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GitHub Desktop supports launching your favorite external editor to work with repository files. Editors can be launched from the top-level Repository menu or by right-clicking a repository in the sidebar.

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Requirements

For an editor to be supported by GitHub Desktop, it must satisfy these requirements:
1

Directory support

The editor must support opening a directory, not just individual files.
2

Discoverable installation

The editor must be installed in a reliable, discoverable location on the user’s machine.
3

Command-line interface

The editor must provide a command-line interface that GitHub Desktop can launch.

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Supported Editors

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Windows

GitHub Desktop supports these editors on Windows:
  • Atom (Stable, Beta, and Nightly)
  • Visual Studio Code (Stable and Insiders)
  • VSCodium
  • Sublime Text
  • Notepad++
  • Typora
  • SlickEdit
  • Brackets
  • JetBrains IDEs:
    • IntelliJ IDEA
    • WebStorm
    • PhpStorm
    • PyCharm
    • RubyMine
    • CLion
    • GoLand
    • RustRover
    • Fleet
    • DataSpell
  • Android Studio
  • RStudio
  • Aptana Studio
  • ColdFusion Builder
  • Zed (Stable and Preview)
  • Pulsar
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf

​
macOS

Supported editors on macOS include:
  • Atom
  • Visual Studio Code (Stable and Insiders)
  • VSCodium
  • Sublime Text
  • BBEdit
  • TextMate
  • Brackets
  • MacVim
  • Neovide
  • VimR
  • Typora
  • CodeRunner
  • SlickEdit
  • Xcode
  • Emacs
  • Nova
  • Lite XL
  • JetBrains IDEs (All major IDEs)
  • Android Studio
  • RStudio
  • Aptana Studio
  • Eclipse (All IDE variants)
  • Pulsar
  • Cursor
  • Zed

​
Linux

Linux users can use these editors:
  • Atom
  • Visual Studio Code (Stable and Insiders)
  • VSCodium
  • Sublime Text
  • Typora
  • SlickEdit
  • Neovim
  • Neovide
  • Notepadqq
  • Mousepad
  • GNOME Builder
  • Code (elementary OS)
  • Lite XL
  • Kate
  • Emacs
  • Pluma
  • JetBrains IDEs (All major IDEs)
  • Android Studio
  • Pulsar
  • Zed

​
How Editor Detection Works

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Windows Registry Lookup

On Windows, GitHub Desktop finds editors using registry keys:
app/src/lib/editors/win32.ts
const editors: WindowsExternalEditor[] = [
  {
    name: 'Visual Studio Code',
    registryKeys: [
      // 64-bit version (user scope)
      CurrentUserUninstallKey('{771FD6B0-FA20-440A-A002-3B3BAC16DC50}_is1'),
      // 32-bit version (user scope)
      CurrentUserUninstallKey('{D628A17A-9713-46BF-8D57-E671B46A741E}_is1'),
      // ARM64 version (user scope)
      CurrentUserUninstallKey('{D9E514E7-1A56-452D-9337-2990C0DC4310}_is1'),
      // 64-bit version (system scope)
      LocalMachineUninstallKey('{EA457B21-F73E-494C-ACAB-524FDE069978}_is1'),
    ],
    displayNamePrefix: 'Microsoft Visual Studio Code',
    publisher: 'Microsoft Corporation',
    executableShimPaths: [['bin', 'code.cmd']],
  },
]
Registry keys are checked in multiple locations:
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

​
macOS Bundle Identifiers

On macOS, editors are located using their bundle identifiers:
app/src/lib/editors/darwin.ts
const editors: IDarwinExternalEditor[] = [
  {
    name: 'Visual Studio Code',
    bundleIdentifiers: ['com.microsoft.VSCode'],
  },
  {
    name: 'Visual Studio Code (Insiders)',
    bundleIdentifiers: ['com.microsoft.VSCodeInsiders'],
  },
  {
    name: 'Sublime Text',
    bundleIdentifiers: [
      'com.sublimetext.4',
      'com.sublimetext.3',
      'com.sublimetext.2',
    ],
  },
]
To find an editor’s bundle identifier, run:
defaults read /Applications/YourEditor.app/Contents/Info CFBundleIdentifier

