diff --git a/docs/cli-reference.rst b/docs/cli-reference.rst
index 02f66cd..b717461 100644
--- a/docs/cli-reference.rst
+++ b/docs/cli-reference.rst
@@ -1157,7 +1157,7 @@ See :ref:`cli_add_column`.
 ::
 
     Usage: sqlite-utils add-column [OPTIONS] PATH TABLE COL_NAME
-                          [[integer|float|blob|text|INTEGER|FLOAT|BLOB|TEXT]]
+                          [[integer|int|float|text|str|blob|bytes]]
 
       Add a column to the specified table
 
diff --git a/docs/cli.rst b/docs/cli.rst
index 5d9deb0..736e7d6 100644
--- a/docs/cli.rst
+++ b/docs/cli.rst
@@ -2310,7 +2310,14 @@ You can add a column using the ``add-column`` command:
 
     sqlite-utils add-column mydb.db mytable nameofcolumn text
 
-The last argument here is the type of the column to be created. You can use one of ``text``, ``integer``, ``float`` or ``blob``. If you leave it off, ``text`` will be used.
+The last argument here is the type of the column to be created. This can be one of:
+
+- ``text`` or ``str``
+- ``integer`` or ``int``
+- ``float``
+- ``blob`` or ``bytes``
+
+This argument is optional and defaults to ``text``.
 
 You can add a column that is a foreign key reference to another table using the ``--fk`` option:
 
diff --git a/sqlite_utils/cli.py b/sqlite_utils/cli.py
index 5821db6..47da407 100644
--- a/sqlite_utils/cli.py
+++ b/sqlite_utils/cli.py
@@ -60,6 +60,14 @@ It's often worth trying: --encoding=latin-1
 maximize_csv_field_size_limit()
 
 
+class CaseInsensitiveChoice(click.Choice):
+    def __init__(self, choices):
+        super().__init__([choice.lower() for choice in choices])
+
+    def convert(self, value, param, ctx):
+        return super().convert(value.lower(), param, ctx)
+
+
 def output_options(fn):
     for decorator in reversed(
         (
@@ -412,7 +420,8 @@ def dump(path, load_extension):
 @click.argument(
     "col_type",
     type=click.Choice(
-        ["integer", "float", "blob", "text", "INTEGER", "FLOAT", "BLOB", "TEXT"]
+        ["integer", "int", "float", "text", "str", "blob", "bytes"],
+        case_sensitive=False,
     ),
     required=False,
 )
diff --git a/sqlite_utils/db.py b/sqlite_utils/db.py
index 1baa32e..50e26e1 100644
--- a/sqlite_utils/db.py
+++ b/sqlite_utils/db.py
@@ -197,9 +197,12 @@ COLUMN_TYPE_MAPPING = {
     "FLOAT": "FLOAT",
     "BLOB": "BLOB",
     "text": "TEXT",
+    "str": "TEXT",
     "integer": "INTEGER",
+    "int": "INTEGER",
     "float": "FLOAT",
     "blob": "BLOB",
+    "bytes": "BLOB",
 }
 # If numpy is available, add more types
 if np:
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 0a93504..5313589 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -272,13 +272,23 @@ def test_create_index_desc(db_path):
     "col_name,col_type,expected_schema",
     (
         ("text", "TEXT", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [text] TEXT)"),
+        ("text", "str", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [text] TEXT)"),
+        ("text", "STR", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [text] TEXT)"),
         (
             "integer",
             "INTEGER",
             "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [integer] INTEGER)",
         ),
+        (
+            "integer",
+            "int",
+            "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [integer] INTEGER)",
+        ),
         ("float", "FLOAT", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [float] FLOAT)"),
         ("blob", "blob", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [blob] BLOB)"),
+        ("blob", "BLOB", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [blob] BLOB)"),
+        ("blob", "bytes", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [blob] BLOB)"),
+        ("blob", "BYTES", "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [blob] BLOB)"),
         ("default", None, "CREATE TABLE [dogs] (\n   [name] TEXT\n, [default] TEXT)"),
     ),
 )