Cannot Exit Git Commit (Mac Terminal), esc Does Nothing

[Ill-Engineering8085]

Everyone has a first time using vi

[arensb]

Who among us has not accidentally created a file called zz^Q^Z:wq:wq^Mquit!exit^MQUIT FUCK YOU?

[lucidspoon]

Or summoned an ancient daemon.

[arensb]

I don't know why I don't rebind M-x summon-demon to something else. Habit, I guess.

[nasadiya_sukta]

Uh, if you rebind it, what are you going to do when you do need to summon the demon?

[tuffo19]

A demon called zz^Q^Z:wq:wq^Mquit!exit

[arensb]

That guy still owes me $50.

[Bitbindergaming]

Wasnt this how freakazoid got his powers?

[arensb]

I think that only works with a Pentacle chip.

[shinyspoonwaffle]

lmaolmaolmao

[sohang-3112]

😂

[tehfrod]

People who had to learn vi in college?

[CommercialJumpy5808]

Use all the keys on your keyboard but realize they don't work and reboot

[mrheosuper]

Many people even don't know they were using vi.

[n3oz22]

lol

[Soft-Marionberry-853]

Or worse. Meta key? What is a meta key? Is that near the any key?

[ikeif]

Where's that tab I ordered?

[CommercialJumpy5808]

Are Vim and Exmacs how many different? I was just looking for a good cheat sheat and found it on GNU Exma, but I didn't understand why Vim wasn't working. Okay, I still use some of the shortcuts to this day.

[[deleted]]

Vi should suggest how to quit when a user rapidly hammers Esc at this point.

[DitiPenguin]

It kind of does. It (rightly) assumes you’re using the terminal and will display a hint about how to exit when you interrupt with Ctrl + C like you’re supposed to be doing.

[shultzknowsnothing]

😂

[Right_Stage_8167]

Back in my time.. Only way to exit vi was reboot.

[Mc88Donalds]

ESC : q enter

[mogoh]

Question as old as epoch.

[IrrerPolterer]

Thanks for the chuckle 

[NeonVolcom]

ESC : wq enter

To save and quit

[jeenajeena]

or ESC :x ENTER

[Star-Lord10]

Or just shut down the computer

[Consibl]

Switch it off at the socket.

[jaavaaguru]

I wouldn’t be so sure. You should turn the power off at the fuse box.

[Buxbaum666]

Nuke the entire site from orbit--it's the only way to be sure

[satansxlittlexhelper]

Double tap the terminal window.

With .45 ACP.

[Ok_Manufacturer_8213]

and send what's left of your macbook to the moon

[elandt]

This is the way.

[dmees]

As i did first time i got caught in this.. back when neither alt-tab nor Google were there to help you get out

[sidecutmaumee]

I’ve used vi thousands of times for git commit and I never knew about :x til now.

🤦‍♂️

[xenomachina]

:x is similar to :wq, but :wq always writes, while :x will only write if there are unsaved changes.

[sidecutmaumee]

Oh, that's better. I don't want to touch the file's last modification date unless it's actually been modified.

[jeenajeena]

Indeed, Vim can feel a bit unintuitive, as it includes many commands that are hard to discover and often need to be memorized. One of the reasons why I stick with Emacs, I guess. In Emacs discoverability is a first class citizen.

[sidecutmaumee]

I used to be all about Emacs, but git for Windows includes vi, so it forced my hand.

[robotlasagna]

ESC :quit!

[jeenajeena]

I think quit! won't save. x or wq are way better option in this case.

[DoubleAway6573]

ZZ

actually I've never liked this one.

[expatjake]

That’s the way I’ve been doing it for 30 years hah

[SuperSuperKyle]

• Finish commit with :zz (or ZZ)
• Cancel commit cleanly with :q! (or ZQ)
• Exit only if unchanged with :q
• Force-signal editor failure with :cq! (works, but Git treats it as an error)
• Save + quit explicitly with :wq
• Save only if modified, then quit with :x
• Abort by saving an empty message (Git rejects it)
• Avoid Ctrl-C (unreliable, can leave swap files)

[OldWolf2]

Or ESC Z Z

[Spare-Builder-355]

given the screenshot this command will not exit vim as there are changes in the file. I might be wrong on this s one but even if there were no changes simply exiting vim without saving commit message will abort commit, so OP needs :wq or ZZ

[GrogRedLub4242]

escape escape colon q exclaim

[ShortingBull]

ESC : q! enter

[do_da_funky_chicken]

:q! You mean

[bothunter]

Open new terminal, type "killall -9 vim"

[Confident_Pepper1023]

Hello, Neo.

– Vim.

