Overview

Aider is an open-source coding assistant designed primarily for terminal workflows. It adds relevant files to context, proposes edits, displays diffs, and can commit changes through Git.

The tool is aimed at developers comfortable with the command line who want freedom in model selection. Aider itself is free, but hosted models may create external costs depending on the provider and the amount of usage.

Key features

Conversational file editing from the command line

Git integration with diffs and commits for generated changes

Compatibility with many cloud and local models

Best use cases

Apply a small feature or bug fix from the terminal

Refactor several files while tracking changes in Git

Evaluate different models without changing development tools

Pros

Open-source project with no mandatory software subscription

Lightweight workflow for terminal-oriented developers

Broad model choice with support for local execution