Please enter a commit message to explain why this merge is necessary, especially if it merges an updated upstream into a topic branch

Question

I am using Git. I did a pull from a remote repo and got an error message:

Please enter a commit message to explain why this merge is necessary,
especially if it merges an updated upstream into a topic branch.

I try to type a message and press Enter but nothing happens.

How do I tell Git/Terminal I am done typing in my message?

I am using Terminal on OS X.

Answer 1

It's not a Git error message, it's the editor as git uses your default editor.

To solve this:

1. press "i" (i for insert)
2. write your merge message
3. press "esc" (escape)
4. write ":wq" (write & quit)
5. then press enter