Please enter a commit message to explain why this merge is necessary, especially if it merges an updated upstream into a topic branch

Question

I am using Git. I did a pull from a remote repo and got an error message:

Please enter a commit message to explain why this merge is necessary,
especially if it merges an updated upstream into a topic branch.

I try to type a message and press Enter but nothing happens.

How do I tell Git/Terminal I am done typing in my message?

I am using Terminal on OS X.

Bushranger

It appears that your GIT is configured to open a pre-configured template and that template is getting opened through default editor (vi/vim). – Weismannism

Form me "Shift ZZ" solves the issue – Novena

Yeah it works for me as well, @Novena how does it work? – Soong

See also: https://mcmap.net/q/13683/-how-do-i-exit-vim – Imitation

Answer 1

The commit message is from Git, but it is actually the editor that keeps you from quitting. This is because Git uses your default editor, which for a variety of reasons is usually set to vi (it might be something else on your OS, like pico).

To write a commit message and get out of VI, follow these steps:

1. press i (i for insert)
2. write your merge message
3. press esc (escape)
4. write :wq (write & quit)
5. then press enter

You can also configure Git to use another editor to avoid having to use VI (or its close cousin VIM).

Vallejo

Ok, but this is assuming his editor is vi or vim. – Yoon

that's hella complicated – Helainehelali

I'm using Terminal for on Mac (Yosemite) and this solution worked for me. – Individuation

If it helps anyone, the way you remember this is that "i" is for "insert", "esc" is the exit the insertion, and ":wq" is just "write" and "quit". – Pineda

To make life easier just follow step-4: write ":wq" then press enter – Reaganreagen

@JoshBeam ahhh, maybe now (following your memory suggestion) I can finally stop coming to this answer repeatedly! – Condyloid

I'm seeing the same issue. Commit and push from box A, pull from box B Box B says that includes a merge so I include the message like in the answer above. Once I do so "git status" after that B says I'm ahead by 1 commit so the process repeats. I have to push from box B even though "git diff" shows there are no differences to be able to do a subsequent pull. – Sleigh

@Wooble Why did this happen in the first place? I just did git merge master as always... – Mccue

This answer is still relevant till this moment. – Selfheal

This might as well be ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA – Touchback

Or ":x" to eXit – Tarrsus

'Enter :wq'. This is without the doubt the single least intuitive thing that has ever been designed by anyone ever. How on earth would anyone work out how to do that??!!!!! Jeeezzzz – Unchartered

To switch the default editor for git to nano run this command: git config --global core.editor "nano" – Finedrawn

Could you please explain these 2 steps :- 1. press "i" 2. press "esc" 3. write ":wq" What is the meaning of these shortcuts. – Nova

@Vallejo Working fine. But could you please explain each steps meaning. I just want to know in details. – Nova

Hi, @Nova press "i" i: Insert to insert text message for your commit, press "esc" esc: escape after finish write mode, and wanna go out, write ":wq" wq: write-quite it write and save your message then quite vim, then press enter – Vallejo

Why is this appearing suddendly? I didn't have it on the last 10 commits. – Folger

@Folger this happen when you merge with another branch, for example: suppose your current branch name is xx, and you want to merge it with yy, then your write : git pull origin yy ..... in this message will appear. – Vallejo

@hipoglucido There is nothing that says you have to have to use Vim! Just configure Git to use a different editor; one you like. See my answer for how. – Opalopalesce

You literally have to enter the launch codes just to commit... you should just be able to press enter and be done. – Dupondius

For everyone confused: this sequence has nothing to do with Git. Git sometimes has to ask you for a commit message (try git commit without providing a message, and the same should happen), and it does so by opening the text editor set in Git as default. On Linux-based OSes, this is generally Vim: a text editor that focuses on doing stuff with minimal keystrokes. The instructions in this answer are keystrokes for writing the message, saving and exiting the editor. Agreed, it looks weird if you've never used Vim, but this weird-looking sequence really has nothing to do with Git. – Gerry

@WesleySmith I though so, this is like executing a Fatality on MK 2 in the 90s, except one wrong key, and the fatality end up on ourselves. Nevertheless this worked fine for me in Android Studio Terminal for Mac. – Verniavernice

write ":wq" means that when you type ":" it starts typing in the lower line, there you will type "wq". it was not obvious for me – Kendre

Can someone please explain why git is using vim at all? Are we going to be stuck in the stone ages for forever or are we going to replace these old, clunky designs with better, more intuitive systems? – Pyroconductivity

@JohnMiller That's not hard to answer at all. Git does not care what editor you use, but it needs to use something. What editor is present in every operating system you can think of? The ubuquitous answer on Unix-like operating systems is vi. Neither nano, micro, pico or emacs can say that. And a GUI editor would be a no go. That's why every programmer should know the basics. And since this is dead easy to configure for the user to use something else, it's much better to consult the user's preferences than to think of complicated per-operating system rules. – Opalopalesce

The exact launch codes of Artemis I to the moon :) – Swept

Answer 2

Actually it's not an error! It means you should enter some message to mark this merge.

