diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 4c2d6d75..b8db4360 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -485,6 +485,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "rustlings-macros",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
+ "shlex",
  "tempfile",
  "toml",
 ]
@@ -571,6 +572,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde_core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "shlex"
+version = "1.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0fda2ff0d084019ba4d7c6f371c95d8fd75ce3524c3cb8fb653a3023f6323e64"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "signal-hook"
 version = "0.3.18"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 068a3f49..192eeb61 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ notify = "8"
 rustlings-macros = { path = "rustlings-macros", version = "=6.5.0" }
 serde_json = "1"
 serde.workspace = true
+shlex = "1"
 toml.workspace = true
 
 [target.'cfg(not(windows))'.dependencies]
diff --git a/src/editor.rs b/src/editor.rs
index af5c2fbe..6e712605 100644
--- a/src/editor.rs
+++ b/src/editor.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ use std::{
 };
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result, bail};
+use shlex::Shlex;
 
 mod zellij;
 
@@ -34,20 +35,26 @@ pub enum Editor {
 }
 
 impl Editor {
-    pub fn new(cmd: Option<String>) -> Option<Self> {
+    pub fn new(cmd: Option<String>) -> Result<Option<Self>> {
         if env::var_os("TERM_PROGRAM").is_some_and(|v| v == "vscode") {
-            return Some(Self::VSCode);
+            return Ok(Some(Self::VSCode));
         }
 
         if let Some(cmd) = cmd {
-            todo!()
+            let shlex = &mut Shlex::new(&cmd);
+            let program = shlex.next().context("Program missing in `--edit-cmd`")?;
+            let args = shlex.collect();
+            if shlex.had_error {
+                bail!("Failed to parse the command in `--edit-cmd`");
+            }
+            return Ok(Some(Self::Cmd(program, args)));
         }
 
         if env::var_os("ZELLIJ").is_some() {
-            return Some(Self::Zellij(None));
+            return Ok(Some(Self::Zellij(None)));
         }
 
-        None
+        Ok(None)
     }
 
     pub fn open(
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 1d6c98b1..7cd5c80b 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -60,10 +60,11 @@ fn main() -> Result<ExitCode> {
         bail!(FORMAT_VERSION_HIGHER_ERR);
     }
 
+    let editor = Editor::new(args.edit_cmd)?;
     let (mut app_state, state_file_status) = AppState::new(
         info_file.exercises,
         info_file.final_message.unwrap_or_default(),
-        Editor::new(args.edit_cmd),
+        editor,
     )?;
 
     // Show the welcome message if the state file doesn't exist yet.