Why does the “git merge” command open the nano editor instead of performing the merge?

Why does the "git merge" command open the nano editor instead of performing the merge?

When you execute the "git merge" command in your terminal and it opens the nano editor instead of performing the merge, it is likely because Git is prompting you to enter a commit message for the merge. Git requires a commit message to be provided whenever a merge operation is performed, and it defaults to using the nano editor for you to input the message.

To address this issue, you can simply enter your merge commit message in the nano editor, save and close the editor, and the merge operation will then be completed. If you prefer to use a different text editor for commit messages, you can configure Git to use a different editor by setting the core.editor configuration variable in your Git configuration.

It is important to always provide a descriptive and meaningful commit message when performing merges in Git, as it helps to keep your version control history clean and understandable for yourself and other collaborators.