Aider Configuration Template

A production-ready Aider configuration that sets up optimal defaults for AI-assisted coding with multiple model providers, git integration, and editor customization.

What This Skill Does

Configures Aider with:

Setup Instructions

1. **Create Configuration File**

Save this configuration to `~/.aider.conf.yml`:

```yaml

Default model (Claude Sonnet recommended for coding)

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022

Git integration

auto-commits: true

dirty-commits: true

attribute-author: true

attribute-commit-message-author: true

attribute-commit-message-committer: false

Editor integration

editor-model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022

editor-edit-format: diff

Chat behavior

no-pretty: false

dark-mode: true

show-diffs: true

Code context

map-tokens: 2048

max-chat-history-tokens: 4096

```

2. **Set API Keys (Environment Variables - Recommended)**

```bash

For Claude (recommended)

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-anthropic-key"

For GPT-4 (alternative)

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-openai-key"

For Gemini (alternative, free tier available)

export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-gemini-key"

```

Add to `~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`, or equivalent for persistence.

3. **Verify Configuration**

```bash

aider --help

aider --check-update

```

Configuration Options Explained

Model Selection

**Recommended (Default):**

```yaml

model: claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 # Best for coding tasks

```

**Alternatives (uncomment to use):**

```yaml

model: gpt-4-turbo-preview # OpenAI GPT-4

model: gemini/gemini-2.0-flash-exp # Google Gemini (free tier)

```

Git Integration

```yaml

auto-commits: true # Automatically commit changes

dirty-commits: true # Allow commits with uncommitted changes

attribute-author: true # Add "Co-Authored-By: aider" to commits

attribute-commit-message-author: true

```

**Why This Matters**: Creates clean commit history with AI attribution, making it clear which changes were AI-assisted.

Editor Settings

```yaml

editor-edit-format: diff # Show changes as diffs (recommended)

show-diffs: true # Display diffs before applying

```

**Alternatives**:

Performance Tuning

```yaml

map-tokens: 2048 # Context window for repository map

max-chat-history-tokens: 4096 # Chat history retention

```

Adjust these if working with large codebases or need more conversation history.

Advanced Customization

Local Override Configuration

Create `~/.aider.conf.yml.local` to override defaults without modifying the main config:

```bash

cp ~/.aider.conf.yml ~/.aider.conf.yml.local

Edit .aider.conf.yml.local with your preferences

```

Aider prioritizes `.local` files when present.

Additional Useful Options

```yaml

check-update: false # Disable update checks

lint: true # Run linter after changes

test: true # Run tests after changes

voice-language: en # Enable voice input (English)

```

Security Best Practices

**DO:**

**DON'T:**

Usage Example

After configuration, start Aider in any git repository:

```bash

cd your-project

aider

Or specify files to work on

aider src/main.py tests/test_main.py

Use a different model for one session

aider --model gpt-4-turbo-preview

```

Troubleshooting

**Issue**: Aider not finding API key

**Issue**: Git commits not auto-attributing

**Issue**: Model not available

Related Resources