How to access Git built-in text editor?

Accessing the Git Built-in Text Editor

Git, the popular version control system, comes with a built-in text editor that you can use for various tasks, such as writing commit messages, resolving conflicts, and editing configuration files. This built-in editor can be particularly useful when you don't have a preferred text editor installed on your system or when you need to quickly make changes to Git-related files.

Identifying the Default Git Text Editor

The default text editor used by Git is determined by the core.editor configuration setting. You can check the current value of this setting by running the following command in your terminal:

git config --global --get core.editor

This command will display the name of the text editor that Git is currently using. If the output is empty, it means that Git is using the system's default text editor, which is typically vim on Linux and macOS, and notepad on Windows.

Changing the Default Git Text Editor

If you prefer to use a different text editor, you can change the core.editor setting by running the following command:

git config --global core.editor "editor_name"

Replace "editor_name" with the command to launch your preferred text editor. For example, to set the default editor to nano, you would run:

git config --global core.editor "nano"

You can also set the editor for a specific repository by running the same command without the --global flag, which will only apply the setting to the current repository.

Launching the Git Text Editor

To access the Git built-in text editor, you can use the following commands:

Editing a commit message:
```
git commit
```
This will open the Git text editor, allowing you to write and edit the commit message.
Resolving merge conflicts:
```
git merge
```
When you have merge conflicts, Git will open the text editor so you can resolve the conflicts.
Editing Git configuration files:
```
git config --edit
```
This command will open the Git configuration file in the text editor, allowing you to make changes to the settings.
Editing Git hooks:
```
git config --edit --local
```
This command will open the Git hooks configuration file in the text editor, allowing you to customize the behavior of Git hooks.

By understanding how to access the Git built-in text editor, you can streamline your Git workflow and make quick edits to Git-related files without the need to switch to a separate text editor.

graph TD A[Git Configuration] --> B[core.editor] B --> C[Default Text Editor] C --> D[Vim, Nano, Notepad, etc.] A --> E[Editing Commit Messages] A --> F[Resolving Merge Conflicts] A --> G[Editing Git Configuration Files] A --> H[Editing Git Hooks]

The Mermaid diagram above illustrates the relationship between the Git configuration, the default text editor, and the various use cases for accessing the Git built-in text editor.