Aider

Install, authenticate, and resume Aider inside Daintree, including provider env vars, the --no-auto-commits launch flag, and --restore-chat-history.

Reviewed Aug 18, 2026

Aider

Aider is a Git-aware AI pair programmer that edits files in your repo directly. It runs as a process in its own Daintree terminal panel with full PTY emulation, like every other built-in agent.

Command	`aider --no-auto-commits`
Shortcut	— (assignable in Keyboard settings)
Rendering	Alt-screen — Daintree leaves Aider's own screen handling alone
Resume	`aider --restore-chat-history` (rolling history, no session ID)
Quit command	`/exit`
Permission bypass	`--yes-always`
Platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux

Install & Authenticate

python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install
# or
brew install aider

python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install

The uv-based installer lands Aider in %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin.

python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install
# or
curl -LsSf https://aider.chat/install.sh | sh

The aider-install shim is the path Aider recommends: it resolves the right aider-chat build for your Python. pipx install aider-chat also works on all three platforms. Aider itself is provider-agnostic — it picks up OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_API_KEY, or AIDER_API_KEY from your environment, or reads .aider.conf.yml from your home directory or project root.

Warning

Daintree launches Aider with --no-auto-commits. Aider commits after every edit by default, which would clutter your worktree commit history. The flag turns that off so you decide when commits happen. Override it with a custom preset if you want the default back.

Resuming Sessions

Aider has no session ID. It writes .aider.chat.history.md and .aider.input.history into the repository root, and Daintree resumes by relaunching with --restore-chat-history so Aider reads them back. Quit with /exit.

Because that history lives in the project folder rather than a home-directory store, it physically travels with the code: move or rename a project and the conversation resumes at the new path. Aider is the only built-in agent for which that is true. See Session Management for what else persists.

Launch flags, custom presets and display titles are covered in Agent Presets. What the working, waiting and exited badges on a running agent mean is covered in Agent States.

Tip

If aider isn't detected after install, confirm it's on your PATH (which aider on macOS/Linux, where aider on Windows), then restart Daintree.