How do I make Git use the editor of my choice for commits?

If you want to set the editor only for Git, do either (you don’t need both):

• Set core.editor in your Git config: git config --global core.editor "vim"
• Set the GIT_EDITOR environment variable: export GIT_EDITOR=vim

If you want to set the editor for Git and also other programs, set the standardized VISUAL and EDITOR environment variables*:

export VISUAL=vimexport EDITOR="$VISUAL"

_{* Setting both is not necessarily needed, but some programs may not use the more-correct VISUAL. See VISUAL vs. EDITOR.}

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"

Copy paste this:

git config --global core.editor "vim"

In case you'd like to know what you're doing. From man git-commit:

ENVIRONMENT AND CONFIGURATION VARIABLES

The editor used to edit the commit log message will be chosen from the GIT_EDITOR environment variable, the core.editor configuration variable, the VISUAL environment variable, or the EDITOR environment variable (in that order).

On Ubuntu and also Debian (thanks @MichielB) changing the default editor is also possible by running:

sudo update-alternatives --config editor

Which will prompt the following:

There are 4 choices for the alternative editor (providing /usr/bin/editor).  Selection    Path                Priority   Status------------------------------------------------------------  0            /bin/nano            40        auto mode  1            /bin/ed             -100       manual mode  2            /bin/nano            40        manual mode* 3            /usr/bin/vim.basic   30        manual mode  4            /usr/bin/vim.tiny    10        manual modePress enter to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: