diff --git a/cmd/gh/main.go b/cmd/gh/main.go
index bac165995..a52d23f21 100644
--- a/cmd/gh/main.go
+++ b/cmd/gh/main.go
@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@ func main() {
 			fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "failed to process aliases:  %s\n", err)
 			os.Exit(2)
 		}
+
+		if expandedArgs == nil && err == nil {
+			// It was an external alias; we ran it and are now done.
+			os.Exit(0)
+		}
+
 		if hasDebug {
 			fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "%v -> %v\n", originalArgs, expandedArgs)
 		}
diff --git a/command/alias.go b/command/alias.go
index 1b21fcc61..b4df2411d 100644
--- a/command/alias.go
+++ b/command/alias.go
@@ -16,21 +16,35 @@ func init() {
 	aliasCmd.AddCommand(aliasSetCmd)
 	aliasCmd.AddCommand(aliasListCmd)
 	aliasCmd.AddCommand(aliasDeleteCmd)
+
+	aliasSetCmd.Flags().BoolP("shell", "s", false, "Declare an alias to be passed through a shell interpreter")
 }
 
 var aliasCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "alias",
-	Short: "Create shortcuts for gh commands",
+	Short: "Create command shortcuts",
+	Long: heredoc.Doc(`
+	Aliases can be used to make shortcuts for gh commands or to compose multiple commands.
+
+	Run "gh help alias set" to learn more.
+	`),
 }
 
 var aliasSetCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "set <alias> <expansion>",
 	Short: "Create a shortcut for a gh command",
-	Long: `Declare a word as a command alias that will expand to the specified command.
+	Long: heredoc.Doc(`
+	Declare a word as a command alias that will expand to the specified command(s).
 
-The expansion may specify additional arguments and flags. If the expansion
-includes positional placeholders such as '$1', '$2', etc., any extra arguments
-that follow the invocation of an alias will be inserted appropriately.`,
+	The expansion may specify additional arguments and flags. If the expansion
+	includes positional placeholders such as '$1', '$2', etc., any extra arguments
+	that follow the invocation of an alias will be inserted appropriately.
+
+	If '--shell' is specified, the alias will be run through a shell interpreter (sh). This allows you
+	to compose commands with "|" or redirect output with ">". Note that extra arguments are not passed
+	to shell-interpreted aliases; only placeholders ("$1", "$2", etc) are supported.
+
+	Quotes must always be used when defining a command as in the examples.`),
 	Example: heredoc.Doc(`
 	$ gh alias set pv 'pr view'
 	$ gh pv -w 123
@@ -41,13 +55,12 @@ that follow the invocation of an alias will be inserted appropriately.`,
 	$ gh alias set epicsBy 'issue list --author="$1" --label="epic"'
 	$ gh epicsBy vilmibm
 	#=> gh issue list --author="vilmibm" --label="epic"
-	`),
-	Args: cobra.MinimumNArgs(2),
-	RunE: aliasSet,
 
-	// NB: this allows a user to eschew quotes when specifying an alias expansion. We'll have to
-	// revisit it if we ever want to add flags to alias set but we have no current plans for that.
-	DisableFlagParsing: true,
+	$ gh alias set --shell igrep 'gh issue list --label="$1" | grep $2'
+	$ gh igrep epic foo
+	#=> gh issue list --label="epic" | grep "foo"`),
+	Args: cobra.ExactArgs(2),
+	RunE: aliasSet,
 }
 
 func aliasSet(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
@@ -63,19 +76,26 @@ func aliasSet(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	}
 
 	alias := args[0]
-	expansion := processArgs(args[1:])
-
-	expansionStr := strings.Join(expansion, " ")
+	expansion := args[1]
 
 	out := colorableOut(cmd)
-	fmt.Fprintf(out, "- Adding alias for %s: %s\n", utils.Bold(alias), utils.Bold(expansionStr))
+	fmt.Fprintf(out, "- Adding alias for %s: %s\n", utils.Bold(alias), utils.Bold(expansion))
 
-	if validCommand([]string{alias}) {
+	shell, err := cmd.Flags().GetBool("shell")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if shell && !strings.HasPrefix(expansion, "!") {
+		expansion = "!" + expansion
+	}
+	isExternal := strings.HasPrefix(expansion, "!")
+
+	if validCommand(alias) {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not create alias: %q is already a gh command", alias)
 	}
 
