Aider Configuration Template

A comprehensive `.aider.conf.yml` configuration template that documents all available Aider settings for AI-assisted pair programming.

What This Does

This skill provides a complete Aider configuration file template that you can customize for your project. It includes settings for:

Instructions

When a user requests Aider configuration help, follow these steps:

1. **Determine Configuration Scope**

- Ask what aspects they want to configure (models, git, output, automation, etc.)

- Check if they have an existing `.aider.conf.yml` file to modify

- Identify their preferred location (home directory `~/.aider.conf.yml` or git root)

2. **Create or Update Configuration File**

- Generate `.aider.conf.yml` with requested settings uncommented

- Include helpful comments explaining each setting

- For new users, provide a minimal starter config with common settings

- For advanced users, include relevant sections from the full template

3. **Common Configuration Patterns**

**Minimal Starter Config:**

```yaml

# Model selection

model: anthropic/claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219

# Git settings

auto-commits: true

dirty-commits: true

# Output preferences

dark-mode: true

pretty: true

```

**Professional Development Setup:**

```yaml

model: anthropic/claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219

weak-model: anthropic/claude-3-5-haiku-20241022

# Auto-formatting and testing

auto-lint: true

lint-cmd:

- "python: ruff check --fix"

- "javascript: eslint --fix"

auto-test: false

test-cmd: pytest

# Git attribution

attribute-author: true

auto-commits: true

# UI preferences

dark-mode: true

code-theme: monokai

```

**Team Collaboration Setup:**

```yaml

model: gpt-4o

# Clear attribution for team context

attribute-co-authored-by: true

attribute-commit-message-author: true

# Strict git hygiene

auto-commits: true

dirty-commits: false

show-diffs: true

# Quality gates

auto-lint: true

auto-test: true

test-cmd: npm test

```

4. **API Key Configuration**

- Remind users that API keys should be in `.env` file, not YAML (except OpenAI/Anthropic)

- Example `.env` format:

```

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

```

5. **Location Guidance**

- **Project-specific:** `.aider.conf.yml` in git root (committed to repo)

- **Personal defaults:** `~/.aider.conf.yml` in home directory

- **Per-session:** Use command-line flags to override config file

6. **Validation Steps**

- After creating config, suggest testing with: `aider --help`

- Recommend starting with a simple chat to verify settings

- Point out that invalid settings will show warnings on startup

7. **Key Settings to Highlight**

- `model`: Primary LLM for code edits (e.g., `anthropic/claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219`)

- `weak-model`: Cheaper model for commit messages (e.g., `claude-3-5-haiku-20241022`)

- `auto-commits`: Automatically commit LLM changes (default: true)

- `auto-lint`: Run linters after changes (default: true)

- `auto-test`: Run tests after changes (default: false)

- `map-tokens`: Repo map size (use 0 to disable, or increase for large codebases)

- `dark-mode` / `light-mode`: Terminal color scheme

- `edit-format`: How LLM proposes changes (usually auto-detected)

8. **Common Workflows to Configure**

**For rapid prototyping:**

```yaml

auto-commits: true

auto-lint: false

auto-test: false

dirty-commits: true

```

**For production code:**

```yaml

auto-commits: true

auto-lint: true

auto-test: true

dirty-commits: false

show-diffs: true

```

**For learning/experimentation:**

```yaml

auto-commits: false

show-diffs: true

dry-run: false

verbose: true

```

9. **Troubleshooting Guidance**

- If settings aren't taking effect, check file location with `aider --verbose`

- Use `aider --config /path/to/config.yml` to explicitly specify config

- Command-line flags override config file settings

- Invalid YAML syntax will prevent config from loading

10. **Advanced Features to Mention**

- `--architect`: Use architect mode for large refactors

- `--watch-files`: Auto-detect AI coding comments in files

- `--lint-cmd`: Custom linters per language

- `--voice-language`: Voice input in different languages

- `--map-refresh`: Control when repo map updates (auto/always/files/manual)

Important Notes

Examples

**Example 1: Basic setup request**

```

User: "Help me configure Aider for my Python project"

Assistant: Creates .aider.conf.yml with:

```

**Example 2: Team collaboration**

```

User: "We need Aider config for our team with clear attribution"

Assistant: Creates config with:

```

**Example 3: Testing workflow**

```

User: "Configure Aider to run our test suite automatically"

Assistant: Creates config with:

```