Aider Configuration

This skill provides a comprehensive Aider configuration that optimizes your AI coding workflow with intelligent model selection, git integration, automated code quality checks, and customized output formatting.

What This Does

Sets up Aider with production-ready defaults including:

Instructions

1. **Create Configuration File**

- Create `.aider.conf.yml` in your project root or home directory

- Copy the configuration content below

2. **Key Configuration Sections**

**Model Settings:**

- Disable model warnings: `show-model-warnings: false`

- Uncomment and set your preferred models (examples provided for Claude, GPT-4, DeepSeek)

- Add API keys via environment variables (not in config file)

**Output & Terminal:**

- Dark mode enabled by default

- Monokai code theme for syntax highlighting

- Pretty colorized output enabled

**Git Integration:**

- Auto-commits enabled

- Custom commit message format: `<subSystem>/<Component>: <Description>`

- Examples: `video/ML: Add motion detection`, `utils/Analysis: Fix edge case`

- Author/committer attribution disabled by default

**Editor Settings:**

- Vim mode enabled

- Multiline input mode enabled (Meta-Enter to submit)

- Convention files auto-loaded: `CONVENTIONS.md`, `ARCHITECTURE.md`

3. **Optional Features to Enable**

**Linting:**

```yaml

lint: true

auto-lint: true

lint-cmd: "python: flake8 --select=E,W"

```

**Testing:**

```yaml

test-cmd: "pytest"

auto-test: true

```

**Commit Message Prefix:**

```yaml

attribute-commit-message: true # Adds 'aider: ' prefix

```

4. **API Key Setup**

- Create `.env` file in git root (never commit this!)

- Add API keys:

```

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here

```

5. **Convention Files (Optional)**

- Create `CONVENTIONS.md` with coding standards

- Create `ARCHITECTURE.md` with system design docs

- Aider will automatically load these into context

Configuration Template

```yaml

Model Settings

show-model-warnings: false

model: anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet

weak-model: anthropic/claude-3-haiku

Output Settings

dark-mode: true

pretty: true

code-theme: monokai

Git Settings

git: true

gitignore: true

subtree-only: false

auto-commits: true

attribute-author: false

attribute-committer: false

Commit Message Format

commit-prompt: "You are an expert software engineer that generates concise, one-line Git commit messages based on the provided diffs.

Review the provided context and diffs which are about to be committed to a git repo.

Review the diffs carefully.

Generate a one-line commit message for those changes.

The commit message should be structured as follows: <subSystem>/<Component>: <Description>

Examples of <subSystem> is: video, model, present, utils

subsystem can be the project or sub-folder inside src

Examples of <Component> is: ML, Filtering, Analysis, UserControls, Utils

If the diff is for multiple files, the component can be the folder where the files are located.

If the diff is only for one file, the component can be the class name.

Both subsystem and component should be very short.

subSystem should use camelCase.

Component should use PascalCase.

Ensure the commit message:

Reply only with the one-line commit message, without any additional text or explanations."

Code Quality (optional - uncomment to enable)

lint: true

auto-lint: true

lint-cmd: "python: flake8 --select=E,W"

test-cmd: "pytest"

auto-test: false

Editor Settings

vim: true

multiline: true

Preload convention files

read: [CONVENTIONS.md, ARCHITECTURE.md]

```

Important Notes

Example Usage

```bash

Start aider with config

aider

Override specific settings

aider --no-auto-commits --model gpt-4

Dry run to preview changes

aider --dry-run

Commit with message then exit

aider --commit

```