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Aider : the production ready AI coding assistant you've been waiting for

Science & Technology

Introduction

Welcome to Code with JV! Today, I'm excited to introduce you to a production-ready, AI-powered coding assistant called Aider. I've integrated it into my daily workflow and I'm seeing a lot of other people doing the same. It's the first AI-powered assistant that many are actually using for day-to-day production work. Let's dive into it!

Aider is a CLI tool that runs in your terminal, powered by OpenAI's APIs such as GPT-4 and GPT-3.5, with plans to integrate it with others over time. One downside is that it uses your OpenAI credits when you make requests, but its functionality justifies the cost. Aider is tightly integrated with Git, which means it commits changes for you and can perform various tasks like adding unit tests, refactoring, and moving functions. Paul, the project lead, is responsive on GitHub and consistently releases new features and resolves issues.

The guides for Aider are excellent, with clear installation instructions and tips on how to use it. The tool sends your codebase information to ChatGPT every time you make a request. Aider can be installed using pip, and it works better with ctags, particularly Universal Ctags, which creates a summary of all your functions.

Once installed and initialized, Aider automatically commits changes to Git, ensuring you can quickly roll back any unwanted changes. It's crucial to get your git ignore file set up properly to avoid unnecessary commits. You'll find Aider's integration with Git verbose in the history, but it's designed to protect your files.

Switching between GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 is straightforward, with the latter being faster but potentially less accurate. An example project like a noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe) game can illustrate Aider’s capabilities. Aider can handle adding error checking and refactoring into multiple files efficiently. You can manage the context and tokens sent to the AI, optimizing both performance and cost.

Aider's integration with Vim, my favorite editor, has further enhanced my workflow. By setting up different keyboard shortcuts, I can open different models of Aider and manage buffers automatically. This integration makes it easy to send the current file's context to Aider.

The potential for Aider extends beyond just coding. For instance, you can use it to automatically update documentation or manage open buffers in Vim. By treating AI tools like Aider as an integral part of the development process, you can significantly increase productivity.

In Summary:

  • Aider is a CLI tool that uses OpenAI's APIs.
  • It's tightly integrated with Git.
  • Fast and responsive project updates.
  • Effective guides and installation instructions.
  • Better integration with ctags.
  • Allows management of context and tokens.
  • Integrates well with editors like Vim.

**Code Example:**

pip install aider-chat

Git Integration:

git commit -m "Aider auto-commit"

Vim Integration:

local lower = require('plenary.strings').lower
print(lower('HELLO WORLD')) -- using plenary plugin

Keywords: Aider, AI-powered assistant, CLI tool, OpenAI APIs, GPT integration, Git integration, ctags, Vim integration, context management, token optimization.

Keywords

  • Aider
  • AI-powered assistant
  • CLI tool
  • OpenAI APIs
  • GPT integration
  • Git integration
  • ctags
  • Vim integration
  • context management
  • token optimization

FAQ

Q: What is Aider? A: Aider is a CLI tool that acts as an AI-powered coding assistant using OpenAI's APIs.

Q: How is Aider integrated with Git? A: Aider commits changes to Git for you, helping you manage code changes and roll them back if necessary.

Q: Can Aider be used with different OpenAI models? A: Yes, Aider supports both GPT-4 and GPT-3.5, allowing you to switch between them based on your needs.

Q: Why are ctags important for Aider? A: ctags create a summary of functions in your code, helping Aider provide better and more accurate responses.

Q: How do I install Aider? A: You can install Aider using pip: pip install aider-chat.

Q: Can Aider be integrated with code editors? A: Yes, Aider integrates well with editors like Vim, allowing you to execute commands and manage files directly from the editor.

Q: What are some core features of Aider? A: Aider can add unit tests, refactor code, and manage documentation, among other tasks.

Q: How does Aider manage context and tokens? A: Aider provides tools to manage the information sent to ChatGPT on every query, including clearing chat history and dropping unnecessary files.

Q: Is Aider useful for production work? A: Yes, Aider is beneficial for day-to-day coding tasks and increases productivity, making it a valuable tool for developers.