Aider

About

Aider is a command-line pair programming tool that connects to OpenAI-compatible APIs. It lets you chat with models to edit your codebase, auto-commit changes, and build software collaboratively from the terminal.

This guide explains how to connect AI/ML API to Aider using the OpenAI-compatible flow. You’ll get a clean setup with one endpoint, support for slashes in model names, and full compatibility with all chat-completion models.

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Quick Setup

Field	Value
Base URL	https://api.aimlapi.com/v1
API Key	Your AI/ML API key (create at aimlapi.com/app/keys)
Model	openai/anthropic/claude-3.7-sonnet (openai/<your_full_model_id>)
Command Example	aider --model openai/chatgpt-4o-latest

Tip: Always include the openai/ prefix (case-sensitive) before your model name.

This ensures Aider correctly routes requests to your AI/ML API endpoint.

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Installation

✅ Prerequisites

• AI/ML API key

• Python 3.8–3.13 installed

• Internet access to api.aimlapi.com

• Aider installed (Install Guide)

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1️⃣ Install Aider

python -m pip install aider-install
aider-install

Install Aider via terminal

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2️⃣ Configure AI/ML API credentials

Mac/Linux

export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://api.aimlapi.com/v1
export OPENAI_API_KEY=<your_aimlapi_key>

Windows (PowerShell)

setx OPENAI_API_BASE https://api.aimlapi.com/v1
setx OPENAI_API_KEY <your_aimlapi_key>
# restart your terminal

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3️⃣ Run Aider with AI/ML API

Move into your project directory:

cd /to/your/project

Then launch Aider with your preferred model:

# GPT-4o (OpenAI)
aider --model openai/chatgpt-4o-latest

# DeepSeek Chat V3
aider --model openai/deepseek/deepseek-chat

# Claude 3.7 Sonnet
aider --model openai/anthropic/claude-3.7-sonnet

# Gemini 1.5 Pro
aider --model openai/google/gemini-1.5-pro

Running Aider with AI/ML API model

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4️⃣ Model Prefix Rule

Aider automatically routes requests to your OPENAI_API_BASE. To connect to AI/ML API, always prefix your model with openai/.

Pattern:

openai/<provider>/<model-name>

Examples:

• openai/chatgpt-4o-latest

• openai/deepseek/deepseek-chat

• openai/anthropic/claude-3.7-sonnet

• openai/google/gemini-1.5-pro

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Example Aider Session

cd ~/workspace/myapp
aider --model openai/chatgpt-4o-latest

Aider will:

1. Load your project map.

2. Analyze the repo.

3. Apply AI-suggested edits.

4. Commit changes automatically.

Aider researching your repo

Aider working on code changes

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Common Pitfalls

• Bad request – check parameters → verify the model name and prefix

• Unknown model → confirm it exists in AI/ML API Models

• Invalid API key → re-copy from AI/ML API Dashboard

• No response → check OPENAI_API_BASE and your internet access

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📚 References

• Dashboard & API Keys

• Model Catalog

• Aider GitHub

• Aider Installation Docs