I suppose I can do git config --global core.editor notepad However, this really only addresses my second concern. My first concern is that using a text editor at all seems like overkill in many scenarios. For that reason, I still think the other two options I mentioned would be beneficial. On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 5:05 PM, John Rood <mr.john.rood@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Unfortunately, in my case I'm on windows (my company's choice, not mine). > > On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 5:01 PM, Stefan Beller <sbeller@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 2:55 PM, John Rood <mr.john.rood@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >>> Users should be able to configure Git to not send them into a Vim editor. >> >> See https://git-scm.com/docs/git-var >> >> GIT_EDITOR >> >> Text editor for use by Git commands. The value is meant to be interpreted >> by the shell when it is used. Examples: ~/bin/vi, $SOME_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE, >> "C:\Program Files\Vim\gvim.exe" --nofork. The order of preference is the >> $GIT_EDITOR environment variable, then core.editor configuration, then >> $VISUAL, then $EDITOR, and then the default chosen at compile time, >> which is usually vi. >> >> >> So maybe >> >> git config --global core.editor "nano" >> >> helps in your case?