YAML config file
Most of aider’s options can be set in an .aider.conf.yml
file.
Aider will look for a this file in these locations and
load whichever is found first.
- As specified with the
--config <filename>
parameter. - The current directory.
- The root of your git repo.
- Your home directory.
Storing LLM keys
Aider has special support for providing
OpenAI and Anthropic API keys
via dedicated
command line switches
--openai-api-key
and --anthropic-api-key
.
You can also set those API keys via special entries in the yaml config file, like this:
openai-api-key: <key>
anthropic-api-key: <key>
All other LLM providers can use one of the following methods to set their keys:
API keys on the command line
Use --api-key provider=<key>
which has the effect of setting the environment variable PROVIDER_API_KEY=<key>
. So --api-key gemini=xxx
would set GEMINI_API_KEY=xxx
.
API keys in a .env file
The .env file is a great place to set API keys and other provider API environment variables:
GEMINI_API_KEY=foo
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=bar
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=baz
API keys in .aider.conf.yml
Or you can set API keys in the
.aider.conf.yml
file
via the api-key
entry:
api-key:
- gemini=foo # Sets env var GEMINI_API_KEY=foo
- openrouter=bar # Sets env var OPENROUTER_API_KEY=bar
- deepseek=baz # Sets env var DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=baz
All API keys can be stored in a .env file or in a YAML config file.
A note on lists
Lists of values can be specified either as a bulleted list:
read:
- CONVENTIONS.md
- anotherfile.txt
- thirdfile.py
Or lists can be specified using commas and square brackets:
read: [CONVENTIONS.md, anotherfile.txt, thirdfile.py]
Sample YAML config file
Below is a sample of the YAML config file, which you can also download from GitHub.
##########################################################
# Sample .aider.conf.yml
# This file lists *all* the valid configuration entries.
# Place in your home dir, or at the root of your git repo.
##########################################################
# Note: You can only put OpenAI and Anthropic API keys in the yaml
# config file. Keys for all APIs can be stored in a .env file
# https://aider.chat/docs/config/dotenv.html
##########
# options:
## show this help message and exit
#help: xxx
#############
# Main model:
## Specify the model to use for the main chat
#model: xxx
## Use claude-3-opus-20240229 model for the main chat
#opus: false
## Use claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 model for the main chat
#sonnet: false
## Use claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 model for the main chat
#haiku: false
## Use gpt-4-0613 model for the main chat
#4: false
## Use gpt-4o model for the main chat
#4o: false
## Use gpt-4o-mini model for the main chat
#mini: false
## Use gpt-4-1106-preview model for the main chat
#4-turbo: false
## Use gpt-3.5-turbo model for the main chat
#35turbo: false
## Use deepseek/deepseek-coder model for the main chat
#deepseek: false
## Use o1-mini model for the main chat
#o1-mini: false
## Use o1-preview model for the main chat
#o1-preview: false
########################
# API Keys and settings:
## Specify the OpenAI API key
#openai-api-key: xxx
## Specify the Anthropic API key
#anthropic-api-key: xxx
## Specify the api base url
#openai-api-base: xxx
## (deprecated, use --set-env OPENAI_API_TYPE=<value>)
#openai-api-type: xxx
## (deprecated, use --set-env OPENAI_API_VERSION=<value>)
#openai-api-version: xxx
## (deprecated, use --set-env OPENAI_API_DEPLOYMENT_ID=<value>)
#openai-api-deployment-id: xxx
## (deprecated, use --set-env OPENAI_ORGANIZATION=<value>)
#openai-organization-id: xxx
## Set an environment variable (to control API settings, can be used multiple times)
#set-env: xxx
## Specify multiple values like this:
#set-env:
# - xxx
# - yyy
# - zzz
## Set an API key for a provider (eg: --api-key provider=<key> sets PROVIDER_API_KEY=<key>)
#api-key: xxx
## Specify multiple values like this:
#api-key:
# - xxx
# - yyy
# - zzz
#################
# Model settings:
## List known models which match the (partial) MODEL name
#list-models: xxx
## Specify a file with aider model settings for unknown models
#model-settings-file: .aider.model.settings.yml
## Specify a file with context window and costs for unknown models
#model-metadata-file: .aider.model.metadata.json
## Add a model alias (can be used multiple times)
#alias: xxx
## Specify multiple values like this:
#alias:
# - xxx
# - yyy
# - zzz
## Verify the SSL cert when connecting to models (default: True)
#verify-ssl: true
## Timeout in seconds for API calls (default: None)
#timeout: xxx
## Specify what edit format the LLM should use (default depends on model)
#edit-format: xxx
## Use architect edit format for the main chat
#architect: false
## Specify the model to use for commit messages and chat history summarization (default depends on --model)
#weak-model: xxx
## Specify the model to use for editor tasks (default depends on --model)
#editor-model: xxx
## Specify the edit format for the editor model (default: depends on editor model)
#editor-edit-format: xxx
## Only work with models that have meta-data available (default: True)
#show-model-warnings: true
## Soft limit on tokens for chat history, after which summarization begins. If unspecified, defaults to the model's max_chat_history_tokens.