​
Linux Executable Paths

On Linux, GitHub Desktop searches for executables in common installation paths:
app/src/lib/editors/linux.ts
const editors: ILinuxExternalEditor[] = [
  {
    name: 'Visual Studio Code',
    paths: [
      '/usr/share/code/bin/code',
      '/snap/bin/code',
      '/usr/bin/code',
    ],
  },
  {
    name: 'Sublime Text',
    paths: ['/usr/bin/subl'],
  },
]

​
Launching Editors

The launchExternalEditor function handles launching editors across all platforms:
app/src/lib/editors/launch.ts
export const launchExternalEditor = (
  fullPath: string,
  editor: FoundEditor
) => launchEditor(editor.path, [fullPath], `'${editor.editor}'`, __DARWIN__)

​
Launch Process

1

Verify editor exists

const exists = await pathExists(editorPath)
if (!exists) {
  throw new ExternalEditorError(
    `Could not find executable for ${editorName} at path '${editorPath}'.`,
    { openPreferences: true }
  )
}
2

Spawn editor process

const opts: SpawnOptions = {
  detached: true,  // Detach from GitHub Desktop
  stdio: 'ignore', // Don't capture output
}

const child = spawnAsDarwinApp
  ? spawn('open', ['-a', editorPath, ...args], opts)
  : spawn(editorPath, args, opts)

child.unref() // Don't wait for editor to exit
3

Handle errors

child.on('error', reject)
child.on('spawn', resolve)
Editors are spawned as detached processes so they continue running even if GitHub Desktop is closed.

​
JetBrains Toolbox Support

GitHub Desktop supports editors installed through JetBrains Toolbox: 
{
  name: 'JetBrains PyCharm',
  registryKeys: [...],
  jetBrainsToolboxScriptName: 'pycharm',
}
The integration checks for scripts in the default JetBrains Toolbox scripts directory.
Only add jetBrainsToolboxScriptName to the main edition of a product. JetBrains Toolbox generates scripts with the same name for different editions (Community vs Professional), so only one can be detected reliably.

​
Custom Editor Integration

You can configure custom editors that aren’t in the default list:
app/src/lib/editors/launch.ts
export const launchCustomExternalEditor = (
  fullPath: string,
  customEditor: ICustomIntegration
) => {
  const argv = parseCustomIntegrationArguments(customEditor.arguments)
  const args = expandTargetPathArgument(argv, fullPath)

  const spawnAsDarwinApp = __DARWIN__ && customEditor.bundleID !== undefined
  const editorName = `custom editor at path '${customEditor.path}'`

  return launchEditor(customEditor.path, args, editorName, spawnAsDarwinApp)
}

​
Custom Integration Interface

interface ICustomIntegration {
  path: string           // Path to editor executable
  arguments: string      // Command-line arguments
  bundleID?: string      // macOS bundle ID (optional)
}

​
Error Handling

Editor integration includes comprehensive error handling: 
throw new ExternalEditorError(
  `Could not find executable for ${editorName} at path '${editorPath}'.`,
  { openPreferences: true }
)
The openPreferences flag prompts users to check their editor settings when an error occurs.

​
Adding a New Editor

To add support for a new editor, follow these steps:
1

Add editor definition

Add an entry to the appropriate platform-specific file:
  • Windows: app/src/lib/editors/win32.ts
  • macOS: app/src/lib/editors/darwin.ts
  • Linux: app/src/lib/editors/linux.ts
2

Provide discovery information

Windows: Registry keys and validation:
{
  name: 'My Editor',
  registryKeys: [CurrentUserUninstallKey('{GUID}')],
  displayNamePrefix: 'My Editor',
  publisher: 'My Company',
  executableShimPaths: [['bin', 'myeditor.exe']],
}
macOS: Bundle identifier:
{
  name: 'My Editor',
  bundleIdentifiers: ['com.example.myeditor'],
}
Linux: Executable paths:
{
  name: 'My Editor',
  paths: ['/usr/bin/myeditor', '/snap/bin/myeditor'],
}
3

Test the integration

  1. Install the editor
  2. Build GitHub Desktop
  3. Check that the editor appears in Settings
  4. Test launching the editor with a repository

Contributing

Want to add support for your favorite editor? Contributions are welcome! See the editor integration technical docs for detailed instructions.

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