Aider Always-On Configuration

A production-ready Aider configuration optimized for always-on AI assistant workflows. This setup uses Claude Sonnet for main chat, disables auto-commits for manual control, enables auto-lint, and streamlines the experience by removing distracting prompts.

What This Configuration Does

Instructions

1. **Create the configuration file**

- Save this as `.aider.conf.yml` in your project root or home directory

- Aider will automatically detect and load it on startup

2. **Set up API keys**

- Add your Anthropic API key to the config file under `anthropic-api-key`, OR

- Store it in a `.env` file in your git root (recommended for security)

- Example `.env` format: `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here`

3. **Customize for your workflow**

- **Auto-commits**: Currently `false`. Set to `true` if you prefer automatic commits

- **Auto-lint**: Currently `true`. Configure `lint-cmd` for your languages

- **Editor**: Set to `code` (VS Code). Change to `vim`, `nano`, or your preferred editor

- **Model**: Using Sonnet. Uncomment other model options if needed (opus, 4o, deepseek, etc.)

4. **Configure linting (optional)**

```yaml

lint-cmd:

- "python: flake8 --select=E,W,F"

- "javascript: eslint"

- "typescript: eslint"

```

5. **Launch Aider**

```bash

aider

```

The configuration will be automatically applied.

Key Configuration Highlights

```yaml

Model Selection

sonnet: true # Claude 3.5 Sonnet for main chat

Git Workflow

auto-commits: false # Manual commit control

dirty-commits: true # Allow commits when repo is dirty

attribute-author: true # Credit aider in git author

Code Quality

auto-lint: true # Lint after every change

auto-test: false # Manual test control

UX Improvements

suggest-shell-commands: false # Cleaner interaction

detect-urls: false # No URL interruptions

editor: code # VS Code integration

```

When to Use This Pattern

Constraints

Full Configuration Template

```yaml

##########################################################

Aider Always-On Configuration

Optimized for continuous AI-assisted development

##########################################################

#######

Main:

Specify the Anthropic API key (or use .env file)

#anthropic-api-key: xxx

Use claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 model for the main chat

sonnet: true

#################

Model Settings:

Verify the SSL cert when connecting to models

#verify-ssl: true

Use architect edit format for the main chat

#architect: false

Only work with models that have meta-data available

#show-model-warnings: true

#################

Cache Settings:

Enable caching of prompts (reduces costs for repeated patterns)

#cache-prompts: false

###################

Repomap Settings:

Suggested number of tokens to use for repo map

#map-tokens: 1024

Control how often the repo map is refreshed

#map-refresh: auto

################

History Files:

Specify the chat input history file

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

Specify the chat history file

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

Restore the previous chat history messages

#restore-chat-history: false

##################

Output Settings:

Use colors suitable for a dark terminal background

#dark-mode: false

Enable/disable pretty, colorized output

#pretty: true

Enable/disable streaming responses

#stream: true

###############

Git Settings:

Enable/disable looking for a git repo

#git: true

Enable/disable adding .aider* to .gitignore

#gitignore: true

Enable/disable auto commit of LLM changes

auto-commits: false

Enable/disable commits when repo is found dirty

#dirty-commits: true

Attribute aider code changes in the git author name

#attribute-author: true

########################

Fixing and committing:

Enable/disable automatic linting after changes

#auto-lint: true

Specify lint commands to run for different languages

#lint-cmd:

- "python: flake8 --select=E,W,F"

- "javascript: eslint"

Enable/disable automatic testing after changes

#auto-test: false

############

Analytics:

Permanently disable analytics

#analytics-disable: false

#################

Other Settings:

Use VI editing mode in the terminal

#vim: false

Check for new aider versions on launch

#check-update: true

Always say yes to every confirmation

#yes-always: false

Enable verbose output

#verbose: false

Enable/disable suggesting shell commands

suggest-shell-commands: false

Enable/disable fancy input with history and completion

#fancy-input: true

Enable/disable detection and offering to add URLs to chat

detect-urls: false

Specify which editor to use for the /editor command

editor: code

#################

Voice Settings:

Audio format for voice recording

#voice-format: wav

Specify the language for voice using ISO 639-1 code

#voice-language: en

```

Examples

Basic Usage

```bash

Launch with config auto-loaded

aider

Start with specific files

aider src/main.py tests/test_main.py

One-off message mode

aider --message "Refactor the auth module for better error handling"

```

With Custom Lint Commands

```bash

Run with Python linting

aider --lint-cmd "python: ruff check --fix"

Multiple language linting

aider --lint-cmd "python: ruff" --lint-cmd "typescript: eslint --fix"

```

Always-On Workflow

```bash

Terminal 1: Run your app

npm run dev

Terminal 2: Always-on Aider session

aider src/

Iterate continuously with AI assistance

Aider auto-lints after each change

You manually commit when ready

```