Ubuntu and Linux Mint use nano as their default editor. You’ll see it if you try to edit crontab or visudo. Now, there’s nothing wrong with nano, but I prefer using vim instead. Here’s how to change the default editor.
sudo update-alternatives --config editor |
You’ll be prompted to change the default editor.
There are 4 choices for the alternative editor (providing /usr/bin/editor). Selection Path Priority Status ------------------------------------------------------------ 0 /bin/nano 40 auto mode 1 /bin/ed -100 manual mode 2 /bin/nano 40 manual mode * 3 /usr/bin/vim.basic 30 manual mode 4 /usr/bin/vim.tiny 15 manual mode Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: |
Type 3 to choose vim basic.