Skip to main content
The Aider agent plugin integrates the Aider AI pair programming tool into Agent Orchestrator, providing a simple, git-aware agent with auto-commit functionality.

​
Overview

Aider is an AI pair programming tool that automatically commits changes to git. The plugin:
  • Launches Aider with prompt delivered inline
  • Detects activity by monitoring git commits and chat history
  • Uses Aider’s auto-commit feature to track completed work
  • Supports one-shot and interactive modes
Aider focuses on simple, git-integrated workflows. It lacks session introspection and metadata tracking compared to Claude Code or Codex.

​
Installation

# Install Aider
pip install aider-chat
# OR
pipx install aider-chat

# Verify installation
which aider
aider --version

​
Configuration

Configure in agent-orchestrator.yaml: 
plugins:
  agent: aider

projects:
  - name: my-project
    path: ~/code/my-project
    agentConfig:
      model: gpt-4-turbo
      permissions: skip
      systemPrompt: "You are a helpful coding assistant."

​
Configuration Options

​
model
string
Model to use (e.g., gpt-4-turbo, gpt-4, claude-3-opus)
​
permissions
enum
Approval mode:
  • skip: Auto-approve all changes (--yes)
  • Other values: Prompt for approval (default Aider behavior)
​
systemPrompt
string
Custom instructions passed via --system-prompt
​
systemPromptFile
string
Path to system prompt file (loaded via shell command substitution)
​
prompt
string
Initial message sent via --message flag

​
How It Works

​
Launch Behavior

Aider is launched with the prompt included in the command: 
aider --model gpt-4-turbo --yes --message "Fix type errors"
Unlike Claude Code (which delivers prompts post-launch), Aider receives the prompt at startup.

​
Activity Detection

The plugin uses two signals to detect activity:
  1. Recent Git Commits: Checks if any commits were made in the last 60 seconds
  2. Chat History Mtime: Monitors .aider.chat.history.md modification time
ConditionStateTimestamp
Process not runningexitedNow
Commits in last 60sactiveNow
Chat history < 30s oldactiveChat mtime
Chat history < thresholdreadyChat mtime
Chat history > thresholdidleChat mtime
No chat historynull—
Default threshold: 30 seconds

​
Auto-Commit

Aider automatically commits changes after each successful edit: 
git log --since="60 seconds ago" --format=%H
The plugin uses this to detect recent activity without needing JSONL session files.

​
Usage Examples

​
Spawn an Agent

ao spawn my-project "Add error handling to API routes"

​
Monitor Progress

# Check status
ao status my-project/agent-123

# View git history
cd /path/to/workspace
git log --oneline -10

​
Attach to Session

# Get attach command
ao attach my-project/agent-123

# Manually attach (tmux runtime)
tmux attach -t agent-123

​
Limitations

Aider has limited introspection capabilities compared to other agents.

​
No Session Info

Aider does not expose structured session data. The plugin returns null for:
  • getSessionInfo(): No summaries, token counts, or cost tracking
  • getRestoreCommand(): No native resume support

​
No Metadata Updates

Unlike Claude Code and Codex, Aider does not automatically update session metadata. You must manually track PRs and branches: 
# Manually update metadata after creating PR
ao metadata set my-project/agent-123 pr https://github.com/user/repo/pull/123

​
Limited Activity Detection

Activity detection relies on git commits and file mtime:
  • Long-running tasks without commits appear idle
  • Chat history updates are less granular than JSONL events
  • No distinction between “ready” and “waiting for input” states

​
Troubleshooting

Cause: Aider hasn’t made a commit or updated chat history recentlySolution:
  1. Attach to session to check actual status: 
    tmux attach -t agent-123
  2. Check if Aider is waiting for approval (if permissions != skip)
  3. Reduce readyThresholdMs in config: 
    agentConfig:
  readyThresholdMs: 60000  # 60 seconds
Cause: Aider hasn’t created the file yet, or using non-standard locationSolution:
  1. Check if file exists: 
    ls -la /path/to/workspace/.aider.chat.history.md
  2. Wait for Aider to make its first API call (file is created lazily)
  3. Verify Aider is running with chat history enabled (default)
Cause: Aider does not expose this dataSolution: Track costs manually via:
  • OpenAI/Anthropic billing dashboard
  • Shell history parsing (if using API keys with per-request tracking)
  • Aider’s built-in cost reporting (if available in CLI output)
Cause: Process name doesn’t match “aider”Solution: Check actual process name:
ps aux | grep -i aider
If Aider is installed as aider-chat or similar, the detection regex may fail. The plugin searches for the substring “aider” in the command line.

​
Comparison with Other Agents

FeatureAiderClaude CodeCodexOpenCode
ProviderAider.chatAnthropicOpenAIOpenCode
Auto-commit✅ Yes❌ No❌ No❌ No
Session FilesMarkdownJSONLJSONLSQLite
Cost Tracking❌ None✅ Full✅ Full❌ None
Auto-metadata❌ None✅ PostToolUse✅ PATH wrappers❌ None
Resume Support❌ None✅ Native✅ Native❌ None
Activity Detection⚠️ Git commits + mtime✅ JSONL events✅ File mtime❌ None
Best ForSimple git workflowsEnterprise featuresOpenAI ecosystemExperimental
Use Aider for simple, git-integrated workflows. For production deployments with cost tracking and metadata updates, use Claude Code or Codex.

​
Environment Variables

The plugin sets these variables:
​
AO_SESSION_ID
string
required
Session identifier for orchestrator tracking
​
AO_PROJECT_ID
string
Project identifier (set by caller, not the plugin)
​
AO_ISSUE_ID
string
Issue/ticket identifier if applicable

​
Advanced Usage

​
Custom Commit Messages

Aider uses auto-generated commit messages. To customize: 
# In agent workspace, after Aider commits
git commit --amend -m "feat: Add error handling to API routes"

​
Manual Chat History Parsing

Chat history is stored in Markdown format: 
# View recent chat
tail -50 .aider.chat.history.md

# Search for errors
grep -i error .aider.chat.history.md

​
Integration with Git Hooks

Leverage Aider’s auto-commit with git hooks: 
# .git/hooks/post-commit
#!/bin/bash
# Notify orchestrator of new commits
ao metadata set $AO_SESSION_ID last_commit "$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
Make executable: 
chmod +x .git/hooks/post-commit

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us