--- nav_order: 30 --- ## Usage Run `aider` with the source code files you want to edit. These files will be "added to the chat session", so that the LLM can see their contents and edit them according to your instructions. ``` aider ... ``` Be selective, and just add the files that the LLM will need to edit. If you add a bunch of unrelated files, the LLM can get overwhelmed and confused (and it costs more tokens). Aider will automatically share snippets from other, related files with the LLM so it can [understand the rest of your code base](https://aider.chat/docs/repomap.html). You can also just launch aider anywhere in a git repo without naming files. You can then add and remove files in the chat with the `/add` and `/drop` [chat commands](/docs/commands.html). If you or the LLM mention any of the repo filenames, aider will ask if you'd like to add them to the chat. See info about how to [connect to LLMs](/docs/llms.html) for information on telling aider which model to use. Aider also has many other options which can be set with command line switches, environment variables or via a configuration file. See `aider --help` below for details. ``` usage: aider [-h] [--openai-api-key OPENAI_API_KEY] [--anthropic-api-key ANTHROPIC_API_KEY] [--model MODEL] [--opus] [--sonnet] [--4] [--4o] [--4-turbo] [--35turbo] [--models MODEL] [--openai-api-base OPENAI_API_BASE] [--openai-api-type OPENAI_API_TYPE] [--openai-api-version OPENAI_API_VERSION] [--openai-api-deployment-id OPENAI_API_DEPLOYMENT_ID] [--openai-organization-id OPENAI_ORGANIZATION_ID] [--edit-format EDIT_FORMAT] [--weak-model WEAK_MODEL] [--show-model-warnings | --no-show-model-warnings] [--map-tokens MAP_TOKENS] [--max-chat-history-tokens MAX_CHAT_HISTORY_TOKENS] [--env-file ENV_FILE] [--input-history-file INPUT_HISTORY_FILE] [--chat-history-file CHAT_HISTORY_FILE] [--restore-chat-history | --no-restore-chat-history] [--dark-mode] [--light-mode] [--pretty | --no-pretty] [--stream | --no-stream] [--user-input-color USER_INPUT_COLOR] [--tool-output-color TOOL_OUTPUT_COLOR] [--tool-error-color TOOL_ERROR_COLOR] [--assistant-output-color ASSISTANT_OUTPUT_COLOR] [--code-theme CODE_THEME] [--show-diffs] [--git | --no-git] [--gitignore | --no-gitignore] [--aiderignore AIDERIGNORE] [--auto-commits | --no-auto-commits] [--dirty-commits | --no-dirty-commits] [--dry-run | --no-dry-run] [--commit] [--lint] [--lint-cmd LINT_CMD] [--auto-lint | --no-auto-lint] [--test-cmd TEST_CMD] [--auto-test | --no-auto-test] [--test] [--voice-language VOICE_LANGUAGE] [--version] [--check-update] [--skip-check-update] [--apply FILE] [--yes] [-v] [--show-repo-map] [--show-prompts] [--message COMMAND] [--message-file MESSAGE_FILE] [--encoding ENCODING] [-c CONFIG_FILE] [--gui] [FILE ...] aider is GPT powered coding in your terminal options: -h, --help show this help message and exit Main: FILE files to edit with an LLM (optional) --openai-api-key OPENAI_API_KEY Specify the OpenAI API key [env var: OPENAI_API_KEY] --anthropic-api-key ANTHROPIC_API_KEY Specify the OpenAI API key [env var: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY] --model MODEL Specify the model to use for the main chat (default: gpt-4o) --opus Use claude-3-opus-20240229 model for the main chat --sonnet Use claude-3-sonnet-20240229 model for the main chat --4, -4 Use gpt-4-0613 model for the main chat --4o Use gpt-4o model for the main chat --4-turbo Use gpt-4-1106-preview model for the main chat --35turbo, --35-turbo, --3, -3 Use gpt-3.5-turbo model for the main chat Model Settings: --models MODEL List known models which match the (partial) MODEL name --openai-api-base OPENAI_API_BASE Specify the api base url [env var: OPENAI_API_BASE] --openai-api-type OPENAI_API_TYPE Specify the api_type [env var: OPENAI_API_TYPE] --openai-api-version OPENAI_API_VERSION Specify the api_version [env var: OPENAI_API_VERSION] --openai-api-deployment-id OPENAI_API_DEPLOYMENT_ID Specify the deployment_id [env var: OPENAI_API_DEPLOYMENT_ID] --openai-organization-id OPENAI_ORGANIZATION_ID Specify the OpenAI organization ID [env var: OPENAI_ORGANIZATION_ID] --edit-format EDIT_FORMAT Specify what edit format the LLM should use (default depends on model) --weak-model WEAK_MODEL Specify the model to use for commit messages and chat