How to Set Vim as the Default Editor for Systemd on Ubuntu

Whether you’re editing crontab files, writing systemd service overrides, or simply tired of being greeted by nano, setting Vim as your default editor can make life in Ubuntu far more pleasant.

Ubuntu offers several ways to set Vim as the default editor — for your user account, for all users system-wide, and specifically for commands like systemctl edit. In this guide, we’ll go through each method in detail, so you can choose the one that fits your workflow best.

1. Setting Vim as the Default Editor for Your User

This is the simplest and most common approach. It affects your account only and applies to commands that respect the $EDITOR or $VISUAL environment variables — such as crontab -e, git commit, or sudoedit.

Step 1: Run select-editor

Ubuntu includes a handy utility named select-editor. It allows you to choose your preferred text editor interactively.
Open a terminal and type:

select-editor

You’ll see a list of installed editors similar to this:

Select an editor.  To change later, run 'select-editor'.

  1. /bin/nano        <---- easiest
  2. /usr/bin/vim.basic
  3. /usr/bin/vim.tiny

Choose 1-3 [1]: 

Type the number corresponding to your preferred version of Vim (for example, 2 for /usr/bin/vim.basic) and press Enter.

That’s it! Your selection is saved to ~/.selected_editor, a hidden file in your home directory.

You can verify the setting by displaying the file:

cat ~/.selected_editor

You should see something like:

SELECTED_EDITOR="/usr/bin/vim.basic"

Now, any command that respects the system’s default editor setting will automatically open files in Vim.

2. Setting Vim as the System-Wide Default Editor

If you’re managing a multi-user system or want every user (including root) to default to Vim, use the update-alternatives mechanism.

Step 1: Run the update-alternatives Command

This tool manages symbolic links for common system commands — including the generic name editor.
To configure it, run:

sudo update-alternatives --config editor

You’ll get a list of all editors registered in the system alternatives system:

There are 3 choices for the alternative editor (providing /usr/bin/editor).

  Selection    Path                Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0            /bin/nano            40        auto mode
  1            /bin/nano            40        manual mode
  2            /usr/bin/vim.basic   30        manual mode
  3            /usr/bin/vim.tiny    10        manual mode

Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: 

Enter the number for Vim (usually 2) and press Enter.

From now on, any command or script that calls the generic editor binary — such as visudo, crontab, or system maintenance tools — will open Vim instead of nano.

You can test this with:

sudo update-alternatives --display editor

This will show the currently configured default editor and where the symbolic link points.

3. Setting Vim for systemctl edit

When you edit or override systemd services with systemctl edit, Ubuntu doesn’t use the general $EDITOR or $VISUAL variable directly.
Instead, systemd uses its own dedicated environment variable: SYSTEMD_EDITOR.

This means you can control which editor systemd uses independently of your normal system editor.

Method A: Temporary Change

If you want to use Vim for a single systemctl edit session, simply prefix the command with the environment variable assignment:

sudo SYSTEMD_EDITOR=vim systemctl edit ollama.service

This change is temporary — it applies only to this single command execution.

Method B: Permanent Change (for Your User)

To make Vim the permanent editor for all systemctl edit commands in your user environment, add the following line to your shell configuration file (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):

export SYSTEMD_EDITOR=vim

Then, reload your shell configuration:

source ~/.bashrc

Now any future systemctl edit command will open Vim automatically.

Method C: Permanent Change for Root

If you use sudo systemctl edit, the editor is determined by root’s environment, not your user’s. To set it permanently for the root user:

1. Start an interactive root shell:
   1. sudo -i
2. Open root’s .bashrc file:
   1. sudo vim /root/.bashrc
3. Add this line at the end of the file:
   1. export SYSTEMD_EDITOR=vim
4. Save and exit.
5. Start a new shell session for root (or reboot) to apply the change.

From now on, even when editing services with elevated privileges, systemd will always use Vim.

4. Alternative: Setting Vim Using Environment Variables

If you prefer a more manual approach (or you want maximum control over which editor different tools use), you can define your preferred editors via environment variables.

Add the following lines to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or system-wide /etc/environment file:

export EDITOR=vim
export VISUAL=vim

Then reload your shell configuration:

source ~/.bashrc

Explanation of Variables

• EDITOR — the default editor used by most CLI programs.
• VISUAL — used by some graphical terminal-based programs that need a more “visual” editor.

Defining both ensures consistent behavior across all applications.

5. Troubleshooting Common Issues

5.1 Vim Isn’t Listed in select-editor

If Vim doesn’t appear in the list of editors, make sure it’s installed:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install vim -y

After installation, run select-editor again.

5.2 systemctl edit Still Opens Nano

If systemctl edit keeps opening nano, check which editor variables are active:

echo $SYSTEMD_EDITOR
echo $EDITOR

If both are empty, export the correct one again and reload your configuration.

5.3 The Change Doesn’t Persist After Reboot

Ensure your environment variable export lines are placed in your shell’s startup file (~/.bashrc or /root/.bashrc for root).
You can verify this with:

grep EDITOR ~/.bashrc

6. System-Wide Configuration via /etc/environment

If you want every user and every shell to default to Vim, you can add the environment variables globally:

sudo vim /etc/environment

Add these lines:

EDITOR=vim
VISUAL=vim
SYSTEMD_EDITOR=vim

Save and exit.
This ensures that all future sessions — for all users — will recognize Vim as the default editor.

7. Quick Reference Summary

Conclusion

Switching from nano to Vim might seem like a small change, but for anyone who spends time in the terminal, it’s a massive quality-of-life upgrade.

Whether you prefer a simple per-user tweak, a global system setting, or a fine-tuned configuration for systemd services, Ubuntu provides flexible tools to make Vim your editor of choice — everywhere.

So go ahead, make the switch — and never fumble for Ctrl+X again 😄.