Aider AI Coding Assistant Configuration

This skill configures Aider with comprehensive settings for AI-assisted coding, including Claude Sonnet models, automated git workflows, persistent history tracking, and a custom color scheme.

What This Configuration Does

Sets up Aider with production-ready defaults for:

Instructions

When a user requests Aider configuration or wants to set up this coding assistant workflow:

1. **Create the `.aider.conf.yml` file** in the project root with the following configuration:

```yaml

Model settings

model: claude-3-sonnet-20240229

weak-model: claude-3-sonnet-20240229

show-model-warnings: true

yes-always: true

watch-files: true

Git settings

git: true

gitignore: true

auto-commits: true

dirty-commits: true

attribute-author: true

attribute-committer: true

show-diffs: true

commit-prompt: "Write a concise and specific commit message describing the changes made:"

Output settings

dark-mode: true

pretty: true

stream: true

Colors

user-input-color: "#EDDA6A"

user-error-color: "#ffc444"

user-warning-color: "#ff4400"

assistant-input-color: "#f382f3"

assistant-output-color: "#f382f3"

assistant-input-background-color: "#929292"

assistant-output-background-color: "#929292"

tool-input-color: "#44ffc1"

tool-output-color: "#44ffc1"

tool-error-color: "#ffc444"

tool-warning-color: "#ff4400"

History and persistence

input-history-file: .aider.input.history

chat-history-file: .aider.chat.history.md

restore-chat-history: true

restore-input-history: true

restore-llm-history: true

llm-history-file: .aider.llm.history

analytics: true

analytics-file: .aider.analytics.json

keep-alive: true

keep-alive-file: .aider.keep-alive.json

Editor settings

architect: true

fancy-input: true

edit-format: search-replace

edit-format-regex: true

edit-format-regex-flags: "g"

edit-format-regex-multiline: true

edit-format-regex-dotall: true

edit-format-regex-unicode: true

edit-format-regex-sticky: true

edit-format-regex-verbose: true

edit-format-regex-lookbehind: true

edit-format-regex-unicode-escape: true

edit-format-regex-ascii: true

edit-format-regex-extended: true

multiline: true

detect-urls: true

Performance and caching

cache-prompts: true

cache-keepalive-pings: true

cache-dir: .aider/cache

map-tokens: 0

map-refresh: always

```

2. **Add history files to `.gitignore`** to prevent committing local history:

```

.aider.input.history

.aider.chat.history.md

.aider.llm.history

.aider.analytics.json

.aider.keep-alive.json

.aider/cache/

```

3. **Verify the setup**:

- Ensure the user has Aider installed (`pip install aider-chat`)

- Confirm Claude API credentials are configured

- Test by running `aider` in the project directory

4. **Explain key features**:

- **Architect mode**: Better for planning and complex refactoring

- **Auto-commits**: Every change is automatically committed with descriptive messages

- **History persistence**: Previous conversations and context are restored

- **Search-replace**: More reliable editing format for complex changes

Usage Examples

**Starting Aider with this configuration:**

```bash

cd /path/to/project

aider

```

**Adding specific files to edit:**

```bash

aider src/components/Header.tsx src/lib/utils.ts

```

**Adding read-only context files:**

```bash

aider --read README.md --file src/app.ts

```

Customization Options

Users can extend the configuration by uncommenting and modifying:

```yaml

Specify files to edit on startup

file:

- src/main.ts

- src/utils.ts

Specify read-only context files

read:

- README.md

- docs/architecture.md

```

Important Notes

Constraints