#max-chat-history-tokens: xxx
#################
# Cache settings:
## Enable caching of prompts (default: False)
#cache-prompts: false
## Number of times to ping at 5min intervals to keep prompt cache warm (default: 0)
#cache-keepalive-pings: false
###################
# Repomap settings:
## Suggested number of tokens to use for repo map, use 0 to disable (default: 1024)
#map-tokens: xxx
## Control how often the repo map is refreshed. Options: auto, always, files, manual (default: auto)
#map-refresh: auto
## Multiplier for map tokens when no files are specified (default: 2)
#map-multiplier-no-files: true
################
# History Files:
## Specify the chat input history file (default: .aider.input.history)
#input-history-file: .aider.input.history
## Specify the chat history file (default: .aider.chat.history.md)
#chat-history-file: .aider.chat.history.md
## Restore the previous chat history messages (default: False)
#restore-chat-history: false
## Log the conversation with the LLM to this file (for example, .aider.llm.history)
#llm-history-file: xxx
##################
# Output settings:
## Use colors suitable for a dark terminal background (default: False)
#dark-mode: false
## Use colors suitable for a light terminal background (default: False)
#light-mode: false
## Enable/disable pretty, colorized output (default: True)
#pretty: true
## Enable/disable streaming responses (default: True)
#stream: true
## Set the color for user input (default: #00cc00)
#user-input-color: #00cc00
## Set the color for tool output (default: None)
#tool-output-color: xxx
## Set the color for tool error messages (default: #FF2222)
#tool-error-color: #FF2222
## Set the color for tool warning messages (default: #FFA500)
#tool-warning-color: #FFA500
## Set the color for assistant output (default: #0088ff)
#assistant-output-color: #0088ff
## Set the color for the completion menu (default: terminal's default text color)
#completion-menu-color: xxx
## Set the background color for the completion menu (default: terminal's default background color)
#completion-menu-bg-color: xxx
## Set the color for the current item in the completion menu (default: terminal's default background color)
#completion-menu-current-color: xxx
## Set the background color for the current item in the completion menu (default: terminal's default text color)
#completion-menu-current-bg-color: xxx
## Set the markdown code theme (default: default, other options include monokai, solarized-dark, solarized-light)
#code-theme: default
## Show diffs when committing changes (default: False)
#show-diffs: false
###############
# Git settings:
## Enable/disable looking for a git repo (default: True)
#git: true
## Enable/disable adding .aider* to .gitignore (default: True)
#gitignore: true
## Specify the aider ignore file (default: .aiderignore in git root)
#aiderignore: .aiderignore
## Only consider files in the current subtree of the git repository
#subtree-only: false
## Enable/disable auto commit of LLM changes (default: True)
#auto-commits: true
## Enable/disable commits when repo is found dirty (default: True)
#dirty-commits: true
## Attribute aider code changes in the git author name (default: True)
#attribute-author: true
## Attribute aider commits in the git committer name (default: True)
#attribute-committer: true
## Prefix commit messages with 'aider: ' if aider authored the changes (default: False)
#attribute-commit-message-author: false
## Prefix all commit messages with 'aider: ' (default: False)
#attribute-commit-message-committer: false
## Commit all pending changes with a suitable commit message, then exit
#commit: false
## Specify a custom prompt for generating commit messages
#commit-prompt: xxx
## Perform a dry run without modifying files (default: False)
#dry-run: false
