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简体中文 | English

Aider Best Practices

Aider is an open-source CLI AI coding tool. Its defining feature is being Git-native — every change is auto-committed, with built-in version control support. It works with virtually all major LLMs (Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, Qwen, local models), making it the most flexible AI coding CLI out there.

Core Concepts

Concept Description Use Case
Chat Modes code / ask / architect Different modes for different tasks
Auto Git Commits Every change auto-committed Roll back anytime
Map Mode Auto-indexes project structure Understand large codebases
Multi-Model Support Claude/GPT/DeepSeek/Ollama etc. Flexible selection, cost control
Lint & Test Built-in code checking and testing Auto-verify after changes

Getting Started

Installation

pip install aider-chat

# Set an API key (pick one)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-xxx    # Claude
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-xxx       # GPT
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-xxx     # DeepSeek

Basic Usage

cd /your/project
aider

# Specify a model
aider --model claude-3-5-sonnet

# Use DeepSeek (cheaper)
aider --model deepseek/deepseek-chat

# Use a local model (free)
aider --model ollama/qwen2.5-coder

Three Chat Modes

# code mode (default) — directly edits code
/code Add a retry decorator to utils.py

# ask mode — read-only, no changes
/ask What's the time complexity of this function?

# architect mode — design first, implement later
/architect Design a task queue system. Give me the plan, don't write code yet

Prompting Tips

1. Adding Files to Context

# Manually add files
/add src/models/user.py src/api/auth.py

# Add an entire directory
/add src/services/

# Remove files you don't need
/drop src/legacy/old_auth.py

Aider only modifies files that have been added. This is how you precisely control scope.

2. Architect Mode for Large Tasks

/architect

I need to add a WebSocket real-time notification system to the project.
Requirements:
1. User online/offline notifications
2. Real-time new message push
3. Channel subscribe/unsubscribe support
4. Handle disconnect and reconnect

Give me a technical plan first, including:
- Which libraries to use
- Data flow design
- Which new files to create
- Which existing files to modify

Once confirmed, I'll switch to code mode to implement.

3. Leverage Auto Git Commits

# Every change gets its own commit — roll back anytime
git log --oneline  # View Aider's commit history
git diff HEAD~1    # See the last change
git revert HEAD    # Not happy? One-command rollback

# Set a custom commit prefix
aider --commit-prefix "[ai] "

4. Multi-Model Strategy

# Complex architecture design — use the strongest model
aider --model claude-3-5-sonnet
/architect Design a microservices split plan

# Daily coding — use a cost-effective model
aider --model deepseek/deepseek-chat
/code Implement user-service according to the plan

# Code review — use a free local model
aider --model ollama/qwen2.5-coder
/ask Any issues with this code?

Advanced Tips

.aider.conf.yml — Project Configuration

# .aider.conf.yml
model: claude-3-5-sonnet
auto-commits: true
auto-lint: true
auto-test: true
test-cmd: pytest
lint-cmd: ruff check

Lint + Test Automation

# After every change, automatically:
# 1. Run the linter
# 2. Run related tests
# 3. If either fails, auto-fix and retry
auto-lint: true
auto-test: true
lint-cmd: "ruff check --fix"
test-cmd: "pytest -x"

Git Workflow Integration

# Work on a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/add-notifications
aider

# Every Aider change stays on this branch
# When done, follow your normal PR process
git push -u origin feature/add-notifications

How It Differs from Other CLI Tools

Dimension Aider Claude Code Gemini CLI
Git integration 3/3 (auto-commit) 2/3 (manual) 1/3
Model flexibility 3/3 (almost all LLMs) 1/3 (Claude only) 1/3 (Gemini only)
Agent capabilities 2/3 3/3 2/3
Context management Manual /add /drop Automatic Automatic
Open source Fully open source No Open source
Cost control 3/3 (free models available) 1/3 3/3
Best for Flexibility, saving money, Git power users Complex Agent tasks Large codebase analysis

Configuration Templates

Template Purpose
.aider.conf.yml Project config template (multi-model, lint, test config), copy to project root

Further Reading