Coding-Aider Plugin for IntelliJ IDEA

Seamlessly integrate Aider's AI-powered coding assistance directly into your IDE. This integration boosts your productivity by offering rapid access for precision code generation and refactoring, all while allowing you complete control over the context utilized by the LLM.

Example Usage

Important Note

To utilize this plugin, you

• must have a functional Aider installation
• or be able to run docker containers

Additionally API keys for the LLM Providers you intend to use are required.

Key Features

1. AI-Powered Coding Assistance: Harness the power of Aider to receive intelligent coding assistance within your IDE.

2. Intuitive Access:

   • Quickly initiate Aider actions via the "Start Aider Action" option in the Tools menu or Project View popup menu.
   • Use the keyboard shortcut Alt+A for rapid access.
   • Navigate previous commands with Alt+UP and Alt+DOWN in the message field.
   • Automatically commit all changes with an LLM-generated message using ALT + D

3. Persistent File Management: Manage frequently used files for persistent context for Aider operations with Alt+Shift+A, within the Aider Command Window or the Aider Settings.

4. Dual Execution Modes:

   • IDE-based execution for seamless integration.
   • Shell-based execution for users who prefer Aider's rich terminal interaction.

5. Git Integration: Automatically launch a Git comparison tool post-Aider operations for easy change review.

6. Real-time Progress Tracking: Monitor Aider command progress through Markdown dialog.

7. Multi-File Support: Execute Aider actions on multiple files or directories while controlling the context provided to Aider from your IDE.

8. Webcrawl (Experimental): Download and convert pages to markdown stored in a .aider-docs folder to add to context.

9. Clipboard Image Support: Save clipboard images directly to the project and add them to persistent files.

10. Refactor to Clean Code Action: Refactor code to adhere to clean code principles.

11. Fix Build and Test Error Action: Fix build and test errors in the project.

12. Various Specialized Actions:

    • Commit Action: Quickly commit changes using Aider.
    • Document Code Action: Generate markdown documentation for selected files and directories.
    • Fix Compile Error Action: Fix compile errors using Aider's AI capabilities.
    • Show Last Command Result Action: Display the result of the last executed Aider command.
    • Settings Action: Quickly access Aider Settings.
    • Apply Design Pattern Action: Apply predefined design patterns to selected files or directories.
    • Persistent Files Action: Manage the list of persistent files for Aider operations.
    • OpenAiderActionGroup: Access a popup menu with all available Aider actions.

13. Structured Mode:

    • Facilitates a more organized approach to developing features and implementing code changes.
    • Simply describe a feature briefly, and the plugin will generate a detailed plan and checklist for you.
    • These plans and checklists are saved in the .coding-aider-plans directory and can be manually adjusted as needed.
    • Once a plan is created, Aider will automatically update it to reflect current progress and any new requirements.
    • This mode aids in tracking the implementation progress of features.
    • If a plan is active (i.e. its files in the context), you can leave the message field empty, and Aider will continue working on the existing plan.

For a detailed description of all available actions, please refer to the Actions Documentation.

Advantages Over Other Coding Assistant Plugins

Coding-Aider addresses limitations in existing IntelliJ plugins, particularly for tasks involving multiple file creation or modification. Aider's unique capabilities include:

1. Optimized token usage for improved speed (featuring replace edit mode, repo-map, and context control).
2. A feature-rich terminal interface for command-line enthusiasts.
3. An extensive range of commands to automate common development tasks.
4. Robust recovery mechanisms with seamless Git integration.

Coding-Aider brings these powerful terminal-based features directly into your IDE, leveraging established IDE functionalities like Git integration and keyboard shortcuts.

Getting Started

1. Install the Coding-Aider plugin in a compatible JetBrains IDE.

2. (Can be skipped if aider in docker is used) Install Aider-Chat :

   • Visit https://aider.chat/
   • Install as a global pipx Python app
   • Ensure it's accessible from your terminal (aider --help)

3. Configure Aider settings:

   • Navigate to Tools > Aider Settings
   • Select Docker-based Aider if aider is not installed globally
   • Run "Test Aider installation" to verify your global aider installation (or run the aider docker container if docker is used). First time running the test with docker will take a while as the docker image (1GB) is downloaded.
   • (Optional) Globally configure API keys for LLM Providers you plan to use with aider ( see https://aider.chat/docs/config/dotenv.html)

4. Configure LLM Providers:

   • Navigate to Tools > Aider Settings
   • Add your API keys for the LLM Providers you wish to use (if not globally configured)
   • Configure the default LLM Provider for your Aider actions

5. Basic Usage:

   • Select files or directories in your project
   • Use Alt+A or use the entries in the right-click context menu to initiate an Aider action
   • Enter your coding request in the dialog
   • Review Aider's output and resulting changes in your project

6. Advanced Usage:

   • Use Alt+Shift+Q to quickly access all available Aider actions
   • Use Alt+D to automatically commit changes to the selected files with an LLM-generated message
   • Use Alt+Shift+A to manage persistent files for context
   • Utilize specialized actions like Document Code, Fix Compile Error, or Web Crawl for specific tasks
   • Access the last command result using the Show Last Command Result action