Aider Configuration

Comprehensive configuration for Aider AI pair programming assistant optimized for WSL2/Ubuntu environments with dark mode terminal themes, smart model aliases, and streamlined git workflow.

Overview

This configuration sets up Aider with:

Instructions

1. **Create configuration file** at `~/.aider.conf.yml` (global) or at the root of your git repository (project-specific)

2. **Set up API keys** in a `.env` file (keys cannot be stored in YAML for security):

- Create `.env` file in your home directory or project root

- Add your API keys: `OPENAI_API_KEY=xxx`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=xxx`, etc.

- See https://aider.chat/docs/config/dotenv.html for full details

3. **Configure the following sections as needed**:

**Model aliases** (customize shortcuts for frequently used models):

```yaml

alias:

- "fast:gpt-4o-mini"

- "smart:o3-mini"

model: smart

```

**Dark mode color scheme** (adjust colors for your terminal theme):

```yaml

dark-mode: true

user-input-color: "#00cc00"

tool-output-color: "#cdd6f4"

assistant-output-color: "#0088ff"

completion-menu-color: "#cdd6f4"

completion-menu-bg-color: "#1e1e2e"

code-theme: monokai

```

**Git workflow** (control commit behavior):

```yaml

auto-commits: false # Manual commit control

attribute-committer: false # Don't modify git committer name

git-commit-verify: true # Run pre-commit hooks

show-diffs: true # Show diffs before committing

```

**Terminal enhancements**:

```yaml

vim: false # Set to true for VI editing mode

multiline: false # Meta-Enter for multi-line input

notifications: true # Bell notifications when responses ready

notifications-command: "wsl-notify-send.exe" # WSL-specific (remove for native Linux)

```

**Analytics and updates**:

```yaml

analytics-disable: true # Disable telemetry

check-update: false # Don't check for updates on launch

```

4. **Install WSL notification bridge** (if using WSL2):

- Install `wsl-notify-send.exe` to enable desktop notifications from WSL

- Remove `notifications-command` line if running on native Linux

5. **Verify configuration**:

```bash

aider --show-prompts # Check if config is loaded correctly

```

6. **Start Aider** with your configured defaults:

```bash

aider # Uses "smart" model by default

aider --model fast # Use fast model alias

```

Key Features

Customization

Notes