My OS is Ubuntu 14.04. If you use the same OS, you just need to do this as follows:

1. Type some message

2. CtrlCO

3. Type the file name (such as "Merge_feature01") and press Enter

4. CtrlX to exit

Now if you go to .git and you will find the file "Merge_feature01", that's the merge log actually.

Caaba

I wonder how someone would know this? It's so strange how this works. Thanks for answering this. – Leboeuf

@ScottyBlades why on earth should it? the question is tagged osx, and this answer concerns how Ubuntu sets up an entirely different setup for Git (using nano or pico), which is not applicable to the OS X setup. It is in no way generalizable and also doesn't provide insight into how it works, hence the comment left by @AdrianCarr. There are far better answers now. – Opalopalesce

What is the name of the editor that corresponds to this answer? – Tarboosh

It looks vaguely like this assumes your editor is nano. It has an obnoxious bar across the bottom which tells you some of the keyboard shortcuts. – Transvestite

Answer 3

tl;dr ✨ Use an $EDITOR that you like! ✨

The fix is not to memorize cryptic commands, like in the accepted answer, but configuring Git to use an editor that you like and understand!

The underlying problem is that Git by default uses an editor that is too unintuitive to use for most people: Vim. This is because Vim is present everywhere, not because it is user friendly 😄 Now, don't get me wrong, I ❤️ Vim, and while you could set some time aside to learn Vim and try to understand why some people think Vim is the greatest editor in existence, there is a quicker way of fixing this problem :-)

It's really as simple as configuring either of these options

1. the git config setting core.editor (per project, or globally)
2. the VISUAL or EDITOR environment variable (this works for other programs as well). Typically stuffing export VISUAL="vscode --wait" into your .bashrc or similar config.

I'll cover the first option for a couple of popular editors, but GitHub has an excellent guide on this for many editors as well.

🔥 To use Atom

Straight from its docs, enter this in a terminal:

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

Git normally wait for the editor command to finish before progressing, but since Atom forks to a background process immediately, this won't work, unless you give it the --wait option. This makes it stay as a foreground process, just as we want.

🦄 To use Sublime Text

For the same reasons as in the Atom case, you need a special flag to signal to the process that it shouldn't fork to the background:

git config --global core.editor "subl -n -w"

🤓 To use Visual Studio Code

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

Opalopalesce

Vim doesn't take a month. it takes two days and you never forget as long as you keep a handy cheat sheet you'll need from time to time, at first. – Wassail

Use a CUA terminal editor like micro: micro-editor.github.io – Trebizond

"This is because Vim is present everywhere" - OSes may or may not come with vim (vi improved); it's classic vi that's everywhere. Also worth noting: defaulting to vi is not a git thing; git is simply using the OS default, which is commonly vi on Unices such as Linux and MacOS. – Iinden

Answer 4

Just Do,

CTRL + X

CTRL + C

It will ask you to save file, Press Y, then you are done.

Horner

This is if your default editor is "pico" or "nano" The above comments should be used if your default editor is vim. – Fredia

For some reason my default editor was "nano" and I wasn't able to escape to command and write ":wq" as in vim, not sure if nano even supports this. ctrl + x and ctrl + c worked in my case, Ubuntu 20 – Palestra

Answer 5

Instead, you could git CtrlZ and retry the commit but this time add " -m " with a message in quotes after it, then it will commit without prompting you with that page.

Stuffed

lol this would definitely solve the OP's problem. git commit -m 'I did blah' – Amain

I have git version 1.7.11.4 on a linux terminal, and despite the fact that I give git commit -m "message" or git commit --message "message", still the editor pop ups from time to time, requesting a message. Does anybody knows why the "-m" switch is ignored? – Samala

Answer 6

Since your local repository is few commits ahead, git tries to merge your remote to your local repo. This can be handled via merge, but in your case, perhaps you are looking for rebase, i.e. add your commit to the top. You can do this with

git rebase or git pull --rebase

Here is a good article explaining the difference between git pull & git pull --rebase.

https://www.derekgourlay.com/blog/git-when-to-merge-vs-when-to-rebase/

Presignify

This has nothing to do with this issue directly: "How do I tell Git/Terminal I am done typing in my message?". The user needs to set his editor in the global git config or set the EDITOR variable. – Opalopalesce

Answer 7

In my case i got this message after merge. Decision: press esc, after this type :qa!

Rhyolite

Is this really a helpful answer after over 6 years?... – Loria

I think so, because i because I ran into these yesterday – Rhyolite

This is superfluous and covered by the accepted answer. – Opalopalesce

Answer 8

In my case, I got this error while using IntelliJ (code editor - nano) on a Linux operating system. The way I solved it is by going through the following steps:

1. Push " Ctrl + X "
2. Type " Y " 
3. Hit "Enter" on your keyboard

Violet

Answer 9

can try this :

git pull --no-edit

Jaquenette

This does not present an answer to the question: "How do I tell Git/Terminal I am done typing in my message?" – Opalopalesce

It shows how to bypass the issue completely. IMO a legit answer. – Koziarz