Aider is an open-source AI pair programming tool that runs in your terminal. It edits code in your local git repo, commits changes with sensible messages, and works with almost any LLM - cloud or local.
What Aider is
Aider is an AI pair-programming tool that runs in your terminal. You open it inside a Git repo, point it at an LLM, and edit code together with natural-language prompts. It reads the relevant files, proposes changes, applies them, and commits the result.
Key features
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Whole-codebase awareness - builds a repo map so it knows which files to touch.
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Git-native workflow - every change is a commit; you can revert or review diffs as usual.
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Multi-file edits - Aider can coordinate changes across many files in one session.
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Voice and vision - speak your prompt or paste images and URLs for context.
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Lint and test hooks - can run your test suite or linter and iterate on failures.
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100+ languages - works with most popular programming languages.
Install
python -m pip install aider-install
aider-install
Then run it inside a repository:
Supported models
Best with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek R1 & Chat V3, OpenAI o1/o3-mini & GPT-4o. It also connects to almost any LLM, including local models through Ollama.
Use case
Aider is ideal when you want to stay in your terminal and keep full control of Git. It is especially good for incremental feature work, refactoring, and bug fixes in existing codebases.
License
Apache 2.0.
Honest caveat
Aider is a tool, not an autonomous agent. It waits for your prompts and applies changes you approve. For hands-off automation you will want a harness like Codex, Cline, or Claude Code instead.