-	if !validCommand(expansion) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("could not create alias: %s does not correspond to a gh command", utils.Bold(expansionStr))
+	if !isExternal && !validCommand(expansion) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("could not create alias: %s does not correspond to a gh command", expansion)
 	}
 
 	successMsg := fmt.Sprintf("%s Added alias.", utils.Green("✓"))
@@ -86,11 +106,11 @@ func aliasSet(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			utils.Green("✓"),
 			utils.Bold(alias),
 			utils.Bold(oldExpansion),
-			utils.Bold(expansionStr),
+			utils.Bold(expansion),
 		)
 	}
 
-	err = aliasCfg.Add(alias, expansionStr)
+	err = aliasCfg.Add(alias, expansion)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not create alias: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -100,28 +120,15 @@ func aliasSet(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func validCommand(expansion []string) bool {
-	cmd, _, err := RootCmd.Traverse(expansion)
+func validCommand(expansion string) bool {
+	split, err := shlex.Split(expansion)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	cmd, _, err := RootCmd.Traverse(split)
 	return err == nil && cmd != RootCmd
 }
 
-func processArgs(args []string) []string {
-	if len(args) == 1 {
-		split, _ := shlex.Split(args[0])
-		return split
-	}
-
-	newArgs := []string{}
-	for _, a := range args {
-		if !strings.HasPrefix(a, "-") && strings.Contains(a, " ") {
-			a = fmt.Sprintf("%q", a)
-		}
-		newArgs = append(newArgs, a)
-	}
-
-	return newArgs
-}
-
 var aliasListCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "list",
 	Short: "List your aliases",
diff --git a/command/alias_test.go b/command/alias_test.go
index a0d894e20..346e40c13 100644
--- a/command/alias_test.go
+++ b/command/alias_test.go
@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@ package command
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/cli/cli/internal/config"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/test"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )
 
 func TestAliasSet_gh_command(t *testing.T) {
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ func TestAliasSet_gh_command(t *testing.T) {
 	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
 	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
 
-	_, err := RunCommand("alias set pr pr status")
+	_, err := RunCommand("alias set pr 'pr status'")
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error")
 	}
@@ -35,7 +37,7 @@ editor: vim
 	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
 	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
 
-	output, err := RunCommand("alias set co pr checkout")
+	output, err := RunCommand("alias set co 'pr checkout'")
 
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
@@ -65,7 +67,7 @@ aliases:
 	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
 	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
 
-	output, err := RunCommand("alias set co pr checkout -Rcool/repo")
+	output, err := RunCommand("alias set co 'pr checkout -Rcool/repo'")
 
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ func TestAliasSet_space_args(t *testing.T) {
 	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
 	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
 
-	output, err := RunCommand(`alias set il issue list -l 'cool story'`)
+	output, err := RunCommand(`alias set il 'issue list -l "cool story"'`)
 
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
@@ -99,23 +101,17 @@ func TestAliasSet_arg_processing(t *testing.T) {
 		ExpectedOutputLine string
 		ExpectedConfigLine string
 	}{
-		{"alias set co pr checkout", "- Adding alias for co: pr checkout", "co: pr checkout"},
-
 		{`alias set il "issue list"`, "- Adding alias for il: issue list", "il: issue list"},
 
 		{`alias set iz 'issue list'`, "- Adding alias for iz: issue list", "iz: issue list"},
 
-		{`alias set iy issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`,
-			`- Adding alias for iy: issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`,
-			`iy: issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`},
-
 		{`alias set ii 'issue list --author="$1" --label="$2"'`,
-			`- Adding alias for ii: issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`,
-			`ii: issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`},
+			`- Adding alias for ii: issue list --author="\$1" --label="\$2"`,
+			`ii: issue list --author="\$1" --label="\$2"`},
 
-		{`alias set ix issue list --author='$1' --label='$2'`,
-			`- Adding alias for ix: issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`,
-			`ix: issue list --author=\$1 --label=\$2`},
+		{`alias set ix "issue list --author='\$1' --label='\$2'"`,
+			`- Adding alias for ix: issue list --author='\$1' --label='\$2'`,
+			`ix: issue list --author='\$1' --label='\$2'`},
 	}
 
 	for _, c := range cases {
@@ -143,7 +139,7 @@ editor: vim
 	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
 	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
 
-	output, err := RunCommand("alias set diff pr diff")
+	output, err := RunCommand("alias set diff 'pr diff'")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -167,7 +163,7 @@ aliases:
 	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
 	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
 
-	output, err := RunCommand("alias set view pr view")
+	output, err := RunCommand("alias set view 'pr view'")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -181,6 +177,35 @@ aliases:
 
