External Editor Integration

January 17, 2026 · View on GitHub

Edit request bodies and headers in your preferred text editor with full syntax highlighting and editor features.

Overview

LazyCurl can launch external editors (vim, VS Code, nano, etc.) to edit request content. This is useful for:

Editing large JSON payloads
Using editor-specific features (snippets, formatting)
Familiar editing environment

Quick Start

Set your preferred editor:

export VISUAL="vim"
# or
export EDITOR="nano"

In INSERT mode, press Ctrl+E
Edit content in your editor
Save and exit
Content is updated in LazyCurl

Configuration

Environment Variables

LazyCurl checks these variables in order:

Variable	Priority	Description
`$VISUAL`	1st	Preferred editor (supports GUI)
`$EDITOR`	2nd	Fallback editor
Built-in	3rd	`nano` → `vi` (first found)

Editor Examples

Terminal Editors:

export VISUAL="vim"
export VISUAL="nvim"
export VISUAL="nano"
export VISUAL="emacs"
export VISUAL="micro"

GUI Editors:

# VS Code (--wait is required)
export VISUAL="code --wait"

# Sublime Text
export VISUAL="subl --wait"

# Atom (deprecated)
export VISUAL="atom --wait"

# gedit
export VISUAL="gedit"

Important: GUI editors must use --wait flag to block until file is closed.

Usage

Keybinding

Context	Key	Action
INSERT mode (Body)	`Ctrl+E`	Open body in external editor
INSERT mode (Headers)	`Ctrl+E`	Open headers in external editor

Workflow

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. Press Ctrl+E in INSERT mode                     │
│                    ↓                                │
│  2. LazyCurl creates temp file with content         │
│                    ↓                                │
│  3. Editor opens with appropriate extension         │
│     (.json, .xml, .txt based on content)            │
│                    ↓                                │
│  4. Edit content, save, and exit editor             │
│                    ↓                                │
│  5. LazyCurl reads updated content                  │
│                    ↓                                │
│  6. Temp file is cleaned up                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Content Type Detection

LazyCurl automatically detects content type and uses appropriate file extension:

Content Pattern	Extension	Example
Starts with `{` or `[`	`.json`	JSON objects/arrays
Starts with `<?xml`	`.xml`	XML documents
Starts with `<!doctype` or `<html>`	`.html`	HTML documents
Other	`.txt`	Plain text

This enables:

Syntax highlighting in editors
Format-specific plugins/extensions
Auto-formatting on save

Headers Editing

When editing headers, they are serialized as text:

Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
X-Custom-Header: value

Edit as plain text, one header per line in Name: Value format.

Error Handling

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
"No editor configured"	`$VISUAL` and `$EDITOR` not set	Set environment variable
"Editor not found"	Editor binary not in PATH	Install editor or fix PATH
"Editor exited with error"	Editor crashed or error	Check editor logs

Error Messages

LazyCurl shows clear error messages in the statusbar:

Editor not found: vim - Editor binary not installed
No editor configured - Set $VISUAL or $EDITOR
Failed to create temp file - Disk/permission issue

Advanced Usage

Using Different Editors per Content Type

While not directly supported, you can use wrapper scripts:

#!/bin/bash
# ~/bin/smart-editor
case "\$1" in
  *.json) code --wait "\$1" ;;
  *.xml)  vim "\$1" ;;
  *)      nano "\$1" ;;
esac

export VISUAL="~/bin/smart-editor"

SSH Remote Editing

For remote development, ensure your editor supports remote files:

# VS Code Remote
export VISUAL="code --wait --remote ssh-remote+myserver"

Troubleshooting

Editor Opens But Content Not Updated

Cause: Editor exited before file was saved.

Solution: Ensure you save (:w in vim, Ctrl+S in others) before exiting.

GUI Editor Opens New Window

Cause: Missing --wait flag.

Solution: Add --wait to your editor command:

export VISUAL="code --wait"

Content Lost After Edit

Cause: Editor crashed or force-quit.

Solution: Temp files are in system temp directory. Check for recovery.

Wrong Syntax Highlighting

Cause: Content type detection failed.

Solution: Content type is detected from content start. Ensure valid JSON/XML prefix.

Technical Details

Temp File Location

macOS: /var/folders/.../lazycurl-*.ext
Linux: /tmp/lazycurl-*.ext
Windows: %TEMP%\lazycurl-*.ext

File Lifecycle

Create: Content written to temp file
Edit: Editor process launched (TUI suspended)
Read: Content read back after editor exits
Cleanup: Temp file deleted

Process Handling

TUI is suspended during editing (tea.ExecProcess)
Editor runs in foreground with full terminal control
Exit code 0 indicates success
Non-zero exit code shows error message