Aider

AI pair-programming in your terminal that edits whole repos from chat prompts.

Open Source Coding & Development
Visit Website ↗ by Paul Gauthier / Aider-AI

What is Aider?

Aider is a command-line AI coding assistant that works directly inside your git repositories. You chat with it about a feature or fix, and it proposes and applies edits across multiple files, committing results to git. It connects to leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, and suits developers who prefer the terminal over an IDE plugin. The project is open source under Apache 2.0.

Key features

  • Git-aware multi-file editing
  • Works with Claude, GPT, DeepSeek and other models
  • Terminal/CLI workflow
  • Automatic commit messages

Watch: Aider tutorial

Aider: This AI Coder Can Create AND Update Git Codebases Aider: This AI Coder Can Create AND Update Git Codebases — Ian Wootten

Video by Ian Wootten on YouTube — plays here without leaving this page.

Pros

  • Fully open-source codebase
  • Model-agnostic
  • Strong with large repos

Cons

  • CLI-only, no GUI
  • Requires your own API key with model costs

Aider at a glance

PricingOpen Source
CategoryCoding & Development
Platformsmacos, windows, linux
CompanyPaul Gauthier / Aider-AI
Official websiteaider.chat
ai-codingpair-programmingcligit

How to choose the right Coding & Development tool

The right coding tool depends on where you write code and how much of your codebase it can understand. IDE integration is the first filter — a tool that lives in your editor, sees your project files and respects your stack will help far more than a general chatbot you paste snippets into. Look for accurate completions, clear explanations of suggested changes, and strong refactoring and debugging support for your main languages. Privacy deserves real attention: check whether your code is used for training, and whether a self-hosted or enterprise option exists for sensitive projects. Price against the hours it actually saves — most developers feel the difference within the first week of real use.

Compare all Coding & Development tools →

Aider FAQs

What is Aider?

Aider is a command-line AI coding assistant that works directly inside your git repositories. You chat with it about a feature or fix, and it proposes and applies edits across multiple files, committing results to git. It connects to leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, and suits developers who prefer the terminal over an IDE plugin. The project is open source under Apache 2.0.

What are the main features of Aider?

Aider offers Git-aware multi-file editing, Works with Claude, GPT, DeepSeek and other models, Terminal/CLI workflow and Automatic commit messages.

How much does Aider cost?

Aider is open source, so the software itself is free to download, use and self-host. Your only costs are the infrastructure you run it on and any paid services you connect to it.

What are the pros and cons of Aider?

Strengths of Aider include Fully open-source codebase; Model-agnostic; Strong with large repos. On the downside, CLI-only, no GUI; Requires your own API key with model costs.