Aider
Coding agent by Aider AI (Paul Gauthier)
MaintenanceOpen source · Apache-2.0Verified Oct 22, 2026
Open-source terminal pair-programming tool that edits files in your local git repo, commits its changes automatically, and works with most LLM providers.
Key facts
- Type
- Coding agent · CLI
- Pricing
- Free tool; you pay for API usage
- Free tier
- Free and open source. You pay only your model provider's API costs, or nothing when using local models or free API tiers.
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Models
- Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Most other LLMs via OpenAI-compatible APIs and OpenRouter, Local models via Ollama or OpenAI-compatible local servers
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Windows
- Bring your own API key
- Yes
- Local models
- Yes
- MCP support
- No
- Self-hostable
- No
- GitHub stars
- 49,684
- Last commit
- May 22, 2026
Best for
- Terminal users who want git-native AI edits with automatic commits
- Developers who want a BYO-key or local-model tool with no subscription
- Benchmark-minded users who follow Aider's LLM leaderboards
Pros
- Apache-2.0 licensed, with no vendor account or subscription
- Tight git integration: changes are committed with descriptive messages
- Repository map gives the model codebase-wide context
- Works with most hosted LLMs and with local models
Cons
- Development has stalled: no feature release since August 2025 and no commits since May 2026
- No native MCP support (only open feature requests)
- No official IDE plugin; editor use relies on the --watch-files comment workflow
- The latest PyPI release requires Python <3.13 (the official installer provisions Python 3.12)
Sources (9)
- license: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/blob/main/LICENSE.txt
- platforms: https://aider.chat/docs/install.html
- modelsSupported: https://aider.chat/docs/llms.html
- ideIntegrations: https://aider.chat/docs/usage/watch.html
- mcpSupport: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/issues?q=MCP
- status: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/commits/main
- status: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases
- status: https://pypi.org/project/aider-chat/#history
- pricingModel: https://aider.chat/