Recently I've found myself using the git command git commit --amend to change typos in my commit messages. By default the GNU nano text editor is used, which for me isn't a great experience and was starting to BUG me!

I use VS Code daily and as I'm typing the git command in the built-in VS Code terminal, naturally I want to edit the commit message using the same editor. Well luckily you can configure this with a one liner.

Default VS Code As The Git Editor (Globally)

Type the following in the command prompt / bash shell.

git config --global core.editor "code --wait"

Or, alternatively if you don't like typing too much then use.

git config --global core.editor "code -w"

Note: The --wait or -w flag is crucial without this git won't know the editing has completed and in turn won't finish executing the git command.

See It Working!

Below is a gif showing VS Code as the default editor for git.

Default VS Code As The Git Editor (Local Repo)

But wait there's more, if you don't want the change to happen globally you can set it locally for a git repository by using the flag --local.

git config --local core.editor "code -w"

Revert Back To GNU nano (or default)

And if you prefer GNU nano and want to reset this to the default git editor, then run the following command.

git config --global --unset core.editor

Note: If you set the editor locally and you want to reset then replace the --global flag with the --local flag instead.