history summarization (default depends on --model) --show-model-warnings, --no-show-model-warnings Only work with models that have meta-data available (default: True) --map-tokens MAP_TOKENS Max number of tokens to use for repo map, use 0 to disable (default: 1024) --max-chat-history-tokens MAX_CHAT_HISTORY_TOKENS Maximum number of tokens to use for chat history. If not specified, uses the model's max_chat_history_tokens. --env-file ENV_FILE Specify the .env file to load (default: .env in git root) History Files: --input-history-file INPUT_HISTORY_FILE Specify the chat input history file (default: .aider.input.history) --chat-history-file CHAT_HISTORY_FILE Specify the chat history file (default: .aider.chat.history.md) --restore-chat-history, --no-restore-chat-history Restore the previous chat history messages (default: False) Output Settings: --dark-mode Use colors suitable for a dark terminal background (default: False) --light-mode Use colors suitable for a light terminal background (default: False) --pretty, --no-pretty Enable/disable pretty, colorized output (default: True) --stream, --no-stream Enable/disable streaming responses (default: True) --user-input-color USER_INPUT_COLOR Set the color for user input (default: #00cc00) --tool-output-color TOOL_OUTPUT_COLOR Set the color for tool output (default: None) --tool-error-color TOOL_ERROR_COLOR Set the color for tool error messages (default: red) --assistant-output-color ASSISTANT_OUTPUT_COLOR Set the color for assistant output (default: #0088ff) --code-theme CODE_THEME Set the markdown code theme (default: default, other options include monokai, solarized-dark, solarized-light) --show-diffs Show diffs when committing changes (default: False) Git Settings: --git, --no-git Enable/disable looking for a git repo (default: True) --gitignore, --no-gitignore Enable/disable adding .aider* to .gitignore (default: True) --aiderignore AIDERIGNORE Specify the aider ignore file (default: .aiderignore in git root) --auto-commits, --no-auto-commits Enable/disable auto commit of LLM changes (default: True) --dirty-commits, --no-dirty-commits Enable/disable commits when repo is found dirty (default: True) --dry-run, --no-dry-run Perform a dry run without modifying files (default: False) Fixing and committing: --commit Commit all pending changes with a suitable commit message, then exit --lint Lint and fix provided files, or dirty files if none provided --lint-cmd LINT_CMD Specify lint commands to run for different languages, eg: "python: flake8 --select=..." (can be used multiple times) --auto-lint, --no-auto-lint Enable/disable automatic linting after changes (default: True) --test-cmd TEST_CMD Specify command to run tests --auto-test, --no-auto-test Enable/disable automatic testing after changes (default: False) --test Run tests and fix problems found Other Settings: --voice-language VOICE_LANGUAGE Specify the language for voice using ISO 639-1 code (default: auto) --version Show the version number and exit --check-update Check for updates and return status in the exit code --skip-check-update Skips checking for the update when the program runs --apply FILE Apply the changes from the given file instead of running the chat (debug) --yes Always say yes to every confirmation -v, --verbose Enable verbose output --show-repo-map Print the repo map and exit (debug) --show-prompts Print the system prompts and exit (debug) --message COMMAND, --msg COMMAND, -m COMMAND Specify a single message to send the LLM, process reply then exit (disables chat mode) --message-file MESSAGE_FILE, -f MESSAGE_FILE Specify a file containing the message to send the LLM, process reply, then exit (disables chat mode) --encoding ENCODING Specify the encoding for input and output (default: utf-8) -c CONFIG_FILE, --config CONFIG_FILE Specify the config file (default: search for .aider.conf.yml in git root, cwd or home directory) --gui, --browser Run aider in your browser Args that start with '--' can also be set in a config file (specified via -c). The config file uses YAML syntax and must represent a YAML 'mapping' (for details, see http://learn.getgrav.org/advanced/yaml). In general, command-line values override environment variables which override config file values which override defaults. ```