Aider Multi-Agent Development

Configure Aider for multi-agent framework development with automatic git commits, lint/test integration, and streaming diff output.

What This Does

Sets up Aider with best practices for task execution and code migration in multi-agent systems, including conventional commits, clippy integration, and automatic file watching.

Instructions

1. **Verify Aider Installation**

- Check that Aider is installed: `aider --version`

- Ensure `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable is set

2. **Create Configuration File**

- Create `.aider.conf.yml` in project root

- Copy the configuration structure below

3. **Configure Git Integration**

- Enable `auto-commits: true` for automatic commit after each change

- Set `dirty-commits: false` to prevent commits with uncommitted changes

- Use `attribute-author: true` to credit Aider in git author field

- Configure commit prompt with conventional commit format

4. **Set Up File Handling**

- Enable `gitignore: true` to respect .gitignore patterns

- Create `.aiderignore` file for Aider-specific exclusions

- Enable `watch-files: true` for auto-reload on changes

5. **Configure Editor Settings**

- Use `edit-format: diff` for clear change visualization

- Enable `stream: true` for real-time output

- Set `show-diffs: true` to display all changes

6. **Set Lint Command**

- For Rust: `lint-cmd: cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings`

- For Python: `lint-cmd: ruff check .`

- For JavaScript: `lint-cmd: eslint .`

- For Go: `lint-cmd: golangci-lint run`

7. **Set Test Command**

- For Rust: `test-cmd: cargo test --all`

- For Python: `test-cmd: pytest`

- For JavaScript: `test-cmd: npm test`

- For Go: `test-cmd: go test ./...`

8. **Customize Commit Messages**

- Edit the `commit-prompt` to match team conventions

- Use conventional commit types: feat, fix, docs, refactor, test, chore

- Focus commit messages on "why" not "what"

9. **Launch Aider**

- Run `aider` in project directory to start session

- Configuration is automatically loaded from `.aider.conf.yml`

Configuration Template

```yaml

Aider configuration

https://aider.chat/docs/config.html

Model settings - uses ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable

model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Git integration

auto-commits: true

dirty-commits: false

attribute-author: true

attribute-committer: false

commit-prompt: |

Write a concise commit message for these changes.

Focus on the "why" not the "what".

Use conventional commit format: type(scope): description

File handling

gitignore: true

aiderignore: .aiderignore

Editor settings

edit-format: diff

stream: true

Output formatting

dark-mode: true

pretty: true

show-diffs: true

Lint and test commands (customize for your stack)

lint-cmd: cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings

test-cmd: cargo test --all

Files to watch for auto-reload

watch-files: true

```

Example Usage

**Rust Project:**

```yaml

lint-cmd: cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings

test-cmd: cargo test --all

```

**Python Project:**

```yaml

lint-cmd: ruff check . && mypy .

test-cmd: pytest tests/ -v

```

**TypeScript Project:**

```yaml

lint-cmd: eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx && tsc --noEmit

test-cmd: npm test

```

**Multi-Agent Framework:**

```yaml

lint-cmd: make lint

test-cmd: make test-integration

```

Important Notes

Common Pitfalls