Question

How do I globally configure git to use a particular editor (e.g. vim) for commit messages?

Answer 1

Setting the default editor for Git

Pick one:

• Set core.editor in your Git config:

  git config --global core.editor "vim"
  

• Set the GIT_EDITOR environment variable:

  export GIT_EDITOR=vim
  

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Setting the default editor for all programs

Set the standardized VISUAL and EDITOR environment variables*:

export VISUAL=vim
export EDITOR="$VISUAL"

NOTE: Setting both is not necessarily needed, but some programs may not use the more-correct VISUAL. See VISUAL vs. EDITOR.

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Fixing compatibility issues

Some editors require a --wait flag, or they will open a blank page. For example:

• Sublime Text (if correctly set up; or use the full path to the executable in place of subl):

  export VISUAL="subl --wait"
  

• VS Code (after adding the shell command):

  export VISUAL="code --wait"