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GitHub Desktop

Configuring a default editor

In this article

You can configure GitHub Desktop to open files in your project with your preferred text editor or integrated development environment (IDE).

Supported editors

GitHub Desktop supports the following editors.

Configuring a default editor

  1. In the menu bar, select GitHub Desktop, then click Preferences. Screenshot of the menu bar on a Mac. Under the open "GitHub Desktop" dropdown menu, the cursor hovers over "Preferences", which is highlighted in blue.
  2. In the Preferences window, select Integrations. Screenshot of the "Preferences" window. In the left sidebar, the "Integrations" option is highlighted in blue and outlined in orange.
  3. Under "External Editor", use the dropdown menu to select the editor you want to set as your default.
  4. Click Save.
  1. Use the File menu, then click Options. The Options value in the Settings drop-down menu
  2. In the Options window, select Integrations. The Integrations pane in the Options window
  3. Use the "External Editor" drop-down menu, and choose the editor you want to set as your default. The External editor menu in the Options menu bar
  4. Click Save.