write_scrollback_file:open to use $EDITOR

[NishantJoshi00]

The write_scrollback_file:open command opens the scrollback in my OS default text editor.
Going through the code:

ghostty/src/Surface.zig

Lines 4184 to 4190 in ffc4c6e

	switch (write_action) {
	.open => try internal_os.open(self.alloc, path),
	.paste => self.io.queueMessage(try termio.Message.writeReq(
	self.alloc,
	path,
	), .unlocked),
	}

It does seem to be the intended behavior, but would it be possible to instead open it in $EDITOR. In my case neovim.

[mitchellh]

Related: #2111

[mitchellh]

As a design for this feature: I don't think this needs a new enum value for write_scrollback_file. I think we can default open to use EDITOR if it's set and fallback to open if it's not set. I think the rules can likely be slightly more complex than that but that could be the general idea.

The original idea behind using open was that we avoided a broken terminal situation; you could edit your config even if your config made Ghostty unusable for some reason. I think in practice this hasn't been a real issue since Ghostty is fairly resilient to configuration issues.

[grimm26]

@NishantJoshi00 I also use neovim and you just need a desktop file to set filetypes for neovim and then set it as the default.

❯ cat ~/.local/share/applications/nvim.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Neovim
Categories=Utility;TextEditor;
Comment=Neovim Text Editor
Exec=nvim %F
Icon=gvim
Keywords=Text;editor;
MimeType=text/english;text/plain;text/x-makefile;text/x-c++hdr;text/x-c++src;text/x-chdr;text/x-csrc;text/x-java;text/x-moc;text/x-pascal;text/x-tcl;text/x-tex;application/x-shellscript;text/x-c;text/x-c++;
StartupNotify=false
Terminal=true
Type=Application

Then set nvim as the default for plain text (assuming linux):

❯ xdg-mime default nvim.desktop text/plain

[ttys3]

I think using xdg-open is good

[xulongwu4]

@NishantJoshi00 I also use neovim and you just need a desktop file to set filetypes for neovim and then set it as the default.

❯ cat ~/.local/share/applications/nvim.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Neovim
Categories=Utility;TextEditor;
Comment=Neovim Text Editor
Exec=nvim %F
Icon=gvim
Keywords=Text;editor;
MimeType=text/english;text/plain;text/x-makefile;text/x-c++hdr;text/x-c++src;text/x-chdr;text/x-csrc;text/x-java;text/x-moc;text/x-pascal;text/x-tcl;text/x-tex;application/x-shellscript;text/x-c;text/x-c++;
StartupNotify=false
Terminal=true
Type=Application

Then set nvim as the default for plain text (assuming linux):

❯ xdg-mime default nvim.desktop text/plain

@grimm26 You suggestion seems to only work when the current ghostty terminal instance is spawned by another terminal instance? This is also mentioned in this issue: #3334 (comment)

[grimm26]

@grimm26 You suggestion seems to only work when the current ghostty terminal instance is spawned by another terminal instance? This is also mentioned in this issue: #3334 (comment)

Very strange. This was working when I launch ghostty from the panel (Mint Linux 22), not from within another terminal. I had launched ghostty from another terminal previously in the same X session. Maybe I was using the same ghostty session?

I rebooted to start fresh and write_scrollback_file action did NOT work in ghostty started from the panel.
The other funny thing is that the open_config action does work.

[ScriptAlchemist]

I decided to look at the code and see if I can make the required edit. I found the open command in the os/open.zig after digging around for a bit. It seems adding the $EDITOR check there would be quick and simple