Editor configuration in Git - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of setting core.editor to nano?

You run the command git config --global core.editor nano. What will be the output of git config --global core.editor after this?

Git

git config --global core.editor nano
git config --global core.editor

A emacs

B vim

C nano

D code

💡 Hint

The core.editor setting defines the default editor Git uses for commit messages.

Setting core.editor to nano means Git will use nano as the default editor. Querying the setting returns 'nano'.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Which Git config scope affects only the current repository?

Git has three config scopes: system, global, and local. Which scope applies settings only to the current repository?

A system

B global

C environment

D local

💡 Hint

Think about where Git stores config files for each scope.

The local scope stores config in the .git/config file inside the repository, affecting only that repo.

❓ Configuration

advanced

How to configure Vim as Git's default editor with line numbers enabled?

You want Git to use Vim as the default editor and show line numbers when editing commit messages. Which command correctly sets this?

A git config --global core.editor "vim -c ':set number'"

B git config --global core.editor "vim --number"

C git config --global core.editor "vim -n"

D git config --global core.editor "vim +set\ number"

💡 Hint

Vim accepts commands with the -c option to run on start.

The command 'vim -c ':set number'' tells Vim to start and execute ':set number' to enable line numbers.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Why does Git fail to open the editor after setting core.editor to a non-existent program?

You set git config --global core.editor myfakeeditor but Git fails to open the editor when committing. What is the likely cause?

A Git requires core.editor to be set to 'vim' or 'nano' only

B The program 'myfakeeditor' does not exist or is not in PATH

C The global config file is corrupted

D Git does not support custom editors

💡 Hint

Git tries to run the editor command exactly as configured.

If the editor command is not found in the system PATH, Git cannot launch it and fails.

✅ Best Practice

expert

What is the best practice to set a GUI editor like VS Code as Git's default editor on all systems?

You want to configure Git to use Visual Studio Code as the default editor across different operating systems. Which command is best?

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

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

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

D git config --global core.editor "code --no-wait"

💡 Hint

Git waits for the editor to close before continuing.

The '--wait' flag tells VS Code to stay open until the file is closed, so Git waits properly for the commit message.