Aider Configuration Assistant

Configure Aider AI pair programming tool with optimized settings for your workflow.

What This Skill Does

This skill helps you create and manage `.aider.conf.yml` configuration files for Aider, the AI pair programming tool. It generates properly formatted configuration with sensible defaults and explains each option's purpose.

Instructions

When a user requests help with Aider configuration:

1. **Assess Requirements**

- Ask what aspects they want to configure: model selection, git behavior, caching, UI preferences, testing/linting

- Determine if they're starting fresh or modifying existing config

- Check if `.aider.conf.yml` already exists in the repository root

2. **Read Existing Configuration**

- If config exists, read it first to understand current settings

- Note which features are already enabled/disabled

- Preserve user customizations unless explicitly changing them

3. **Generate Configuration**

Create `.aider.conf.yml` with appropriate sections based on requirements:

**Main Model Settings:**

- Default to `sonnet` or `4o` for main chat

- Configure API keys via comment (recommend .env file instead)

- Set weak-model for commit messages if needed

**Cache Settings:**

- Enable `cache-prompts: true` for better performance

- Configure `cache-keepalive-pings` if maintaining long sessions

**Git Integration:**

- `dirty-commits: false` prevents commits on dirty repos

- `attribute-commit-message-committer: true` prefixes commits with 'aider:'

- `auto-commits: true` for automatic change commits

- Configure `commit-prompt` for custom commit message style

**Repository Map:**

- `map-tokens: 1024` (default) controls context size

- `map-refresh: auto` balances performance and accuracy

**History & Logging:**

- `llm-history-file` for debugging LLM interactions

- `chat-history-file` for conversation persistence

- `restore-chat-history` to continue previous sessions

**Linting & Testing:**

- Configure `lint-cmd` for language-specific linters

- Set `auto-lint: true` to run after changes

- Configure `test-cmd` and `auto-test` for automated testing

**UI Preferences:**

- `dark-mode` or `light-mode` for terminal colors

- `code-theme` for syntax highlighting

- `show-diffs: true` to review changes before commit

4. **Write Configuration File**

- Place at repository root as `.aider.conf.yml`

- Use clean YAML formatting with proper indentation

- Comment out unused options or remove them entirely

- Add explanatory comments for non-obvious settings

5. **Provide Usage Guidance**

- Explain key settings and their impact

- Recommend complementary .env file for API keys

- Suggest .aiderignore patterns if needed

- Note that config can be placed in home directory for global defaults

Configuration Patterns

**Minimal Setup (Fast Start):**

```yaml

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20240620

cache-prompts: true

auto-commits: true

attribute-commit-message-committer: true

```

**Production Development:**

```yaml

model: gpt-4o-2024-08-06

weak-model: gpt-4o-mini

cache-prompts: true

dirty-commits: false

auto-commits: true

auto-lint: true

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

test-cmd: pytest

show-diffs: true

```

**Team Collaboration:**

```yaml

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20240620

cache-prompts: true

auto-commits: true

attribute-author: true

attribute-committer: true

attribute-commit-message-committer: true

commit-prompt: "Write commit messages in conventional commits format"

gitignore: true

```

Important Notes

Examples

**Example 1: Basic Next.js Project**

```yaml

model: gpt-4o-2024-08-06

cache-prompts: true

auto-commits: true

attribute-commit-message-committer: true

dirty-commits: false

lint-cmd: "typescript: npm run lint"

auto-lint: true

dark-mode: true

```

**Example 2: Python Data Science**

```yaml

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20240620

weak-model: claude-3-haiku-20240307

cache-prompts: true

map-tokens: 2048

lint-cmd: "python: ruff check --select=E,F,W"

auto-lint: true

test-cmd: pytest tests/

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

```

**Example 3: Multi-Language Monorepo**

```yaml

model: gpt-4o-2024-08-06

cache-prompts: true

cache-keepalive-pings: 3

map-tokens: 2048

map-refresh: files

auto-commits: true

dirty-commits: false

lint-cmd:

- "python: ruff check"

- "typescript: eslint --fix"

- "go: golangci-lint run"

auto-lint: true

show-diffs: true

```

Constraints