How to set default editor when using Git in Cygwin?

Question

I am using the Git CLI in Cygwin on Win7. I have a problem when I issue a command that requires editor interaction, such as

git commit --amend

In Cygwin, the command simply hangs and I must do Ctrl-Z to get the next prompt. The commit does not go through.

I tried to set the default editor to vi:

git config --global core.editor "vi"

But that did not work.

In Windows Terminal (DOS-like CLI), it redirects to a vi-like editor fine, i.e. business as usual. But it doesn't work in Cygwin. I prefer using Cygwin over Terminal because I was having some other issues in Terminal (wasn't showing which remotes the locals are tracking etc.)

How do I set the default editor when using Git on Cygwin?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-20 10:18:14Z

11

As per this answer, I did the following:

git config --global core.editor "D:/homex/SFTWR/cygwin/bin/vi.exe"

D:/homex/SFTWR/cygwin is the location of my Cygwin install. I am still perplexed why it is taking a Windows path when it's running in the Cygwin shell.

edited Mar 20, 2017 at 10:18

CommunityBot

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answered Nov 19, 2014 at 18:39

amphibient

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2 Comments

Alex Wolf Over a year ago

Alternativly you can use the GIT_EDITOR environment variable.

Azuaron Over a year ago

I used the cygwin path and it worked for me. My guess would be, cygwin's smart enough to convert your Windows path into a cygwin path.

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