Aider integration

Use Aider, the terminal pair programmer, with Modellane through its OpenAI-compatible settings and the openai/ model prefix.

Aider connects to any OpenAI-compatible API. Export the base URL and key, then start it with the model id behind the openai/ prefix.

Aider is a pair programmer for the terminal that edits the files in your git repository. It connects to OpenAI-compatible APIs and uses the Chat Completions API (POST /v1/chat/completions).

Configure Aider#

Export the base URL and key, then start Aider with the model id behind the openai/ prefix:

Shell

export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://usemodellane.com/v1
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
cd your-project
aider --model openai/lane-1

The openai/ prefix tells Aider to send the request to the OpenAI-compatible base URL; it is not part of the model id that reaches Modellane. Use any id from Models & pricing.

Tell Aider about the model#

Aider does not know Modellane models, so it shows a warning about unknown context size and cost. To silence it and let Aider size the chat correctly, create .aider.model.metadata.json in your project or home directory:

JSON

{
  "openai/lane-1": {
    "max_input_tokens": 128000,
    "max_output_tokens": 8192,
    "mode": "chat"
  }
}

Replace the two numbers with the context length and output limit of your model from the models table. Aider does not enforce these limits; it uses them for its warnings and token reports.

Aider edits files with text edit formats instead of tool calls, so models without Tool calls work too.

Verify#

Ask a question without editing anything:

Shell

aider --model openai/lane-1 --message "Reply with the word ready."

A reply means the base URL, key and model id are right. An authentication error points at the key, and model_not_found at the model id.

Images#