edit

Edit action can be used to view any file on default mailcap explorer

$ edit [filename]

$ run-mailcap --action=edit [filename]

edit [file1] [file2] ...

The `edit` command is a utility designed to launch a text editor on one or more specified files. Its primary function is to simplify the process of directly modifying files from the command line. The `edit` command relies on the EDITOR environment variable to determine which text editor to use. If the EDITOR variable is not set, it will use a default editor such as `vi` or `nano` (the behavior may vary depending on the specific system and implementation). The `edit` command is useful for quick modifications to configuration files, source code, or any other text-based document directly within a terminal session. It streamlines the workflow by abstracting away the need to manually invoke the editor with the filename as an argument, reducing the chances of typos or errors. While convenient, the `edit` command's behavior is highly dependent on the configured EDITOR and the capabilities of that editor.

Note: In some systems, the `edit` command is not a standard command but a shell function or alias defined in the user's shell configuration. Check your system's documentation or shell configuration files for precise details.

The `edit` command's behavior depends heavily on the EDITOR environment variable and the availability of the specified editor. If EDITOR is not set or the editor is not found, the command may fail or invoke an unexpected editor. It performs operations on the actual files, so it's important to be careful when editing important configurations.

The `edit` command relies on the EDITOR environment variable to determine the text editor to use. You can set this variable in your shell configuration file (e.g., .bashrc, .zshrc) to specify your preferred editor. For example, to set the editor to `nano`, you can add the line `export EDITOR=nano` to your shell configuration.

If the `edit` command is not available on your system, you can achieve the same effect by directly invoking the desired editor with the filename as an argument. For example, instead of `edit myfile.txt`, you could use `nano myfile.txt` or `vi myfile.txt`.

The `edit` command's history is somewhat variable. It is not a universally standard command present across all Linux distributions or UNIX-like systems. Its presence and behavior often depend on specific shell configurations (e.g., .bashrc, .zshrc) where it might be implemented as an alias or shell function. The fundamental idea behind `edit` is to provide a convenient shorthand for opening files in a text editor, improving command-line workflow.

vi(1), nano(1), emacs(1)