---
schema: "https://insidethemachine.ai/schema/listing.schema.json"
slug: "aider"
name: "Aider"
category: "Harnesses / Coding Agents"
stack_layer: "harness"
homepage: "https://aider.chat/"
repo: "https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider"
docs: "https://aider.chat/docs/llms/ollama.html"
license: "Apache-2.0"
platforms: ["macos-apple-silicon", "linux", "windows"]
mac_studio_fit: "Primary"
stars: 49567
stars_as_of: "2026-10-15"
last_push: "2026-05-22"
gap_score: null
gap_score_status: "pending test on Mac Studio"
benchmarks_status: "pending test on Mac Studio"
verified_on: "2026-10-15"
sponsored: false
---

# Aider

> AI pair programming in your terminal that edits your git repo, and it works with local models.

**What:** A coding agent in your terminal. **Why:** Lets a local model edit real code in your repo.

**Stack layer:** harness (model → runtime → harness → memory → tools)

A terminal coding agent that maps your codebase, edits files and makes git commits. Connects to cloud models or local models via Ollama.

**Gap role:** Harness quality: repo maps and edit formats help smaller local models do real multi-file coding work.

## Gap Score

null (pending test on Mac Studio)

## Prerequisites

- Python with pip
- git
- Ollama with a pulled model for local use

## Install

### macOS (Apple Silicon)

1. Run:

```bash
python -m pip install aider-install
```

2. Run:

```bash
aider-install
```

### Linux

1. Run:

```bash
python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install
```

### Windows

1. Run:

```bash
python -m pip install aider-install; aider-install
```

## Configure

1. Run:

```bash
export OLLAMA_API_BASE=http://127.0.0.1:11434
```

2. per Aider's Ollama docs; raises context to 8k:

```bash
OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH=8192 ollama serve
```

3. docs recommend ollama_chat/ over ollama/:

```bash
cd /path/to/your/project && aider --model ollama_chat/<model>
```

## Verify

1. Expect: prints a version

```bash
aider --version
```

2. Expect: completes one turn against the local model and exits

```bash
aider --model ollama_chat/<model> --message 'list the files in this repo' 
```

## Rollback

1. aider-install installs via uv; if that fails, check `uv tool list`:

```bash
uv tool uninstall aider-chat
```

2. Run:

```bash
pip uninstall -y aider-install
```

## One-command install

Status: docs-checked (Not run: commands checked against the official docs only). The wrapper scripts are generated from the site data. Every .sh passed bash -n and shellcheck and ran in plan mode on Linux (Debian 13). Every .ps1 passed the PowerShell parser and chat.ps1 ran in plan, verify and rollback mode under PowerShell 7 on Linux with Windows calls mocked. Not run on macOS or real Windows.

```bash
curl -fsSL https://insidethemachine.ai/install/aider.sh | bash            # install, then check
curl -fsSL https://insidethemachine.ai/install/aider.sh | bash -s -- plan    # print only
curl -fsSL https://insidethemachine.ai/install/aider.sh | bash -s -- rollback --yes
```

Details and Windows: https://insidethemachine.ai/install/aider.md

## Caveats

- Last push to the repo was 2026-05-22 (slower activity than most P0 items).

## Benchmarks

Status: pending test on Mac Studio. Rig: Mac Studio, Apple Silicon, 128GB unified memory. No results published yet.

## Works with

- ollama (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/ollama.md)
- litellm (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/litellm.md)
- lm-studio (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/lm-studio.md)
- llama-cpp (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/llama-cpp.md)
- mlx-lm (https://insidethemachine.ai/setups/mlx-lm.md)

## Sources

- https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider
- https://aider.chat/docs/llms/ollama.html