Aider Configuration

Complete configuration guide for Aider, the AI pair programming assistant that works with your terminal and git repository.

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive configuration for Aider, covering all available settings including API keys, model selection, git integration, output formatting, testing/linting automation, and workflow customization.

Configuration File

Aider reads configuration from `.aider.conf.yaml` placed in:

Key Configuration Sections

1. API Keys & Model Selection

```yaml

API Keys

openai-api-key: YOUR_OPENAI_KEY

anthropic-api-key: YOUR_ANTHROPIC_KEY

Model Selection (choose one)

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20240620 # Specify any model

opus: true # Use Claude 3 Opus

sonnet: true # Use Claude 3.5 Sonnet

4o: true # Use GPT-4o

4-turbo: true # Use GPT-4 Turbo

35turbo: true # Use GPT-3.5 Turbo

Weak model for commit messages and summaries

weak-model: gpt-3.5-turbo

```

2. Advanced Model Settings

```yaml

Custom API Configuration

openai-api-base: https://custom-api.example.com

openai-api-type: azure

openai-api-version: 2023-05-15

openai-api-deployment-id: your-deployment

openai-organization-id: org-xxx

Model Behavior

edit-format: diff # or 'whole', 'udiff'

map-tokens: 1024 # Tokens for repo map (0 to disable)

max-chat-history-tokens: 4096

verify-ssl: true

show-model-warnings: true

Custom Model Definitions

model-settings-file: .aider.model.settings.yml

model-metadata-file: .aider.model.metadata.json

```

3. Git Integration

```yaml

Git Settings

git: true # Enable git integration

gitignore: true # Add .aider* to .gitignore

aiderignore: .aiderignore # Aider ignore file

auto-commits: true # Auto-commit LLM changes

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

Commit Attribution

attribute-author: true # Attribute in git author name

attribute-committer: true # Attribute in committer name

attribute-commit-message: false # Prefix commits with 'aider:'

Safety

dry-run: false # Test without modifying files

show-diffs: true # Show diffs when committing

```

4. Output & Display

```yaml

Color Themes

dark-mode: true # Colors for dark terminal

light-mode: false # Colors for light terminal

pretty: true # Enable colorized output

stream: true # Enable streaming responses

Custom Colors (hex format)

user-input-color: "#00cc00"

tool-output-color: "#888888"

tool-error-color: "#FF2222"

assistant-output-color: "#0088ff"

Code Display

code-theme: monokai # Options: default, monokai, solarized-dark, solarized-light

```

5. Linting & Testing Automation

```yaml

Linting

auto-lint: true

lint: false # Run lint on startup

lint-cmd:

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

- "javascript: eslint --fix"

- "typescript: eslint --fix"

Testing

auto-test: false

test: false # Run tests on startup

test-cmd: pytest tests/

```

6. History & Logging

```yaml

History Files

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

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

restore-chat-history: false

llm-history-file: .aider.llm.history # Log all LLM interactions

```

7. Workflow & Interface

```yaml

Input Mode

vim: false # Use VI editing mode

Automation

yes: false # Auto-confirm all prompts

message: "Fix the bug in auth.py" # Single message mode

message-file: prompt.txt # Message from file

commit: false # Commit and exit

gui: false # Run in browser

Debugging & Info

verbose: false

show-repo-map: false # Print repo map and exit

show-prompts: false # Print system prompts and exit

check-update: false

skip-check-update: false

```

Usage Patterns

Basic Development Workflow

```yaml

.aider.conf.yaml

anthropic-api-key: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20240620

auto-commits: true

auto-lint: true

dark-mode: true

restore-chat-history: true

```

Then run: `aider file1.py file2.js`

CI/CD Integration

```yaml

.aider.conf.yaml

message-file: fix-request.txt

auto-commits: true

auto-test: true

test-cmd: npm test

yes: true # Non-interactive mode

```

Code Review Assistant

```yaml

.aider.conf.yaml

dry-run: true # Don't modify files

show-diffs: true

auto-commits: false

verbose: true

```

Custom Model Setup

```yaml

.aider.conf.yaml

openai-api-base: https://api.groq.com/openai/v1

model: mixtral-8x7b-32768

weak-model: mixtral-8x7b-32768

show-model-warnings: false

```

Environment Variables

You can use environment variables in your config:

```yaml

.aider.conf.yaml

anthropic-api-key: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}

openai-api-key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

env-file: .env.local # Custom env file location

```

Command-Line Overrides

All config options can be overridden via CLI:

```bash

aider --model gpt-4o --auto-test --test-cmd "npm test"

aider --dark-mode --vim --restore-chat-history

aider --message "Add error handling" file.py

```

Best Practices

1. **Security**: Store API keys in environment variables, not directly in config

2. **Team Sharing**: Commit `.aider.conf.yaml` to your repo for consistent team settings (without secrets)

3. **Personal Overrides**: Use `~/.aider.conf.yaml` for personal preferences

4. **Model Selection**: Use `sonnet` for complex tasks, `weak-model` for summaries/commits

5. **Testing**: Enable `auto-test` only for projects with fast test suites

6. **History**: Enable `restore-chat-history` for continued context across sessions

7. **Git Safety**: Keep `auto-commits: true` but review changes regularly

Constraints

Related Commands

```bash

aider --help # Show all options

aider --models sonnet # List available models matching 'sonnet'

aider --show-prompts # View system prompts

aider --version # Show version

aider --config custom.yml # Use custom config file

```