diff --git a/hermes_cli/config.py b/hermes_cli/config.py
index cb6753864f..424d394d74 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/config.py
@@ -4708,11 +4708,19 @@ def edit_config():
     
     # Find editor
     editor = os.getenv('EDITOR') or os.getenv('VISUAL')
-    
+
     if not editor:
-        # Try common editors
-        for cmd in ['nano', 'vim', 'vi', 'code', 'notepad']:
-            import shutil
+        # Try common editors — order is platform-aware so Windows users
+        # land on a working editor (notepad) even without Git Bash or nano
+        # installed.  On POSIX, prefer nano/vim over code/notepad because
+        # it's more likely to be present on headless / server systems.
+        import shutil
+        import sys as _sys
+        if _sys.platform == "win32":
+            candidates = ['notepad', 'code', 'vim', 'vi', 'nano']
+        else:
+            candidates = ['nano', 'vim', 'vi', 'code', 'notepad']
+        for cmd in candidates:
             if shutil.which(cmd):
                 editor = cmd
                 break
diff --git a/hermes_cli/stdio.py b/hermes_cli/stdio.py
index cfa27e2cab..e010304d98 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/stdio.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/stdio.py
@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ def configure_windows_stdio() -> bool:
 
     Set ``HERMES_DISABLE_WINDOWS_UTF8=1`` in the environment to opt out
     (for diagnosing encoding-related bugs by forcing the old cp1252 path).
+
+    Also sets a sensible default ``EDITOR`` on Windows if none is already
+    set — see :func:`_default_windows_editor`.
     """
     global _CONFIGURED
 
@@ -114,6 +117,16 @@ def configure_windows_stdio() -> bool:
     # (PEP 540).  Again, don't override an explicit setting.
     os.environ.setdefault("PYTHONUTF8", "1")
 
+    # Set EDITOR to a working Windows default if neither EDITOR nor VISUAL
+    # is set.  prompt_toolkit's ``open_in_editor`` falls back to POSIX-only
+    # paths (``/usr/bin/nano``, ``/usr/bin/vi``) that don't exist on
+    # Windows — Ctrl+X Ctrl+E and ``/edit`` silently do nothing there
+    # otherwise.  This happens even with full Git for Windows installed,
+    # so it's not a MinGit-specific issue.
+    _default_editor = _default_windows_editor()
+    if _default_editor and not os.environ.get("EDITOR") and not os.environ.get("VISUAL"):
+        os.environ["EDITOR"] = _default_editor
+
     # Flip the console code page first so that any subprocess that
     # inherits the console (e.g. a launched shell) also sees CP_UTF8.
     _flip_console_code_page_to_utf8()
@@ -132,3 +145,36 @@ def configure_windows_stdio() -> bool:
 
     _CONFIGURED = True
     return True
+
+
+def _default_windows_editor() -> str:
+    """Return a Windows-appropriate default for ``$EDITOR``.
+
+    Priority order, first match wins:
+
+    1. ``notepad`` — ships with every Windows install, no deps, works as a
+       blocking editor (``subprocess.call(["notepad", file])`` blocks until
+       the user closes the window).  This is the "always-works" default.
+
+    The prompt_toolkit buffer's ``open_in_editor`` and Hermes's
+    ``hermes config edit`` both honour ``$EDITOR``.  Users who prefer a
+    different editor can override:
+
+    - VSCode: ``$env:EDITOR = "code --wait"``  (``--wait`` is critical;
+      without it the editor returns immediately and any input is lost)
+    - Notepad++: ``$env:EDITOR = "'C:\\Program Files\\Notepad++\\notepad++.exe' -multiInst -nosession"``
+    - Neovim: ``$env:EDITOR = "nvim"``  (if installed)
+
+    Set this before launching Hermes (User env var in Windows Settings, or
+    export in a PowerShell profile) and Hermes picks it up automatically.
+    """
+    import shutil
+
+    # notepad.exe is always in %SystemRoot%\System32 on Windows, so shutil.which
+    # will reliably find it.  Return the bare name so prompt_toolkit's shlex
+    # split doesn't trip over a path containing spaces.
+    if shutil.which("notepad"):
+        return "notepad"
+    # On the extreme off-chance notepad is missing (WinPE, Nano Server), fall
+    # back to nothing and let prompt_toolkit's silent no-op do its thing.
+    return ""
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_windows_native_support.py b/tests/tools/test_windows_native_support.py
index 1503bf1124..fa1a0ed8e3 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_windows_native_support.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_windows_native_support.py
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ class TestConfigureWindowsStdio:
         monkeypatch.delenv("PYTHONIOENCODING", raising=False)
         monkeypatch.delenv("PYTHONUTF8", raising=False)
         monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_DISABLE_WINDOWS_UTF8", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("EDITOR", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("VISUAL", raising=False)
 
         reconfigure_calls = []
 
@@ -86,14 +88,51 @@ class TestConfigureWindowsStdio:
 
         monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_reconfigure_stream", fake_reconfigure)
         monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_flip_console_code_page_to_utf8", fake_flip)
+        # Pretend notepad.exe is on PATH (it always is on real Windows hosts,
+        # but not on the Linux CI runner — mock it so the editor default
+        # survives).
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_default_windows_editor", lambda: "notepad")
 
         result = stdio.configure_windows_stdio()
         assert result is True
         assert os.environ.get("PYTHONIOENCODING") == "utf-8"
         assert os.environ.get("PYTHONUTF8") == "1"
+        # EDITOR must be set so prompt_toolkit's open_in_editor finds
+        # a working program on Windows (it defaults to /usr/bin/nano).
+        assert os.environ.get("EDITOR") == "notepad"
         assert len(cp_calls) == 1  # SetConsoleOutputCP path hit
         assert len(reconfigure_calls) == 3  # stdout, stderr, stdin
 
+    def test_respects_existing_editor_var(self, monkeypatch):
+        """User's explicit EDITOR wins over our default."""
+        from hermes_cli import stdio
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "is_windows", lambda: True)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("EDITOR", "code --wait")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_reconfigure_stream", lambda *a, **kw: None)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_flip_console_code_page_to_utf8", lambda: None)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_default_windows_editor", lambda: "notepad")
+
+        stdio.configure_windows_stdio()
+        assert os.environ["EDITOR"] == "code --wait"
+
+    def test_respects_existing_visual_var(self, monkeypatch):
+        """VISUAL takes precedence over our EDITOR default too."""
+        from hermes_cli import stdio
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "is_windows", lambda: True)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("EDITOR", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("VISUAL", "nvim")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_reconfigure_stream", lambda *a, **kw: None)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_flip_console_code_page_to_utf8", lambda: None)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(stdio, "_default_windows_editor", lambda: "notepad")
+
+        stdio.configure_windows_stdio()
+        # EDITOR should NOT be set when VISUAL already is (prompt_toolkit
+        # checks VISUAL first anyway, but we also shouldn't override it).
+        assert os.environ.get("EDITOR", "") != "notepad"
+        assert os.environ["VISUAL"] == "nvim"
+
     def test_respects_existing_env_var(self, monkeypatch):
         """User's explicit PYTHONIOENCODING wins over our default."""
         from hermes_cli import stdio