## Skip the sanity check for the git repository (default: False)
#skip-sanity-check-repo: false
## Enable/disable watching files for ai coding comments (default: False)
#watch-files: false
########################
# Fixing and committing:
## Lint and fix provided files, or dirty files if none provided
#lint: false
## Specify lint commands to run for different languages, eg: "python: flake8 --select=..." (can be used multiple times)
#lint-cmd: xxx
## Specify multiple values like this:
#lint-cmd:
# - xxx
# - yyy
# - zzz
## Enable/disable automatic linting after changes (default: True)
#auto-lint: true
## Specify command to run tests
#test-cmd: xxx
## Enable/disable automatic testing after changes (default: False)
#auto-test: false
## Run tests, fix problems found and then exit
#test: false
############
# Analytics:
## Enable/disable analytics for current session (default: random)
#analytics: xxx
## Specify a file to log analytics events
#analytics-log: xxx
## Permanently disable analytics
#analytics-disable: false
############
# Upgrading:
## Check for updates and return status in the exit code
#just-check-update: false
## Check for new aider versions on launch
#check-update: true
## Show release notes on first run of new version (default: None, ask user)
#show-release-notes: xxx
## Install the latest version from the main branch
#install-main-branch: false
## Upgrade aider to the latest version from PyPI
#upgrade: false
## Show the version number and exit
#version: xxx
########
# Modes:
## Specify a single message to send the LLM, process reply then exit (disables chat mode)
#message: xxx
## Specify a file containing the message to send the LLM, process reply, then exit (disables chat mode)
#message-file: xxx
## Run aider in your browser (default: False)
#gui: false
## Enable automatic copy/paste of chat between aider and web UI (default: False)
#copy-paste: false
## Apply the changes from the given file instead of running the chat (debug)
#apply: xxx
## Apply clipboard contents as edits using the main model's editor format
#apply-clipboard-edits: false
## Do all startup activities then exit before accepting user input (debug)
#exit: false
## Print the repo map and exit (debug)
#show-repo-map: false
## Print the system prompts and exit (debug)
#show-prompts: false
#################
# Voice settings:
## Audio format for voice recording (default: wav). webm and mp3 require ffmpeg
#voice-format: wav
## Specify the language for voice using ISO 639-1 code (default: auto)
#voice-language: en
## Specify the input device name for voice recording
#voice-input-device: xxx
#################
# Other settings:
## specify a file to edit (can be used multiple times)
#file: xxx
## Specify multiple values like this:
#file:
# - xxx
# - yyy
# - zzz
## specify a read-only file (can be used multiple times)
#read: xxx
## Specify multiple values like this:
#read:
# - xxx
# - yyy
# - zzz
## Use VI editing mode in the terminal (default: False)
#vim: false
## Specify the language to use in the chat (default: None, uses system settings)
#chat-language: xxx
## Always say yes to every confirmation
#yes-always: false
## Enable verbose output
#verbose: false
## Load and execute /commands from a file on launch
#load: xxx
## Specify the encoding for input and output (default: utf-8)
#encoding: utf-8
## Specify the config file (default: search for .aider.conf.yml in git root, cwd or home directory)
#config: xxx
## Specify the .env file to load (default: .env in git root)
#env-file: .env
## Enable/disable suggesting shell commands (default: True)
#suggest-shell-commands: true
## Enable/disable fancy input with history and completion (default: True)
#fancy-input: true
## Enable/disable detection and offering to add URLs to chat (default: True)
#detect-urls: true
## Specify which editor to use for the /editor command
#editor: xxx