 }
 
+func TestExpandAlias_external(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := `---
+aliases:
+  co: pr checkout
+  il: issue list --author="$1" --label="$2"
+  ia: issue list --author="$1" --assignee="$1"
+  ig: '!gh issue list --label=$1 | grep'
+`
+	initBlankContext(cfg, "OWNER/REPO", "trunk")
+
+	cs, teardown := test.InitCmdStubber()
+	defer teardown()
+	cs.Stub("")
+
+	_, err := ExpandAlias([]string{"gh", "ig", "bug", "foo"})
+
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, len(cs.Calls))
+
+	fmt.Printf("DEBUG %#v\n", cs.Calls[0])
+
+	expected := []string{"sh", "-c", "gh issue list --label=$1 | grep", "--", "bug", "foo"}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, expected, cs.Calls[0].Args)
+}
+
 func TestExpandAlias(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := `---
 aliases:
@@ -230,7 +255,7 @@ aliases:
 
 func TestAliasSet_invalid_command(t *testing.T) {
 	initBlankContext("", "OWNER/REPO", "trunk")
-	_, err := RunCommand("alias set co pe checkout")
+	_, err := RunCommand("alias set co 'pe checkout'")
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error")
 	}
@@ -319,3 +344,43 @@ aliases:
 
 	eq(t, mainBuf.String(), expected)
 }
+
+func TestShellAlias_flag(t *testing.T) {
+	initBlankContext("", "OWNER/REPO", "trunk")
+
+	mainBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
+	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
+	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
+
+	output, err := RunCommand("alias set --shell igrep 'gh issue list | grep'")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	test.ExpectLines(t, output.String(), "Adding alias for igrep")
+	expected := `aliases:
+    igrep: '!gh issue list | grep'
+`
+
+	eq(t, mainBuf.String(), expected)
+}
+
+func TestShellAlias_bang(t *testing.T) {
+	initBlankContext("", "OWNER/REPO", "trunk")
+
+	mainBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
+	hostsBuf := bytes.Buffer{}
+	defer config.StubWriteConfig(&mainBuf, &hostsBuf)()
+
+	output, err := RunCommand("alias set igrep '!gh issue list | grep'")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	test.ExpectLines(t, output.String(), "Adding alias for igrep")
+	expected := `aliases:
+    igrep: '!gh issue list | grep'
+`
+
+	eq(t, mainBuf.String(), expected)
+}
diff --git a/command/root.go b/command/root.go
index df607a50d..fa93ca89e 100644
--- a/command/root.go
+++ b/command/root.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"regexp"
 	"runtime/debug"
 	"strings"
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cli/cli/context"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/internal/config"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/internal/ghrepo"
+	"github.com/cli/cli/internal/run"
 	apiCmd "github.com/cli/cli/pkg/cmd/api"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/pkg/cmdutil"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/pkg/iostreams"
@@ -364,24 +366,43 @@ func determineEditor(cmd *cobra.Command) (string, error) {
 }
 
 func ExpandAlias(args []string) ([]string, error) {
-	empty := []string{}
 	if len(args) < 2 {
 		// the command is lacking a subcommand
-		return empty, nil
+		return []string{}, nil
 	}
 
 	ctx := initContext()
 	cfg, err := ctx.Config()
 	if err != nil {
-		return empty, err
+		return nil, err
 	}
 	aliases, err := cfg.Aliases()
 	if err != nil {
-		return empty, err
+		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	expansion, ok := aliases.Get(args[1])
 	if ok {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(expansion, "!") {
+			shellArgs := []string{"-c", expansion[1:]}
+			if len(args[2:]) > 0 {
+				shellArgs = append(shellArgs, "--")
+				shellArgs = append(shellArgs, args[2:]...)
+			}
+			externalCmd := exec.Command("sh", shellArgs...)
+			externalCmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
+			externalCmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
+			externalCmd.Stdin = os.Stdin
+			preparedCmd := run.PrepareCmd(externalCmd)
+
+			err := preparedCmd.Run()
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to run external command: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			return nil, nil
+		}
+
 		extraArgs := []string{}
 		for i, a := range args[2:] {
 			if !strings.Contains(expansion, "$") {
@@ -392,7 +413,7 @@ func ExpandAlias(args []string) ([]string, error) {
 		}
 		lingeringRE := regexp.MustCompile(`\$\d`)
 		if lingeringRE.MatchString(expansion) {
-			return empty, fmt.Errorf("not enough arguments for alias: %s", expansion)
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("not enough arguments for alias: %s", expansion)
 		}
 
 		newArgs, err := shlex.Split(expansion)
@@ -400,9 +421,8 @@ func ExpandAlias(args []string) ([]string, error) {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
-		newArgs = append(newArgs, extraArgs...)
+		return append(newArgs, extraArgs...), nil
 
-		return newArgs, nil
 	}
 
 	return args[1:], nil