My default editor is pico at my server. I use Bash and Linux.
I tried to change Vim to be my default editor unsuccessfully by
echo vim > $EDITOR
How can I change Vim my default editor?
[edit]
The following code does not work in .bashrc
export EDITOR='vim'
Adding
export EDITOR=vim
to your .bashrc should really do the trick. (There a no quotes necessary and, depending on what quotes you used, they may be the cause for your problem.)
You must open a new shell (or enter source ~/.bashrc
at the prompt) after modifying .bashrc for the modification to take effect.
What is the program from which you want vim to be started?
EDIT: I haven't used git, but the documentation (http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-commit.html) reads ``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).''
So check whether one of these variables is set:
echo $GIT_EDITOR $VISUAL $EDITOR
git config --get-all core.editor
For me,
export VISUAL=vim
solved the problem.
You can use the git config option core.editor to set the editor of your liking, eg nano
$ git config [--global] core.editor "nano"
You can also change this by editing the .gitconfig file in your home directory (global) or git repo (create it if it doesn't exist) if you don't have shell access:
...
[user]
name = Your Name
email = your@email.address
[core]
editor = nano
...
I don't have an EDITOR
environmental variable. Perhaps you could specify your distribution? My bashrc
does define this:
alias vi='vim'
and supposedly if vim can't find a file called .vimrc
in your home directory it runs in "compatibility mode" and you only get vi features until you say type :nocp
If it is based on your EDITOR
environmental variable you would set it like this in BASH:
export EDITOR='vim'
Check this command:
sudo update-alternatives --config editor
Since things have changed in MAC X
you will have to add following in .profile file in base directory of the user
export EDITOR='vim'
you can follow following instructions:
1> open terminal
2> type - cd [hit return/enter (this will take you to base directory)]
3> type - echo "export EDITOR='vim'" >> .profile (hit return/enter and you are done)
4> (restart terminal)
=========================
OR just type:
echo "export EDITOR='vim'" >> ~/.profile
hit enter and restart
vim=/usr/bin/vim #or wherever vim binary is
export EDITOR=vim
should do the job
Since none of these answers are helping me:
Here is what the git docs are saying: http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-commit.html
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).
Here is the BASH man page excerpt on export (brackets are optional):
export [-fn] [name[=word]]
if you want vi to be your default history editor (which is why I'm here)
edit ~/.bashrc and add
set -o vi
anywhere in the file. Then all the lovely vi command history is available (esc k etc).
Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but my search landed me here....