# Problem Creating Commit Messages

4 messages from 2009-03-27 to 2009-03-27. Participants: bggy, Geoffrey Lee, John Tapsell, Jonas Flodén.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/18583

## bggy, 2009-03-27 04:44

Subject: Problem Creating Commit Messages
Message-ID: <22735968.post@talk.nabble.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/22735968.post%40talk.nabble.com

```

Hello, I'm new to git and I haven't been able to create commit messages in
either vim or textmate(changed core.editor to mate).  I can create commit
messages when I use the -m option, but I like creating multiple-line
messages and it's easier to do it with a fresh line-break in the terminal.

Using textmate I saved and closed the textmate file that pops up after $git
commit -a, but git responds that the commit was terminated due to an empty
message.

I am not familiar with VIM, can change modes, but none of the key combos I
tried worked.

Thank you!,
John
-- 
View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Problem-Creating-Commit-Messages-tp22735968p22735968.html
Sent from the git mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

```

## Geoffrey Lee, 2009-03-27 05:18

Subject: Re: Problem Creating Commit Messages
Message-ID: <83d7aaa40903262218m17866090iece805b454d4462@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/83d7aaa40903262218m17866090iece805b454d4462%40mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To: <22735968.post@talk.nabble.com>

```
On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 9:44 PM, bggy <balishaggy@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I am not familiar with VIM, can change modes, but none of the key combos I
> tried worked.

1) Press "i" to enter Insert mode
2) Type in some text on the first line
3) Press "esc" to leave Insert mode
4) Press Shift + ; (or in other words, the colon character)
5) Enter the characters "wq" without the quotes, and press Enter. ("w"
for write, "q" for quit)

-Geoffrey Lee

```

## John Tapsell, 2009-03-27 06:08

Subject: Re: Problem Creating Commit Messages
Message-ID: <43d8ce650903262308s2ebb5740m106bd96ae1ec2284@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/43d8ce650903262308s2ebb5740m106bd96ae1ec2284%40mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To: <22735968.post@talk.nabble.com>

```
2009/3/27 bggy <balishaggy@yahoo.com>:
>
> Hello, I'm new to git and I haven't been able to create commit messages in
> either vim or textmate(changed core.editor to mate).  I can create commit
> messages when I use the -m option, but I like creating multiple-line
> messages and it's easier to do it with a fresh line-break in the terminal.

You could use a simple text editor like "joe".

> Using textmate I saved and closed the textmate file that pops up after $git
> commit -a, but git responds that the commit was terminated due to an empty
> message.

Sometimes graphical editors return on the command line before they
actually quit.  This might be what is happening here.  If so, you
could file a bug against textmate.

John

```

## Jonas Flodén, 2009-03-27 07:56

Subject: Re: Problem Creating Commit Messages
Message-ID: <gqi0qn$i3k$1@ger.gmane.org>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/gqi0qn%24i3k%241%40ger.gmane.org
In-Reply-To: <22735968.post@talk.nabble.com>

```
bggy wrote:
> Hello, I'm new to git and I haven't been able to create commit messages in
> either vim or textmate(changed core.editor to mate).  I can create commit
> messages when I use the -m option, but I like creating multiple-line
> messages and it's easier to do it with a fresh line-break in the terminal.
> 
> Using textmate I saved and closed the textmate file that pops up after $git
> commit -a, but git responds that the commit was terminated due to an empty
> message.
> 

Hi there,
For TextMate to work with Git you need to add the option -w to "mate"
which will specify that it should wait for the file to be closed.

So set EDITOR="mate -w" and it should work with TextMate.


With regards,
Jonas

```