--- title: Aider slug: aider url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/aider" homepage: "https://aider.chat" categories: coding-agents last_verified: 2026-11-06 dataset_version: 0738be72 license: CC-BY-4.0 --- # Aider > Minimal terminal pair-programmer with a tree-sitter repo map and automatic git commits. - The smallest serious harness here and still one of the sharpest ideas. - A tree-sitter repo map gives a symbol-level view of a codebase far larger than the context window. - Every accepted change becomes an undoable git commit; architect mode splits a reasoning model from a cheaper editing model. - Works with essentially any provider including local, but cadence has slowed and it has no MCP, subagents or PR path. ## Identity | | | | --- | --- | | Name | Aider | | Company | Aider | | One-liner | Minimal terminal pair-programmer with a tree-sitter repo map and automatic git commits. | | Site | https://aider.chat | | Docs | https://aider.chat/docs/ | | Repo | https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider | | Founded | 2023 | | Open source | Yes | | Licence | Apache-2.0 | | Compared in | 1 | ## Where it is compared ### [Coding agents](https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents) Ranked **#14 of 17** on default weights. | Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Surface | CLI | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://aider.chat/docs/ | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--surface | | Default model | None, set by --model or environment keys | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--default_model | | Model breadth | any provider / router | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://aider.chat/docs/llms.html | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--model_breadth | | Repo indexing | AST / LSP repo map | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://aider.chat/docs/repomap.html | The tree-sitter repo map is the original good idea in this category, and still one of the cheapest ways to give a model a whole-codebase view. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--repo_indexing | | Plan mode | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Architect mode splits a reasoning model from an editing model, but there is no approve-the-plan gate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--plan_mode | | Checkpoint & undo | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Every accepted change is a git commit; /undo reverts it. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--checkpointing | | Headless / CI | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--headless_ci | | Local models | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--local_models | | Where it stops | 3 | Inferred | - | - | With --test-cmd and --lint it runs the loop and fixes failures, then commits. No PR path. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--stops_at | | MCP | ○ | Community-reported | - | - | Long-standing gap; the tool predates MCP and development has slowed. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--mcp_support | | Subagents | ○ | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--subagents | | Hooks | ○ | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--hooks | | Skills / commands | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Conventions files and built-in slash commands, but no reusable custom commands. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--skills_commands | | Background agents | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--background_agents | | Opens PRs | ○ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--pr_authoring | | Permissions | prompts every action | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | Confirms edits and shell commands; --yes disables that entirely. No sandbox. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--permission_model | | BYOK | ● | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--byok | | Licence | Apache-2.0 | Vendor-claimed | 2026-01-15 | https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--licence | | Pricing model | BYOK tokens only | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--pricing_model | | Entry price | $0/seat/mo | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--entry_price | | Token markup | ○ | Inferred | 2026-01-15 | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--gateway_markup | | GitHub stars | 37,000 | Community-reported | - | - | Rounded. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--github_stars | | Terminal-Bench | - | Unknown | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--terminal_bench | | Bench model | - | Unknown | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--terminal_bench_model | | Positioning | AI pair programming in your terminal. | Vendor-claimed | - | https://aider.chat | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--positioning | | First release | 2023-05-01 | Community-reported | - | - | Approximate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/coding-agents#aider--first_release | **Verdict.** The most auditable harness here, but visibly slowed while the category sprinted past. ## Alternatives - [Amp](https://toolweight.com/tools/amp), Sourcegraph's opinionated agent with no model picker and an ad-supported free tier. - [Claude Code](https://toolweight.com/tools/claude-code), Anthropic's terminal-first agent, with IDE, web and GitHub Action surfaces. - [Cline](https://toolweight.com/tools/cline), Open-source VS Code and JetBrains agent built around an explicit plan/act split. - [Codex CLI](https://toolweight.com/tools/codex-cli), OpenAI's open-source Rust agent, with the strongest local sandboxing on this page. - [Cursor](https://toolweight.com/tools/cursor), VS Code fork with a real codebase index, background cloud agents and a CLI. - [Devin](https://toolweight.com/tools/devin), Fully delegated cloud engineer: file a task in Slack or the web app, get a PR back. - [DIY harness](https://toolweight.com/tools/diy-harness), Your own loop over a model API with an agent SDK, the build-it-yourself reference point. - [Gemini CLI](https://toolweight.com/tools/gemini-cli), Apache-2.0 terminal agent from Google with an unusually generous free tier. - [GitHub Copilot (Agent HQ)](https://toolweight.com/tools/github-copilot), Copilot's coding agent plus a control plane for running third-party agents on your repos. - [Goose](https://toolweight.com/tools/goose), Block's Apache-2.0 agent, MCP-native from the start, as both a CLI and a desktop app. - [Grok Build](https://toolweight.com/tools/grok-build), xAI's coding harness, launched July 2026, on this page but not yet verified. - [Kilo Code](https://toolweight.com/tools/kilo-code), Open-source VS Code agent in the Cline/Roo lineage, with an orchestrator mode and a CLI. ## Logo & brand colours SVG files: https://toolweight.com/teams/aider/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/aider/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/aider. | Hex | oklch | | --- | --- | | #000000 | oklch(0.0% 0.000 0.0) | ## Licence and attribution Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0. - Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) - Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/aider - Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/aider.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp - Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.