diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index a4a05d55fa..4690ebc325 100644
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -9790,6 +9790,28 @@ class HermesCLI:
         # complex-tempfile path takes care of cleanup via shutil.rmtree.
         input_area.buffer.tempfile = 'prompt.md'
 
+        # prompt_toolkit's default fallback chain prefers /usr/bin/nano over
+        # /usr/bin/vi when neither $VISUAL nor $EDITOR is set. The TUI's
+        # resolveEditor() prefers vim → vi → nano. Override this single
+        # buffer's resolver so both surfaces pick the same editor.
+        import shlex
+        import subprocess
+        def _hermes_pick_editor(filename: str) -> bool:
+            chosen = (
+                os.environ.get('VISUAL')
+                or os.environ.get('EDITOR')
+                or shutil.which('vim')
+                or shutil.which('vi')
+                or shutil.which('nano')
+            )
+            if not chosen:
+                return False
+            try:
+                return subprocess.call(shlex.split(chosen) + [filename]) == 0
+            except OSError:
+                return False
+        input_area.buffer._open_file_in_editor = _hermes_pick_editor
+
         # Dynamic height: accounts for both explicit newlines AND visual
         # wrapping of long lines so the input area always fits its content.
         def _input_height():
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/app/useComposerState.ts b/ui-tui/src/app/useComposerState.ts
index 0821dd2c5d..79d5497304 100644
--- a/ui-tui/src/app/useComposerState.ts
+++ b/ui-tui/src/app/useComposerState.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import { useCompletion } from '../hooks/useCompletion.js'
 import { useInputHistory } from '../hooks/useInputHistory.js'
 import { useQueue } from '../hooks/useQueue.js'
 import { isUsableClipboardText, readClipboardText } from '../lib/clipboard.js'
+import { resolveEditor } from '../lib/editor.js'
 import { readOsc52Clipboard } from '../lib/osc52.js'
 import { isRemoteShellSession } from '../lib/terminalSetup.js'
 import { pasteTokenLabel, stripTrailingPasteNewlines } from '../lib/text.js'
@@ -254,7 +255,7 @@ export function useComposerState({
   )
 
   const openEditor = useCallback(async () => {
-    const editor = process.env.EDITOR || process.env.VISUAL || 'vi'
+    const editor = resolveEditor()
     const file = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'hermes-')), 'prompt.md')
     let code: null | number = null
 
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/lib/editor.test.ts b/ui-tui/src/lib/editor.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6bcccc0b74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui-tui/src/lib/editor.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+import { chmodSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { delimiter, join } from 'node:path'
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { resolveEditor } from './editor.js'
+
+describe('resolveEditor', () => {
+  let dir: string
+
+  const exe = (name: string) => {
+    const path = join(dir, name)
+    writeFileSync(path, '#!/bin/sh\nexit 0\n')
+    chmodSync(path, 0o755)
+
+    return path
+  }
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'editor-test-'))
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    // tmp dir is small; let the OS reap it
+  })
+
+  it('honors $VISUAL above all else', () => {
+    expect(resolveEditor({ EDITOR: 'vim', PATH: dir, VISUAL: 'helix' })).toBe('helix')
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to $EDITOR when $VISUAL is unset', () => {
+    expect(resolveEditor({ EDITOR: 'nvim', PATH: dir })).toBe('nvim')
+  })
+
+  it('prefers vim over vi over nano on $PATH', () => {
+    exe('nano')
+    exe('vi')
+    const vim = exe('vim')
+
+    expect(resolveEditor({ PATH: dir })).toBe(vim)
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to vi when only vi and nano exist', () => {
+    exe('nano')
+    const vi = exe('vi')
+
+    expect(resolveEditor({ PATH: dir })).toBe(vi)
+  })
+
+  it('returns literal "vi" when nothing on PATH and no env', () => {
+    mkdirSync(join(dir, 'empty'), { recursive: true })
+
+    expect(resolveEditor({ PATH: join(dir, 'empty') })).toBe('vi')
+  })
+
+  it('walks multi-entry PATH', () => {
+    const a = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'editor-a-'))
+    const b = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'editor-b-'))
+
+    writeFileSync(join(b, 'vim'), '#!/bin/sh\n')
+    chmodSync(join(b, 'vim'), 0o755)
+
+    expect(resolveEditor({ PATH: [a, b].join(delimiter) })).toBe(join(b, 'vim'))
+  })
+})
diff --git a/ui-tui/src/lib/editor.ts b/ui-tui/src/lib/editor.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d05e76851b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui-tui/src/lib/editor.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { accessSync, constants } from 'node:fs'
+import { delimiter, join } from 'node:path'
+
+/**
+ * Resolve which editor to launch when the user hits Ctrl+G / Alt+G.
+ *
+ * Order of preference:
+ *   1. $VISUAL / $EDITOR (user's explicit choice)
+ *   2. first executable found on $PATH from `vim` → `vi` → `nano`
+ *   3. literal `'vi'` so spawnSync still has something to try
+ *
+ * Mirrors the override on `input_area.buffer._open_file_in_editor` in cli.py
+ * — both surfaces should pick the same editor so the CLI/TUI handoff
+ * doesn't surprise the user with nano in one and vim in the other.
+ */
+export function resolveEditor(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): string {
+  return env.VISUAL || env.EDITOR || findExecutable(env.PATH ?? '', 'vim', 'vi', 'nano') || 'vi'
+}
+
+function findExecutable(path: string, ...names: string[]): null | string {
+  const dirs = path.split(delimiter).filter(Boolean)
+
+  for (const name of names) {
+    for (const dir of dirs) {
+      const candidate = join(dir, name)
+
+      try {
+        accessSync(candidate, constants.X_OK)
+
+        return candidate
+      } catch {
+        // not executable / not present; try next
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null
+}