Aider Power User Config

A sophisticated Aider configuration that enables intelligent commit message generation, multi-model support, and project-specific conventions.

What This Does

This skill configures Aider with:

Instructions

Create or update your `.aider.conf.yml` file with the following configuration:

```yaml

models (uncomment as appropriate)

see https://aider.chat/docs/leaderboards/

model: openai/gpt-5.2

edit-format: diff-fenced

model: openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.5

edit-format: diff-fenced

model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929

edit-format: diff-fenced

model: gemini/gemini-2.5-flash-preview-05-20

model: gemini

edit-format: diff-fenced

weak-model: flash

thinking-tokens: 32k

check-model-accepts-settings: false

model: o3

reasoning-effort: high

other settings

commit-prompt: |

Generate a concise commit message following these rules:

- If the current project is `dotfiles` and the file(s) being committed are in `emacs/extras` or `emacs/extras/doc` (relative to that project), proceed as follows: (1) Begin with the name of the file being modified, sans its extension. For example, if the file is `emacs/extras/files-extras.el`, use `files-extras`. (2) Continue with ": " followed by a brief description of the change. The word after the colon should be in lowercase. For example, if you are refactoring a function in `emacs/extras/files-extras.el`, your commit message should look like this: `files-extras: <succinct description of the refactoring>`.

- If the current project is `tlon` and the file(s) being committed are in that directory or in the `doc` subdirectory, proceed as follows: Begin with the name of the file being modified, but instead of using the full file, only use the part between `tlon-` and `.el`. For example, if the file is `tlon-tts.el`, use `tts`. For documentation files, use what you would have used if you were writing a commit for the Elisp file being documented. For example, if the file is `tlon-tts.org`, use `tts`.

- Otherwise, just use standard commit rules.

- In all cases, the commit should not be longer than 70 characters.

auto-lint: true

read:

- ~/Dropbox/dotfiles/aider/global_conventions.md

attribute-co-authored-by: false

attribute-committer: false

```

Key Features Explained

Model Selection

The config includes several model presets. Claude Opus 4.5 is active by default. To switch models, comment the current model and uncomment your preferred option.

Commit Message Logic

Global Conventions

The `read` directive loads `~/Dropbox/dotfiles/aider/global_conventions.md` into every Aider session. Update this path to match your global conventions file location.

Attribution

Both `attribute-co-authored-by` and `attribute-committer` are disabled for cleaner commit messages.

Usage Examples

**Dotfiles project example:**

```

files-extras: refactor file navigation helpers

```

**Tlon project example:**

```

tts: add voice selection support

```

**Standard project example:**

```

feat: add user authentication middleware

```

Customization

1. **Change the active model**: Uncomment your preferred model line and comment the current one

2. **Adjust commit rules**: Modify the `commit-prompt` section to match your project naming conventions

3. **Update conventions path**: Change the `read` path to your global conventions file location

4. **Toggle auto-lint**: Set to `false` if you prefer manual linting

Notes