Aider
AI pair programming in your terminal — edits your local code directly
What is Aider
Aider is an open-source CLI AI coding tool by Paul Gauthier. It lets you pair program with AI in your terminal: describe what you want, and AI edits your local files and auto-commits to git.
Aider supports 40+ models including GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet/Opus, and DeepSeek. It's not an editor plugin but a standalone CLI tool, perfect for terminal-first developers. It consistently ranks at the top of SWE-bench coding benchmarks.
Aider supports 40+ models including GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet/Opus, and DeepSeek. It's not an editor plugin but a standalone CLI tool, perfect for terminal-first developers. It consistently ranks at the top of SWE-bench coding benchmarks.
Free Tier Details
Aider itself is fully free and open-source (Apache 2.0). You need your own API key:
- Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek official keys
- Supports API aggregator and other OpenAI-compatible proxy services
- Local models (Ollama) work too, but cloud models perform better
Install: `pip install aider-chat`, then run `aider` in your project directory.
- Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek official keys
- Supports API aggregator and other OpenAI-compatible proxy services
- Local models (Ollama) work too, but cloud models perform better
Install: `pip install aider-chat`, then run `aider` in your project directory.
Editor's note
Editor's note: If you only need model calls, compare official APIs, free quota, latency, and switching cost before choosing any aggregator.
China Access Guide
Aider is a Python package, installs via pip with no issues in China.
For AI model calls, connect via API aggregator for direct China access with low latency, no proxy needed.
For AI model calls, connect via API aggregator for direct China access with low latency, no proxy needed.
FAQ
Q: Aider vs Cursor?
A: Terminal lovers → Aider. GUI lovers → Cursor. Aider is free (pay only for API), Cursor Pro is $20/mo.
Q: What languages does Aider support?
A: All languages. It uses tree-sitter for code parsing, with best support for Python, JS, TS, Go, Rust.
Q: Can I use local models?
A: Yes, via Ollama. But GPT-4o or Claude Sonnet recommended for best results.
A: Terminal lovers → Aider. GUI lovers → Cursor. Aider is free (pay only for API), Cursor Pro is $20/mo.
Q: What languages does Aider support?
A: All languages. It uses tree-sitter for code parsing, with best support for Python, JS, TS, Go, Rust.
Q: Can I use local models?
A: Yes, via Ollama. But GPT-4o or Claude Sonnet recommended for best results.