Aider IO API

openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: Aider CLI Chat IO API
  version: 0.86.1
  description: Documentation surface for the Aider command-line interface. Aider has no hosted REST API and does not bind to a network port — it runs entirely in a developer's terminal against the local Git working tree. This OpenAPI document models the Aider command surface as if it were a REST API so it can be consumed by API-centric tooling (catalogs, registries, governance rule engines, capability runtimes). Each slash command (`/add`, `/diff`, `/commit`, etc.) is modeled as a path; each launch-flag family is modeled as a configuration path. Servers and security blocks are placeholders — aider's actual security model is "use the user's local shell credentials and the LLM provider API key in the environment."
  contact:
    name: Aider Maintainers
    url: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/issues
  license:
    name: Apache 2.0
    url: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/blob/main/LICENSE.txt
  x-generated-from: documentation
  x-last-validated: '2026-05-30'
  x-source-urls:
  - https://aider.chat/docs/usage/commands.html
  - https://aider.chat/docs/usage/modes.html
  - https://aider.chat/docs/config/options.html
  - https://aider.chat/docs/llms.html
servers:
- url: cli://aider
  description: Local CLI invocation (not a network endpoint). Modeled as URI scheme `cli://aider` for catalog tooling.
- url: file:///usr/local/bin/aider
  description: Typical install path for the `aider` entrypoint.
security:
- LLMProviderKey: []
tags:
- name: IO
  description: Aider Commands That Move Data In and Out of the Session.
paths:
  /commands/run:
    post:
      operationId: runShellCommand
      summary: Aider Run Shell Command
      description: Run a shell command and optionally add output to chat. Maps to `/run`.
      tags:
      - IO
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/ShellRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Shell command executed.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ShellResult'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /commands/voice:
    post:
      operationId: recordVoiceInput
      summary: Aider Record Voice Input
      description: Record and transcribe voice input. Maps to `/voice`. Requires optional PortAudio on Mac/Linux.
      tags:
      - IO
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Voice transcript returned and queued as next prompt.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/VoiceTranscript'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /commands/web:
    post:
      operationId: scrapeWebPage
      summary: Aider Scrape Web Page
      description: Scrape a webpage, convert to markdown and send in a message. Maps to `/web`.
      tags:
      - IO
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/WebFetchRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Web content fetched and added to chat.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/WebFetchResult'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /commands/paste:
    post:
      operationId: pasteFromClipboard
      summary: Aider Paste Clipboard Content
      description: Paste image/text from clipboard into the chat. Maps to `/paste`.
      tags:
      - IO
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Clipboard content added to chat.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/CommandResult'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /commands/copy:
    post:
      operationId: copyLastMessage
      summary: Aider Copy Last Assistant Message
      description: Copy the last assistant message to the clipboard. Maps to `/copy`.
      tags:
      - IO
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Message copied to clipboard.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/CommandResult'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /commands/copy-context:
    post:
      operationId: copyChatContext
      summary: Aider Copy Chat Context as Markdown
      description: Copy current chat context as markdown for pasting into web UIs. Maps to `/copy-context`.
      tags:
      - IO
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Chat context copied as markdown.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/CommandResult'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /commands/editor:
    post:
      operationId: openEditorPrompt
      summary: Aider Open Editor for Prompt
      description: Open an editor to write a prompt. Maps to `/editor` (alias `/edit`).
      tags:
      - IO
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Prompt drafted in external editor and submitted.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/CommandResult'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
components:
  schemas:
    ShellResult:
      type: object
      properties:
        exit_code:
          type: integer
          description: Process exit code.
          example: 0
        stdout:
          type: string
          example: 12 passed in 1.42s
        stderr:
          type: string
          example: ''
    WebFetchRequest:
      type: object
      required:
      - url
      properties:
        url:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: HTTP(S) URL to fetch and convert to markdown.
          example: https://example.com/docs/getting-started
    CommandResult:
      type: object
      properties:
        ok:
          type: boolean
          example: true
        message:
          type: string
          example: Files added to chat.
    WebFetchResult:
      type: object
      properties:
        url:
          type: string
          format: uri
          example: https://example.com/docs/getting-started
        markdown:
          type: string
          description: Markdown rendering of the page added to chat context.
          example: '# Getting Started ...'
    ShellRequest:
      type: object
      required:
      - command
      properties:
        command:
          type: string
          description: Shell command line to execute in the repo root.
          example: pytest -x tests/
        add_output_to_chat:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether the command's stdout/stderr is appended to chat context.
          default: true
          example: true
    VoiceTranscript:
      type: object
      properties:
        text:
          type: string
          description: Transcribed text queued as the next prompt.
          example: refactor the cache layer to use lru eviction
        duration_ms:
          type: integer
          description: Length of the recorded clip.
          example: 4200
  securitySchemes:
    LLMProviderKey:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: X-Provider-API-Key
      description: Placeholder for documentation purposes. Aider does not authenticate with an "aider API"; it reads the relevant upstream provider key (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.) from the local environment and passes it to the chosen LLM provider directly.