CODEWITHSUNDEEP
linuxgitterminal
Scorb
Scorb

Reputation: 1860

Git commit message on linux terminal

I am trying to learn how to write a git commit message on a linux terminal.

I am presented with the following options after I write my commit message.

Which is the first one I am supposed to choose?

> ^G Get Help  ^O Write Out ^W Where Is  ^K Cut Text  ^J Justify   ^C Cur Pos
^X Exit      ^R Read File ^\ Replace   ^U Uncut Text^T To Spell  ^_ Go To Line

If I hit "write out" I get another list of options that I don't understand.

File Name to Write:$T_EDITMSG                                                   
^G Get Help     M-D DOS Format  M-A Append      M-B Backup File
^C Cancel       M-M Mac Format  M-P Prepend     ^T To Files

Upvotes: 6

Views: 17129

Answers (4)

danjdrennan
danjdrennan

Reputation: 13

I'm guessing OP uses WSL or is new to linux. I am using a Ubuntu kernel in VS code via the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL, as before). There typing git commit opens a nano editor to save the commit. At least on Windows, the command to save the commit is CTRL + S. I don't think that option appears in the editor, but it worked for me.

Upvotes: 0

K.Doe
K.Doe

Reputation: 11

Also helpful from GentooWiki: In nano's help texts the Ctrl is represented by a caret (^), so Ctrl + W is shown as ^W, and so on. The Alt key is represented by an M (from "Meta"), so Alt + W is shown as M-W.

Upvotes: 0

shizhz
shizhz

Reputation: 12501

It's because git pick up nano as its default terminal editor, if you are not familiar with nano, you can config git to use another one.

The easiest way to write a git commit message in terminal is to use the -m option:

> git commit -m "your commit message"

But if you don't specify the -m option, git will bring you to an editor depends on the following rules

  • Git config option core.editor, local config goes first, then the global.

    • Local: git config core.editor vim, config resides in file $YOUR_REPO/.git/config
    • Global: git config --global core.editor vim, config resides in file $HOME/.gitconfig

    Please refer to Git Configuration for details.

  • Environment variables $EDITOR or $VISUAL

    • export EDITOR=`which vim`
    • export VSUAL=`which emacs`

    This is also the settings used by other tools when it needs an editor.

Upvotes: 9

hurturk
hurturk

Reputation: 5454

When you just type git commit it will open your default text editor, nano in your case. You should type your message and hit enter after ^O.

To commit without opening a text editor:

git commit -m 'Your commit message here'

If you want to change your default editor to something else, say vim, you can do it as follows:

git config --global core.editor "vim"

Upvotes: 1

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