diff --git a/.zshrc b/.zshrc
index a644abc..d9f2c24 100644
--- a/.zshrc
+++ b/.zshrc
@@ -152,6 +152,10 @@ bindkey '^[[3~' delete-char
 alias vim=nvim
 alias sudo='sudo '
 
+# set default editor to neovim
+export EDITOR=nvim
+export VISUAL=nvim
+
 # add the custom functions from the .custom_functions file
 custom_func_dir=$HOME/.scripts
 for f in $custom_func_dir/*; do source $f; done