Validate empty title in editor mode for issue/pr edit

After TitledEditSurvey returns, check that the title is not blank and abort with a clear error message, matching the behavior of the create commands. Also update the editor hint text to say 'aborts the process' instead of 'aborts the creation process' since the hint is shared by both create and edit flows. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
cli · maxbeizer · Mar 16, 2026 · Apr 8, 2026 · Apr 8, 2026 · 8a845868781a57e3ad6bd72005cc722915c191dc
commit 8a845868781a57e3ad6bd72005cc722915c191dc
@@ -337,6 +337,9 @@ func editRun(opts *EditOptions) error {
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
+			if editable.Title.Value == "" {
+				return fmt.Errorf("title can't be blank")
+			}
 		} else if opts.Interactive {
 			editorCommand, err := opts.DetermineEditor()
 			if err != nil {

@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 		httpStubs func(*testing.T, *httpmock.Registry)
 		stdout    string
 		stderr    string
-		wantErr   bool
+		wantErr   string
 	}{
 		{
 			name: "non-interactive",
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 						] }`),
 				)
 			},
-			wantErr: true,
+			wantErr: "*",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "non-interactive multiple issues with update failures",
@@ -644,7 +644,7 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 				https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issue/123
 			`),
 			stderr:  `failed to update https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issue/456:.*test error`,
-			wantErr: true,
+			wantErr: "*",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "interactive",
@@ -721,6 +721,24 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			stdout: "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/issue/123\n",
 		},
+		{
+			name: "editor mode empty title",
+			input: &EditOptions{
+				Detector:     &fd.EnabledDetectorMock{},
+				IssueNumbers: []int{123},
+				EditorMode:   true,
+				TitledEditSurvey: func(title, body string) (string, string, error) {
+					return "", "", nil
+				},
+				FetchOptions: func(client *api.Client, repo ghrepo.Interface, editable *prShared.Editable, v1 gh.ProjectsV1Support) error {
+					return nil
+				},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {
+				mockIssueGet(t, reg)
+			},
+			wantErr: "title can't be blank",
+		},
 		{
 			name: "interactive prompts with actor assignee display names when actors available",
 			input: &EditOptions{
@@ -847,8 +865,11 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 			tt.input.BaseRepo = baseRepo
 
 			err := editRun(tt.input)
-			if tt.wantErr {
-				assert.Error(t, err)
+			if tt.wantErr != "" {
+				require.Error(t, err)
+				if tt.wantErr != "*" {
+					assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), tt.wantErr)
+				}
 			} else {
 				assert.NoError(t, err)
 			}

@@ -338,6 +338,9 @@ func editRun(opts *EditOptions) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		if editable.Title.Value == "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("title can't be blank")
+		}
 	} else if opts.Interactive {
 		err = opts.Surveyor.FieldsToEdit(&editable)
 		if err != nil {

@@ -406,6 +406,7 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 		httpStubs func(*testing.T, *httpmock.Registry)
 		stdout    string
 		stderr    string
+		wantsErr  string
 	}{
 		{
 			name: "non-interactive",
@@ -1234,6 +1235,26 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			stdout: "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/pull/123\n",
 		},
+		{
+			name: "editor mode empty title",
+			input: &EditOptions{
+				Detector:    &fd.EnabledDetectorMock{},
+				SelectorArg: "123",
+				Finder: shared.NewMockFinder("123", &api.PullRequest{
+					URL:   "https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/pull/123",
+					Title: "pr title",
+					Body:  "pr body",
+				}, ghrepo.New("OWNER", "REPO")),
+				EditorMode: true,
+				TitledEditSurvey: func(title, body string) (string, string, error) {
+					return "", "", nil
+				},
+				Surveyor: testSurveyor{},
+				Fetcher:  testFetcher{},
+			},
+			httpStubs: func(t *testing.T, reg *httpmock.Registry) {},
+			wantsErr:  "title can't be blank",
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1254,6 +1275,10 @@ func Test_editRun(t *testing.T) {
 			tt.input.BaseRepo = baseRepo
 
 			err := editRun(tt.input)
+			if tt.wantsErr != "" {
+				require.EqualError(t, err, tt.wantsErr)
+				return
+			}
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 			assert.Equal(t, tt.stdout, stdout.String())
 			assert.Equal(t, tt.stderr, stderr.String())

@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ func (e *UserEditor) Edit(filename, initialValue string) (string, error) {
 const editorHintMarker = "------------------------ >8 ------------------------"
 const editorHint = `
 Please Enter the title on the first line and the body on subsequent lines.
-Lines below dotted lines will be ignored, and an empty title aborts the creation process.`
+Lines below dotted lines will be ignored, and an empty title aborts the process.`
 
 func TitledEditSurvey(editor Editor) func(string, string) (string, string, error) {
 	return func(initialTitle, initialBody string) (string, string, error) {

@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ editedBody
 ------------------------ >8 ------------------------
 
 Please Enter the title on the first line and the body on subsequent lines.
-Lines below dotted lines will be ignored, and an empty title aborts the creation process.`, nil
+Lines below dotted lines will be ignored, and an empty title aborts the process.`, nil
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ initialBody
 ------------------------ >8 ------------------------
 
 Please Enter the title on the first line and the body on subsequent lines.
-Lines below dotted lines will be ignored, and an empty title aborts the creation process.`, editorInitialText)
+Lines below dotted lines will be ignored, and an empty title aborts the process.`, editorInitialText)
 	assert.Equal(t, "editedTitle", title)
 	assert.Equal(t, "editedBody", body)
 }