string>` - Specifies the string that you want to use as the alias to represent the target.
  The `value` must comply with DNS naming rules.

### Target subtypes

The target subtype has the following additional attributes:

- `-authorize-session-host-id=<string>` - Indicates the host ID to use when you use the alias to authorize a session.

## More information

- [Aliases](/boundary/docs/concepts/aliases)