Aider is an open-source terminal-based AI coding assistant. It requires a one-line configuration to read AGENTS.md automatically on every session.
Aider is an open-source AI coding assistant that runs in your terminal. It pairs with a large language model (such as GPT-4o or Claude) to edit code across multiple files, run tests, and commit changes — all from the command line.Unlike agents that read AGENTS.md automatically, Aider requires a small amount of configuration to load the file on every session.
To make Aider read AGENTS.md automatically at the start of every session, add the following to your .aider.conf.yml file in the repository root:
read: AGENTS.md
This tells Aider to load AGENTS.md as a read-only context file before each session. The file is not edited by Aider — it is used only as input context for the model.
1
Create or open .aider.conf.yml
In your repository root, create .aider.conf.yml if it does not already exist.
2
Add the read directive
Add the following line:
read: AGENTS.md
3
Verify the configuration
Start an Aider session. Aider will confirm which files it has loaded. AGENTS.md should appear in the list of read-only context files.
The read key in .aider.conf.yml accepts a single filename or a list of filenames. If you already use this key for other files, add AGENTS.md to the list.
# AGENTS.md## Build and test- Install in editable mode with dev extras: `pip install -e ".[dev]"`- Run the full test suite: `pytest`- Run only unit tests: `pytest tests/unit/`- Lint: `ruff check .`- Format: `ruff format .`## Code style- Python 3.11+; use type annotations on all public functions- Follow PEP 8; `ruff` is the enforcer- Prefer dataclasses over plain dicts for structured data- Raise specific exceptions — never bare `except:` clauses## Project structure- `src/mypackage/` — main package source- `tests/unit/` — unit tests- `tests/integration/` — integration tests (require a running database)- `docs/` — documentation source## Commits- Write descriptive commit messages in imperative mood- Reference issue numbers where applicable: `fix: resolve off-by-one in parser (#42)`- Do not commit commented-out code