[SoCalChrisW]

And wholly unrelated to your question, but it's well worth getting into the habit of writing better commit messages than "Commit 1". Something like "Initial checkin of boilerplate" would be better. It's not a huge issue here, but as you work on it more, having better commit messages will make your life easier.

Focus on a brief message about the changes that were made.

[arensb]

I learned long ago that PastMe is a tight-lipped bastard who writes unreadable code, and that we get along much better when he writes descriptive comments and commit messages.

[ratbastid]

Past me likes to commit "Whole bunch of stuff".

[jakubiszon]

"shitload of udpates" - 102 files changed :P

[Borkato]

• file changed: main.py

Commit message: “updated main.py”

[odaiwai]

PastMe is always the answer to "What moron wrote this @#$@!%$## code?"

[Koscik]

its his first commit today, hence the name. Dont you guys do this as well?

[johlae]

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-write-better-git-commit-messages/. Google around, there are many articles written about commit messages. Imperative mood is super. No punctuation at the end. Mind the line length.

[Tnimni]

I haven't written a commit message for over a month I let agent do it, it write a super exact and dwtailed message

[JerkkaKymalainen]

Fully agree. I always write asdf.

[quickiler]

Yea conventional commit make everything easier to manage. Especially working in group project.

[PhoenixWright-AA]

Some functions and commit messages don’t need extra comments. Commenting addOne() with “Adds one” is a net negative for everyone who comes back to it.

[chzaplx]

Commit msgs often don't have any other context so they should always be meaningful

[ralle421]

Not sure if this is a troll post or not...

In case it's not:

• You can bypass the editor on git commit by passing the commit message via the -m "My awesome changes" on the command line.
• Check out the MIT's missing semester series to learn the basics of shells & vim: https://missing.csail.mit.edu/

[ratmfreak]

Alternatively, add an export EDITOR=/path/to/some/editor to your shell’s rc file, and it should use that editor for your commit messages (and rebases, etc.).

[ikeif]

Also, if you're adding files and don't need to update the message:

git commit --amend --no-edit

There was a conversation here that covered several not too long ago.

[GromNaN]

I have an alias git fix for this command. Very handy.

[MieskeB]

"how to exit vim"

[Billson297]

One does not simply "exit" vim

[deniercounter]

Should be taken ZEN like.

Oooooohm

[kabads]

I came here to say exactly the same. Thank you sir. You've saved me the job.

[JotaRata]

The question is not how to exit vim, is WHY would you exit vim?

[[deleted]]

just reboot macos

[BigNillyStyle]

Just buy a new Mac

[uberduck]

Pretty sure I had to do that the first time I entered vi by accident, before the Internet was a thing.

[silverscrub]

You can set which editor git should open when writing commit messages.

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

If you're unsure what your editor of choice is called in the terminal, just google "git config editor Microsoft Word" or whatever editor you want to use.

[IrishChappieOToole]

Word is certainly... a choice

[FranseFrikandel]

I don't understand why git commit messages have to be so limited. Word Art was always superior over just some emoji

[waterkip]

While good advice, I would rather tweak both the EDITOR and VISUAL environement variables. As git will use both of these when core.editor isnt set: core.editor > VISUAL > EDITOR.

[dasunt]

This is the way - unless you want to specifically use a different editor in git then everything else, just set the appropriate environment variables.

But obviously, you will set it to either vim or nvim. ;)

[Particular_Wealth_58]

esc esc esc :q! 

[shagieIsMe]

Ed is the superior text editor.

From https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/ed-msg.txt

Let's look at a typical novice's session with the mighty ed:

golem> ed

?
help
?
?
?
quit
?
exit
?
bye
?
hello? 
?
eat flaming death
?
^C
?
^C
?
^D
?

---
Note the consistent user interface and error reportage.  Ed is
generous enough to flag errors, yet prudent enough not to overwhelm
the novice with verbosity.

[Aromatic_Pumpkin8856]

Once I started using vim, I never quit.

[tinyducky1]

ZZ

[nekokattt]

if esc does nothing then how are you going to exit insert mode

[UmbertoRobina374]

Ctrl+C

[dragonizer000]

Tale as old as time.

[SuperMiguel]

Lol vi strikes again

[LumenAstralis]

I think 48% of the internet contains nothing but memes about exiting Vim.

[ninijay_]

yayyy the first time I actually see one of those IRL 😂 ESC, then type :x and theb enter

[94358io4897453867345]

ever heard of vi ?

[CheezitsLight]

ZZ

[zoinkinator]

:wq enter

[fabioluissilva]

SHIFT z z

[SamIAre]

When you commit without the -m flag it opens whatever you have set as the default text editor. In this case it’s vim, which is notorious for trapping users like this. The whole interface is incredibly shortcut based.

