diff --git a/aider/coder.py b/aider/coder.py
index 773b3d8e3..f23fd6dfc 100755
--- a/aider/coder.py
+++ b/aider/coder.py
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ class Coder:
         if is_commit_command:
             return
 
-        if not self.auto_commits:
+        if not self.dirty_commits:
             return
         if not self.repo:
             return
diff --git a/aider/main.py b/aider/main.py
index 61d19a7f7..75ad7ba3c 100644
--- a/aider/main.py
+++ b/aider/main.py
@@ -133,6 +133,8 @@ def main(args=None, input=None, output=None):
         action="store_true",
         dest="dirty_commits",
         help="Enable dirty commit of changes",
+        env_var=f"{env_prefix}DIRTY_COMMIT",
+        default=True,
     )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--dry-run",
@@ -204,7 +206,7 @@ def main(args=None, input=None, output=None):
         use_ctags=args.ctags,
         verbose=args.verbose,
     )
-    if args.auto_commits:
+    if args.dirty_commits:
         coder.commit(ask=True, prefix="wip: ", which="repo_files")
 
     if args.apply:
diff --git a/tests/test_main.py b/tests/test_main.py
index 973d578ca..9cd6fd8d7 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/test_main.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ class TestMain(TestCase):
             with patch("aider.main.Coder") as MockCoder:
                 main([])
                 _, kwargs = MockCoder.call_args
+                assert kwargs["dirty_commits"] is True
                 assert kwargs["auto_commits"] is True
                 assert kwargs["pretty"] is True
 
@@ -63,3 +64,13 @@ class TestMain(TestCase):
                 main(["--pretty"])
                 _, kwargs = MockCoder.call_args
                 assert kwargs["pretty"] is True
+
+            with patch("aider.main.Coder") as MockCoder:
+                main(["--no-dirty-commits"])
+                _, kwargs = MockCoder.call_args
+                assert kwargs["dirty_commits"] is False
+
+            with patch("aider.main.Coder") as MockCoder:
+                main(["--dirty-commits"])
+                _, kwargs = MockCoder.call_args
+                assert kwargs["dirty_commits"] is True