git var

Editor, pager, default branch — what Git thinks they are.

🎯 What & why

git var prints the values of Git's internal variables - editor, pager, default branch, identities. Tells you what Git actually thinks they are after all the config layering.

🧠 Mental model

Resolves config + env + compiled-in defaults for a small set of named variables and prints them. Read-only window into Git's effective settings, not arbitrary config keys.

🛠️ Synopsis

git var (-l | --list)
git var <variable>

🎚️ Switches & options

Flag	What it does
`-l, --list`	Print every known variable as KEY=value, like 'env' output.
`GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT`	The author identity Git would use right now (name, email, time).
`GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT`	The committer identity Git would use right now.
`GIT_EDITOR`	The editor Git will launch (commit messages, interactive rebase, etc.).
`GIT_PAGER`	The pager command Git will pipe long output into.
`GIT_DEFAULT_BRANCH`	The branch name 'git init' would create (e.g. 'main').
`GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY`	Path to .git/objects (or override).
`GIT_INDEX_FILE`	Path to the index file in use.

💡 Use cases

Debug 'why is git launching nano?' - check GIT_EDITOR.
Confirm which name/email a commit will carry before pushing.
Verify what 'git init' will name the default branch on this machine.
Sanity-check that GIT_DIR / GIT_INDEX_FILE point where you expect inside scripts.

🧪 Examples

Show every known variable

git var -l

Which editor will git use?

git var GIT_EDITOR

Author identity right now

git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT

Default branch for new repos

git var GIT_DEFAULT_BRANCH

🎓 Recommendations

Reach for 'git var GIT_EDITOR' before editing config when an unexpected editor pops up.
Use 'git var -l' alongside 'git config --list --show-origin' to fully diagnose config layering.
Prefer git var over manually echoing $EDITOR / $VISUAL - Git's resolution order is its own.

🪤 Common pitfalls

git var only knows a fixed set of variables - it's not a generic config getter.
GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT changes every second (timestamp is included), so don't snapshot it for comparisons.
Some variables resolve only inside a repo (e.g. GIT_INDEX_FILE) and error elsewhere.

🔗 Related modules

📝 Quiz

Hit each option, then Check answers. Score is recorded; Next is always open.