Git Editor
Introduction
When using Git, you'll frequently need to write commit messages, edit interactive rebase files, or resolve merge conflicts. Git uses a text editor for these operations. By default, Git uses your system's default editor, which might be Vim, Nano, or something else depending on your operating system. However, you can configure Git to use any text editor of your choice.
In this guide, you'll learn:
- How Git uses text editors
- How to check your current Git editor
- How to change your Git editor
- Common options for different editors
- Troubleshooting editor issues
How Git Uses Your Editor
Git launches your configured text editor in several scenarios:
- Writing commit messages: When you run
git commit
without the-m
flag - Interactive rebase: When performing operations like
git rebase -i
- Resolving merge conflicts: When Git can't automatically resolve conflicts
- Editing patch files: When using commands like
git add -e
Having a comfortable editor configured makes these tasks much easier, especially for more complex operations.
Checking Your Current Git Editor
To see which editor Git is currently configured to use, run:
git config --global core.editor
If you haven't set an editor explicitly, this might not return anything, indicating Git will use the default system editor (often determined by the EDITOR
or VISUAL
environment variables).
You can also check all your Git configurations with:
git config --list
And look for the core.editor
entry in the output.
Setting Your Git Editor
You can configure your preferred editor using the git config
command:
git config --global core.editor "editor-command-with-arguments"
The --global
flag makes this setting apply to all your Git repositories. If you want to set the editor for a specific repository only, you can run the command without this flag from within that repository.
Common Editor Configurations
Here are configuration commands for popular text editors:
Visual Studio Code
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"
The --wait
flag tells the terminal to wait until you close the file in VS Code before proceeding.
Sublime Text
git config --global core.editor "subl -n -w"
Atom
git config --global core.editor "atom --wait"
Vim (already the default on many systems)
git config --global core.editor "vim"
Nano
git config --global core.editor "nano"
Notepad++ (Windows)
git config --global core.editor "'C:/Program Files/Notepad++/notepad++.exe' -multiInst -notabbar -nosession -noPlugin"
TextEdit (macOS)
git config --global core.editor "open -W -n"
Example: Changing Your Git Editor to VS Code
Let's walk through a complete example of changing your Git editor to Visual Studio Code:
- First, make sure VS Code is installed and that the
code
command is available in your terminal. - Run the following command:
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"
- To verify the change, check your configuration:
git config --global core.editor
Output:
code --wait
- Test it by creating a commit without a message:
# After making some changes to your files
git add .
git commit
VS Code should open with a file for your commit message. After you write your message, save the file and close the tab, the commit will complete.
Using Different Editors for Different Operations
Git allows you to set different editors for different operations using more specific configuration variables:
core.editor
: The default editor for all operationscommit.template
: A template file for commit messagesmerge.tool
: The tool to use for merge conflict resolution
For example, you might want to use a simple editor like Nano for quick commit messages but a more powerful editor like VS Code for resolving merge conflicts:
git config --global core.editor "nano"
git config --global merge.tool "code --wait"
Troubleshooting Editor Issues
Editor Doesn't Open
If your editor doesn't open when expected:
- Make sure the editor is installed and accessible from your command line
- Check if the path to the editor is correct in your Git configuration
- Verify that any arguments you're passing to the editor are valid
Git Command Hangs
If your Git command seems to hang, it might be because:
- The
--wait
flag is missing, and Git is waiting for the editor to close even though it's already running - The editor is open but in a different window or minimized
- The editor encountered an error
You can abort a hanging Git command with Ctrl+C
in most terminals.
Working with Commit Messages
When writing commit messages, following these best practices will make your Git history more useful:
- Write a concise summary (under 50 characters) on the first line
- Leave a blank line after the summary
- Add a detailed explanation if necessary
- Use the present tense ("Add feature" instead of "Added feature")
Here's an example of a good commit message:
Add user authentication feature
- Implement login/logout functionality
- Create JWT token-based auth system
- Add password hashing with bcrypt
- Set up user session management
Your configured editor makes following these practices easier, especially if you use an editor with features like syntax highlighting and line wrapping.
Workflow Diagram
Here's a visualization of how Git interacts with your editor:
Summary
Configuring your Git editor is a simple but powerful customization that can significantly improve your workflow. By selecting an editor you're comfortable with, you'll make Git operations that require text input more efficient and less prone to errors.
Remember:
- Use
git config --global core.editor "your-editor-command"
to set your preferred editor - Different editors require different command-line arguments
- Test your configuration with a simple commit to ensure it works properly
- Consider setting different editors for different Git operations if needed
Additional Resources
Exercises
- Configure Git to use your favorite text editor
- Create a commit without using the
-m
flag and write a multi-line commit message - Try setting up different editors for different Git operations
- Create a custom commit message template and configure Git to use it
- Practice resolving a merge conflict using your configured editor
If you spot any mistakes on this website, please let me know at [email protected]. I’d greatly appreciate your feedback! :)