How to Use Aider to Edit Code with AI in Your Terminal
Learn how to use Aider to edit code with AI directly in your terminal, with git-tracked changes and your own choice of AI model.
Aider Free
Aider AI Review: Open-Source AI Pair Programmer That Edits Code in Your Terminal
Aider is a free, open-source command-line AI pair programmer that works directly inside your terminal. You describe a change in plain English and Aider reads your source files, plans the edit, and applies the result as clean, git-tracked changes. It pairs with leading models from Anthropic, OpenAI and others, and it automatically commits thoughtful changes to your Git repository so you can review and roll back with confidence.
Unlike cloud-based coding assistants that only offer suggestions, Aider is built to edit real local codebases end to end. It understands your project structure, lets you add specific files to the chat context, and works best with major languages and frameworks. Because it lives in the terminal and stays in sync with Git, Aider gives developers precise control over exactly what changes and when. As the open-source coding-agent space grows, Aider remains a favorite for developers who want transparency, local control and the flexibility to choose their own models.
Product Features
- Edit existing code: Point Aider at files and have AI make surgical modifications in your repo.
- Git-aware commits: Every change is automatically committed with a sensible message, ready for review.
- Multi-model support: Use models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others through flexible providers.
- Terminal-first UX: No bulky IDE needed — a terminal and your editor are all that is required.
- Repository awareness: Aider reads tree structure so it can propose edits across many files consistently.
- Local and private: Keep code on your machine with full control over what is sent to your chosen model.
Product Highlights
- Free and fully open-source (Apache-2.0) with an active developer community.
- Transparent, atomic, git-tracked changes make AI edits safe to accept.
- Surprisingly small and simple to install and run on any dev machine.
- Ideal building block for scripting and automating AI pair-programming workflows.
Use Cases
- Fix a bug across multiple files and let Aider commit a clean, reviewable change.
- Add a new feature and write the accompanying tests in one interactive session.
- Refactor a legacy codebase with confidence because each step is git-tracked.
- Generate documentation and comments for a module you are about to hand over.
- Drive AI edits from shell scripts to automate repetitive coding tasks.
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