How to use Visual Studio Code as Default Editor for Git MergeTool

Question

Today I was trying to use the git mergetool on Windows Command Prompt and realized that it was defaulting to use VIM, which is cool, but I'd prefer VSCode.

How can I have Visual Studio Code function as my GUI for handling merge conflicts (or even as a diffing tool) for Git?

Answer 1

As of VSCode 1.13 Better Merge was integrated into the core of VSCode.

The way to wire them together is to modify your .gitconfig and you have two options.

1. To do this with command line entries, enter each of these: (Note: replace " with ' on Windows Git Bash as clarified by Iztok Delfin and e4rache)

   1. git config --global merge.tool vscode
   2. git config --global mergetool.vscode.cmd "code --wait $MERGED"
   3. git config --global diff.tool vscode
   4. git config --global difftool.vscode.cmd "code --wait --diff $LOCAL $REMOTE"

2. To do this by pasting some line in the .gitconfig with VS Code.

   • Run git config --global core.editor "code --wait" from the command line.

   • From here you can enter the command git config --global -e. You will want to paste in the code in the "Extra Block" below.

     [user]
         name = EricDJohnson
         email = cool-email@neat.org
     [gui]
         recentrepo = E:/src/gitlab/App-Custom/Some-App
     # Comment: You just added this via 'git config --global core.editor "code --wait"'
     [core]
         editor = code --wait
     # Comment: Start of "Extra Block"
     # Comment: This is to unlock VSCode as your git diff and git merge tool    
     [merge]
         tool = vscode
     [mergetool "vscode"]
         cmd = code --wait $MERGED
     [diff]
         tool = vscode
     [difftool "vscode"]
         cmd = code --wait --diff $LOCAL $REMOTE
     # Comment: End of "Extra Block"
     

Now from with in your git directory with a conflict run git mergetool and, tada, you have VSCode helping you handle the merge conflict! (Just make sure to save your file before closing VSCode).

For further reading on launching code from the command line look in these docs.

For more info in git mergetool check out these docs.

Answer 2

I had to replace the double quotes with simple quotes:

  git config --global difftool.vscode.cmd 'code --wait --diff $LOCAL $REMOTE'

for it to work properly.
(with double quotes, $LOCAL and $REMOTE are replaced by their values)

This is needed if you are using Git Bash for Windows instead of Windows Command Prompt.