diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3a5cec3..d52ff98 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,33 @@ Pre-v1.0.0 tags followed the pi npm version (`v{pi_version}[letter]`).
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Added
+
+- **Two non-modal terminal editors alongside `nvim`: `nano` and `micro`.**
+  The image previously shipped only `nvim` (with `EDITOR=nvim`), a modal
+  vi-style editor. Not everyone is comfortable with vi keybindings, so both
+  a classic and a modern non-modal option now ship:
+  - **`nano`** (apt) — ~2.8 MB installed. Its dependencies (`libc6`,
+    `libncursesw6`, `libtinfo6`) are already present via `nvim`/`less`/`htop`/
+    `tmux`, so it pulls in **no extra packages**. On-screen shortcut hints
+    (`^O` write, `^X` exit) make it the lowest-friction fallback.
+  - **`micro`** — ~12 MB, a single static Go binary installed from GitHub
+    releases (same pattern as `bat`/`eza`/`zoxide`). Desktop-style keybindings
+    (`Ctrl+S` save, `Ctrl+Q` quit, `Ctrl+C/V/X`, `Ctrl+Z` undo), mouse
+    support, and syntax highlighting out of the box. Pin with
+    `--build-arg MICRO_VERSION=vX.Y.Z`; defaults to `latest`.
+
+  Combined footprint is ~15 MB (<0.5% of the ~3.2 GB image). **`EDITOR`
+  stays `nvim`** — the new editors are opt-in via `export EDITOR=micro`
+  (or `nano`) and/or `git config --global core.editor micro`.
+
+  Note: micro's upstream repo moved `zyedidia/micro` → `micro-editor/micro`;
+  the Dockerfile uses the canonical URL because the old org's
+  `/releases/latest` redirect lands on another `/latest` URL (the org
+  rename), which would defeat the tag-parsing `latest`-resolution idiom.
+  These are base-image additions, so they only land once the `base-<hash>`
+  rebuilds (this file changed, so the next build picks them up).
+
 ### Added (CI)
 
 - **Workflow lint (`.gitea/workflows/lint.yml`) running on every push and PR.**
diff --git a/Dockerfile.base b/Dockerfile.base
index 01ed5a2..95afbc2 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.base
+++ b/Dockerfile.base
@@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
 #                  pi-studio's container-loopback server to the container's
 #                  external interface so a published port can reach it.
 #                  ~1 MB; generally useful for any port-forwarding need.
+#   nano         — small, non-modal terminal editor for users who don't want
+#                  a vi-based editor. ~2.8 MB installed; its deps (libc6,
+#                  libncursesw6, libtinfo6) are already pulled in by nvim/less/
+#                  htop/tmux, so it adds no extra packages. Companion to nvim
+#                  and the `micro` binary installed further down. EDITOR stays
+#                  nvim; users opt in via `export EDITOR=nano`.
 RUN apt-get update && \
     apt-get upgrade -y --no-install-recommends && \
     apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
@@ -92,6 +98,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
     graphviz \
     imagemagick \
     socat \
+    nano \
     && ln -s /usr/bin/fdfind /usr/local/bin/fd \
     && apt-get clean \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
@@ -231,6 +238,33 @@ RUN ARCH=$(case "${TARGETARCH}" in amd64) echo "x86_64" ;; arm64) echo "arm64" ;
     ln -s /opt/nvim-linux-${ARCH}/bin/nvim /usr/local/bin/nvim && \
     nvim --version | head -1
 
