Aider Configuration - Dotfiles

A production-ready Aider configuration file optimized for professional AI-assisted coding workflows with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, dark mode theming, and git automation.

What This Does

This configuration sets up Aider with:

Instructions

Step 1: Locate Configuration File

Place this configuration in one of three locations (Aider searches in this order):

1. **Project root** (git repository): `.aider.conf.yml`

2. **Current working directory**: `.aider.conf.yml`

3. **Home directory**: `~/.aider.conf.yml`

For system-wide settings, use home directory. For project-specific settings, use git root.

Step 2: Create the Configuration

Create `.aider.conf.yml` with these settings:

```yaml

Main model: Claude 3.7 Sonnet (latest frontier model)

model: claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219

Terminal UI Settings (Dark Mode)

user-input-color: "#4EC9B0" # Teal for user input

tool-error-color: "#F44747" # Red for errors

tool-warning-color: "#FFD602" # Yellow for warnings

assistant-output-color: "#9CDCFE" # Light blue for AI responses

code-theme: dracula # Dracula syntax theme

Git Workflow

auto-commits: false # Manual commit control (disable auto-commits)

Editor Integration

vim: true # Enable vim keybindings in terminal

editor: nvim # Use Neovim for /editor command

multiline: false # Single-line input (use Meta-Enter if enabled)

```

Step 3: Set API Keys

**Option A: Environment Variables** (Recommended)

Create `.env` in your git root:

```bash

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key_here

```

**Option B: Configuration File** (Less Secure)

Add directly to `.aider.conf.yml` (not recommended for shared repos):

```yaml

anthropic-api-key: your_anthropic_key_here

```

Step 4: Launch Aider

Start Aider with your configuration:

```bash

From project root (uses .aider.conf.yml if present)

aider

Or specify files to edit

aider src/main.py

Add read-only context files

aider --read README.md src/core.py

```

Step 5: Verify Configuration

Check that your settings loaded correctly:

```bash

Inside Aider, check model

/model

View all settings

/settings

```

You should see:

Key Configuration Choices

| Setting | Value | Rationale |

|---------|-------|-----------|

| `model` | `claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219` | Latest Claude model with superior code reasoning |

| `auto-commits` | `false` | Manual control over commit history |

| `vim` | `true` | Vim keybindings for power users |

| `editor` | `nvim` | Use Neovim for multi-file edits via `/editor` |

| `code-theme` | `dracula` | Popular dark mode syntax theme |

| `multiline` | `false` | Single-line input mode (cleaner for most workflows) |

Color Palette (VS Code Inspired)

Advanced Usage

Multiple Models

Override the main model for specific tasks:

```bash

Use GPT-4 instead

aider --model gpt-4o

Use Haiku for quick edits

aider --model claude-3-5-haiku-20241022

```

Custom Lint Commands

Add to `.aider.conf.yml`:

```yaml

lint-cmd:

- "python: ruff check --fix"

- "javascript: eslint --fix"

auto-lint: true

```

Test Automation

Add test runner:

```yaml

test-cmd: pytest tests/

auto-test: true # Run tests after every change

```

Repository Map Tuning

For large codebases:

```yaml

map-tokens: 2048 # Increase context for repo map

map-refresh: always # Always refresh on file changes

```

Git Workflow Notes

With `auto-commits: false`, you maintain full control:

1. **Make changes** with Aider

2. **Review diffs**: `git diff`

3. **Stage selectively**: `git add -p`

4. **Commit manually**: `git commit -m "feat: add feature"`

To re-enable auto-commits temporarily:

```bash

aider --auto-commits

```

Constraints

Troubleshooting

**Configuration not loading?**

```bash

Check which config file Aider is using

aider --verbose

```

**Colors look wrong?**

```bash

Force dark mode

aider --dark-mode

```

**Model not found?**

```bash

List available models

aider --list-models claude

```

Additional Resources