Aider AI Coding Assistant

Configure and use Aider for AI-powered pair programming with architect mode and advanced model routing through a local OpenAI-compatible proxy.

What This Skill Does

This skill configures Aider with:

Instructions

When the user invokes this skill:

1. **Verify Aider Installation**

- Check if `aider` is installed and available in PATH

- If not installed, provide installation instructions: `pip install aider-chat`

2. **Check Local Proxy**

- Verify the OpenAI-compatible API proxy is running at `http://localhost:4141/`

- This proxy should route requests to various model providers (Claude, Gemini, GPT-4, etc.)

- If proxy is not running, warn the user that the configuration depends on it

3. **Create Configuration Directory**

- Ensure `~/.config/aider/` directory exists

- Create if missing: `mkdir -p ~/.config/aider`

4. **Generate .aider.conf.yaml**

- Create the configuration file at `~/.config/aider/.aider.conf.yaml` with these settings:

```yaml

architect: true

# Main model via local proxy

model: openai/claude-3.7-sonnet-thought

edit-format: diff

editor-edit-format: editor-diff

editor-model: openai/claude-3.7-sonnet

# API configuration

openai-api-key: not-needed

openai-api-base: http://localhost:4141/

# Model aliases for quick switching

alias:

- "sonnet:openai/claude-3.7-sonnet"

- "sonnet-t:openai/claude-3.7-sonnet-thought"

- "flash:openai/gemini-2.0-flash-001"

- "o3:openai/o3-mini"

# Custom model metadata files

model-settings-file: ~/.config/aider/.aider.model.settings.yml

model-metadata-file: ~/.config/aider/.aider.model.metadata.json

show-model-warnings: false

# Repo mapping

map-tokens: 2048

# UI preferences

dark-mode: true

# Git behavior

auto-commits: false

dirty-commits: false

attribute-author: false

attribute-committer: false

# Reference files (adjust paths as needed)

read:

- "llms/gscc.md"

- "llms/conventions.md"

# Other settings

detect-urls: false

yes-always: false

```

5. **Explain Configuration Highlights**

- **Architect mode**: Aider will plan changes before implementing

- **Main model**: Claude 3.7 Sonnet (thought variant) for deep reasoning

- **Editor model**: Claude 3.7 Sonnet (standard) for focused edits

- **Diff format**: Precise line-by-line changes

- **Map tokens**: 2048 tokens for comprehensive codebase understanding

- **Git control**: Manual commits (auto-commits disabled)

6. **Usage Examples**

Basic usage:

```bash

# Start aider in current repo

aider

# Add specific files to context

aider src/main.py src/utils.py

# Use a different model via alias

aider --model sonnet

# Quick one-off change

aider --message "Add error handling to login function"

```

Advanced usage:

```bash

# Architect mode with specific files

aider --architect src/**/*.py

# Switch models mid-session (in aider chat)

/model flash

# Add files to chat context

/add src/new_module.py

# Review pending changes

/diff

```

7. **Reference Files Setup**

- If the repo has `llms/gscc.md` or `llms/conventions.md`, these will be auto-loaded as read-only context

- Users can customize the `read:` section to point to their own convention files

- Example: coding standards, architecture decisions, or API documentation

8. **Model Metadata Files**

- Inform user they may need to create `~/.config/aider/.aider.model.settings.yml` and `.aider.model.metadata.json` if using custom models

- These files define context windows and costs for models not in Aider's defaults

9. **Troubleshooting**

- If Aider fails to connect: verify `localhost:4141` proxy is running

- If model not found: check proxy supports the requested model path

- If edits fail: try switching edit format with `--edit-format whole` or `--edit-format udiff`

Important Notes

Customization

Users can override config per-session:

```bash

Disable architect mode for quick fixes

aider --no-architect

Use different model

aider --model openai/gpt-4o

Enable auto-commits

aider --auto-commits

Increase repo map context

aider --map-tokens 4096

```