Aider

What is Aider

Aider is a model-agnostic AI pair programming tool for the terminal. It works with any LLM (OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, local models via Ollama), automatically commits every change to git with descriptive messages, and supports an architect mode where one model plans and another edits.

When to delegate to Aider

Use Aider when you need to:

• Make incremental code changes with automatic git commits for each step
• Work with a specific LLM that other tools don't support (e.g., DeepSeek, local Ollama models)
• Use architect mode to have one model plan changes and another implement them
• Pair program on a specific set of files
• Make changes that should be individually tracked in git history
• Work with repositories where you want fine-grained commit history of AI changes

How to invoke Aider

Non-interactive (recommended for delegation)

Use --message with --yes for fully non-interactive execution:

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT HERE" --yes

With specific model

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT" --yes --model sonnet

With architect mode (plan + implement split)

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT" --yes --architect --model o3-mini --editor-model sonnet

With specific files in context

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT" --yes --file src/auth.ts --file src/types.ts

With read-only context files

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT" --yes --file src/auth.ts --read docs/api-spec.md

Dry run (preview changes without applying)

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT" --yes --dry-run

Disable auto-git-commit

aider --message "YOUR PROMPT" --yes --no-git

Important notes

• Requires API keys via environment variables (OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, etc.) or --api-key flag
• By default, Aider auto-commits every change to git with a descriptive message
• The --yes flag is essential for non-interactive use (auto-confirms all prompts)
• Aider exits after completing the --message task
• Architect mode (--architect) is powerful for complex changes: one model reasons about the approach, another implements
• Use --file to explicitly add files to context (otherwise Aider uses its own heuristics)
• Use --no-stream if you want to capture complete output

Delegation pattern

For targeted file changes:

aider --message "Add input validation to the createUser function in src/users.ts. Validate email format and password strength. Add corresponding tests." --yes --file src/users.ts --file tests/users.test.ts

For architect-mode complex changes:

aider --message "Migrate the database layer from raw SQL to Prisma ORM. Update all repository files accordingly." --yes --architect --model o3-mini --editor-model sonnet

For changes with specific LLM:

aider --message "Optimize the rendering performance of the dashboard component" --yes --model deepseek --file src/components/Dashboard.tsx

Source: roy2392/sdlc-subagents-cli — distributed by TomeVault.