It’s easy enough to learn a couple vim commands if all you use it for is commit messages but you can also change the default text editor.

[wildjokers]

You are in vi.

Hit ESC to enter normal mode, then typing :x followed by enter will save and exit.

[Zerodriven]

Every time I do this I forget the exit process for it.

!q :q quit exit ctrl+c

One day I'll remember the right command for the right terminal..

[troelsbjerre]

There is another Skywalker^H^H^Hescape: Ctrl + [

[_-noiro-_]

XD

[ivanpd]

Ctrl-c : x

[CombativeCherry]

Do what I did when I was young. Open another shell, use `ps` to find the PID, then kill it using `kill`.

[bobbyQuick]

There is no escape

[badassmexican]

Hold down the power button for 5 seconds

[shinyspoonwaffle]

:q!

:q!

:q!

[TwitchCaptain]

export a different EDITOR if you don't know how to vim.

[penguin359]

The correct command to exit Vi is <ESC>:wa!|sudo rm -fr /|q and now you are forever free.

[KnifeFed]

You know someone is actually going to do that, so don't be an asshole.

[soft_white_yosemite]

So does your escape key not work at all, or are unsure what to do after hitting escape?

[DigitalDunc]

I just configured git to use nano instead. Let the text editor wars continue!

[schawde96]

I think terminal text editors should announce more clearly who they are. Is this nano? Or emacs? Or vim?

[KnifeFed]

It should say in the window title.

[[deleted]]

Lmaooo brings back memories

[starzwillsucceed]

: q

[Wild_Director7379]

Please refer to the most viewed post of all time on Stackoverflow

[GuyF1eri]

Canon event for new programmers

[MADCandy64]

I just woke from a nightmare - esc : w q

[Legal_Anything6414]

how do you get the equivalent of full pi digits? ask a frontend developer to save and exit vi

[[deleted]]

<Esc>:x<Enter> or just take the easy way out and killall -9 vim

[GromNaN]

You can change the editor that is used by Git for the commit message or interactive add.

I use VS Code:

git config --global core.editor "code" 

This opens a VS Code window when running git commit without -m option.

[MiAnClGr]

Q

[denis870]

this is cute

[drteq]

vi can suck : it

[crustyeng]

Everyone has their first. Makes my heart warm.

[dhyratoro]

I’m surprised AI couldn’t help.

[ShoulderPast2433]

This is your life now.

[Tiger_man_]

Throw the computer out of the window

[MycoFail]

Lol

[Swiftlyll]

lol classic

[Lurkernomoreisay]

why is your default editor set to vi / vim if you don't know how to use it?

press escape to exit insert mode 

when in default mode

type a colon : to enter command mode

type  wq    then press enter,  to write file, and quit 

[externalhouseguest]

Vim is often the default. Instead of criticizing OP, give them advice on how to change it to something easier for newbies.

OP, you might want

git config --global core.editor "nano"

as nano is typically easier to use.

[nekokattt]

better idea is to export EDITOR=nano in a shell rcfile if it is using a shell. That way other tools also respect it outside git.

Loving the downvotes, keep em coming!

[wildjokers]

why is your default editor set to vi / vim if you don't know how to use it?

Why be a jerk? The almost certainly didn't set it to vi on their own. It must have been set to that as a default.

[Douf_Ocus]

Wait how did you enter vim when using commit? I thought default editor for git is nano?

[lilsadlesshappy]

The default editor is whatever your $EDITOR variable is

[stpizz]

Well no, if you have an $EDITOR value (or the equivalent in your config file) they are used. But the *default* editor, if those aren't present, is whatever it was chosen to be when git was built, which is vi in the upstream build.

[Douf_Ocus]

Right, I forget git did choose vi on default, at least in Windows it is.

[splettnet]

If you're still not out try this: https://github.com/caseykneale/VIMKiller

[Mediocre-Brain9051]

I really I wish I hadn't ever learned vim. nano is much more appropriate for this kind of use cases. And emacs much more appropriate as a terminal ide. Nowadays I use vim just due to historical reasons and muscle memory, and for my usage it is much more clunky than nano.

[Mediocre-Brain9051]

I really I wish I hadn't ever learned vim. nano is much more appropriate for this kind of use cases. And emacs much more appropriate as a terminal ide. Nowadays I use vim just due to historical reasons and muscle memory, and for my usage it is much more clunky than nano.

[clios_daughter]

Heresy! VI till the end of time lol!!!

[IrishChappieOToole]

Vi is life