Toolbench Coding agent
Aider
CJM Tested
Open source pair programmer that edits files in your git repo from the terminal.
- CJM score
- 6.2/10
- Last tested
- 2026-10-15
- Info checked
- 2026-10-15
- Website
- Visit Aider
Overview
What it is
Aider is a command line tool that sends your request and the files you add to a language model, then applies the edits it returns straight to disk. It works with cloud APIs or local models, and can commit each change to git.
Who it is for
Developers who live in the terminal and want to pick their own model, including people who want to run fully offline with a local model.
Hands-on test 2026-10-15
What we ran
Version: aider 0.86.2 with Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct (Q4_K_M GGUF) on Ollama 0.40.4, CPU only. Installed with uv tool install aider-chat. Pointed at a local Ollama model, so no API key and no cost. Ran on an 8 core Xeon box with no GPU.
Create player.gd for a Godot 4 2D platformer. It must extend CharacterBody2D and use typed GDScript 2.0. Requirements: walk left and right with the ui_left and ui_right actions at 200 pixels per second, jump with ui_accept only when on the floor with a jump velocity of -400, apply gravity read from the physics/2d/default_gravity project setting, and call move_and_slide() with no arguments. No Godot 3 APIs.Result
- Attempt 1 (70 s): Aider applied the edit cleanly, but the script failed to parse in Godot 4.5. It redeclared velocity, which CharacterBody2D already has, and called intersect_ray with Godot 3 style arguments.
- Fix round 1 (97 s): we pasted the three engine errors back. Still a parse error, this time a wrong constructor call.
- Fix round 2 (49 s): the script parsed and passed the harness. The player landed on the floor and walked 199 px to the right in 60 frames.
- Left over: it uses _process instead of _physics_process, has no static types even though the prompt asked for them, and keeps a pointless raycast. We would not ship this file without a rewrite.
Score
6.2 out of 10
| Area | Score |
|---|---|
| Setup | 8/10 |
| Output | 3/10 |
| Speed | 5/10 |
| Value | 10/10 |
| Game-dev fit | 5/10 |
This score is for Aider driving a small local model. Aider itself did its job; most of the bad code came from the 7B model. A stronger model will score differently, and we will test one when we can do it without paid keys. The overall score is the plain average of the five areas.
Engines
Engine compatibility
Only engines we ran the tool with are marked as tested. Everything else says not tested yet, even where the vendor claims support.
| Engine | Status |
|---|---|
| Godot | Tested here |
| Unreal | Not tested yet |
| Unity | Not tested yet |
| Roblox | Not tested yet |
| Minecraft | Not tested yet |
Pricing
What it costs
Free and open source (Apache 2.0). You pay only for the model you connect, or nothing if you run a local model. Checked on aider.chat, 15 October 2026.
Prices change often. Check the vendor page before you buy.
Pros and cons
Good
- Applied the model's edit to the right file with no manual copy and paste
- Runs against a local model through Ollama, so the test cost nothing
- Plain text log of every request, easy to audit
Watch out
- Output quality depends almost entirely on the model you connect
- With a 7B local model the first answer did not parse in Godot 4
Alternatives