+# micro — modern, non-modal terminal editor. Ships alongside nvim so users
+# who aren't comfortable with vi-style modal editing have a friendly option:
+# desktop-style keybindings (Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+Q quit, Ctrl+C/V/X, Ctrl+Z
+# undo), mouse support, and syntax highlighting out of the box. A single
+# static Go binary (~12 MB) installed from GitHub releases, exactly like
+# bat/eza/zoxide below. EDITOR stays nvim (see below); users opt in with
+# `export EDITOR=micro` or `git config --global core.editor micro`.
+#
+# NOTE: upstream moved zyedidia/micro -> micro-editor/micro. The old org URL
+# still 302s, but its /releases/latest redirect lands on ANOTHER /latest URL
+# (the org rename), so the tag-parsing idiom below would resolve "latest"
+# instead of a version. Use the canonical micro-editor/micro URL.
+# Arch asset naming differs from the others: amd64 -> linux64, arm64 ->
+# linux-arm64. The tarball extracts to micro-<version>/micro.
+ARG MICRO_VERSION=latest
+RUN ARCH=$(case "${TARGETARCH}" in amd64) echo "linux64" ;; arm64) echo "linux-arm64" ;; *) echo "linux64" ;; esac) && \
+    V="${MICRO_VERSION}" && \
+    if [ "$V" = "latest" ]; then \
+      V=$(curl -sI --retry 5 --retry-delay 5 --retry-all-errors "https://github.com/micro-editor/micro/releases/latest" | awk 'tolower($1)=="location:" { sub(/\r$/,"",$2); n=split($2,a,"/"); print a[n] }'); \
+    fi && \
+    V="${V#v}" && [ -n "$V" ] && \
+    echo "Installing micro ${V}" && \
+    curl -fsSL --retry 5 --retry-delay 5 --retry-all-errors "https://github.com/micro-editor/micro/releases/download/v${V}/micro-${V}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" | tar -xz -C /tmp && \
+    install /tmp/micro-${V}/micro /usr/local/bin/micro && \
+    rm -rf /tmp/micro-${V} && \
+    micro --version
+
 # bat
 ARG BAT_VERSION=latest
 RUN ARCH=$(case "${TARGETARCH}" in amd64) echo "x86_64" ;; arm64) echo "aarch64" ;; *) echo "x86_64" ;; esac) && \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 61307c7..604a984 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ this container so all your agents share one brain.
 
 | Tool | Purpose |
 |---|---|
-| `nvim` | Neovim text editor |
+| `nvim` | Neovim text editor (modal / vi-style) |
+| `nano` | Small non-modal editor (on-screen shortcut hints) |
+| `micro` | Modern non-modal editor (Ctrl+S/Ctrl+Q keys, mouse, syntax highlighting) |
 | `tmux` | Terminal multiplexer (configured for 0-indexed sessions) |
 | `ripgrep`, `fd` | Fast file content / filename search |
 | `fzf` | Fuzzy finder |
@@ -49,6 +51,11 @@ this container so all your agents share one brain.
 | `gosu` | Privilege de-escalation in entrypoint |
 | `htop`, `tree`, `less` | Inspection utilities |
 
+The default `$EDITOR` is `nvim`. Three editors ship so you can pick your
+comfort level — if you'd rather not use a vi-style editor, `nano` and `micro`
+are both non-modal. Set your preference with `export EDITOR=micro` (or `nano`)
+in your shell profile, and/or `git config --global core.editor micro`.
+
 ### Document and image tooling
 
 - `pandoc` — universal Markdown↔HTML/Org/RST/etc. converter
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-test.sh b/scripts/smoke-test.sh
index c3e838f..528c791 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/smoke-test.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 # Verifies:
 #   - pi binary present and (if EXPECTED_PI_VERSION set) matches CI's resolved version
 #   - new v1.0.0 base additions (pandoc, graphviz, imagemagick, yq, tealdeer)
+#   - non-modal editors nano + micro (alongside nvim)
 #   - tmux 0-indexing baked in /etc/tmux.conf (required for pi-studio variants)
 #   - pi-toolkit cloned at /opt/pi-toolkit
 #   - pi-extensions cloned at /opt/pi-extensions
@@ -24,7 +25,8 @@ set -euo pipefail
 IMAGE="${1:?usage: $0 <image>}"
 PASS=0; FAIL=0
 # pi-devbox v1.0.0 (decoupled from opencode-devbox) added pandoc, graphviz,
-# imagemagick, yq, tealdeer, and a baked /etc/tmux.conf. Local arm64 build
+# imagemagick, yq, tealdeer, a baked /etc/tmux.conf, and the non-modal
+# editors nano + micro (~15 MB combined). Local arm64 build
 # observed 3.20 GB. CI amd64 builds may differ slightly; threshold below
 # carries +300 MB margin to absorb arch differences without false reds.
 # Tighten in a follow-up release once amd64 actuals are observed in CI logs.
@@ -71,6 +73,8 @@ run "git"             "git --version"
 run "aws"             "aws --version"
 run "uv"              "uv --version"
 run "nvim"            "nvim --version"
+run "nano"            "nano --version"
+run "micro"           "micro --version"
 run "mempalace-mcp"   "mempalace-mcp --help"
 # v1.0.0 base additions — verify presence and basic functionality.
 run "pandoc"          "pandoc --version"