Aider

Use Aider with any of 221 models through Chuizi.AI via the OpenAI or Anthropic protocol.

Prerequisites

Aider installed (pip install aider-chat)
A Chuizi.AI account with an API key (starts with ck-)

OpenAI Protocol (Recommended)

Use this configuration to access any model through the OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Set the environment variables:

terminal

bash

export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://api.chuizi.ai/v1
export OPENAI_API_KEY=ck-your-key-here

Then start Aider with your preferred model:

terminal

bash

# Claude Sonnet
aider --model openai/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

# GPT-4.1
aider --model openai/openai/gpt-4.1

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

Note: When using the OpenAI protocol, prefix the model name with openai/ to tell Aider to use the OpenAI API format, followed by the Chuizi.AI model name (e.g., openai/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6).

Anthropic Protocol

For Claude models, you can use the Anthropic native protocol for full feature compatibility:

terminal

bash

export ANTHROPIC_API_BASE=https://api.chuizi.ai/anthropic
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=ck-your-key-here

Then launch Aider:

terminal

bash

aider --model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

This uses the Anthropic Messages API directly, with no format conversion.

Configuration File

For a persistent setup, add configuration to ~/.aider.conf.yml:

yaml

# Using OpenAI protocol
openai-api-base: https://api.chuizi.ai/v1
openai-api-key: ck-your-key-here
model: openai/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

Or for the Anthropic protocol:

yaml

anthropic-api-key: ck-your-key-here
model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

Set the ANTHROPIC_API_BASE environment variable separately since Aider's config file does not support it directly:

terminal

bash

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export ANTHROPIC_API_BASE=https://api.chuizi.ai/anthropic

Verify the Setup

Run Aider and confirm it connects:

terminal

bash

aider --model openai/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6

You should see Aider start and display the model name. Type a message to verify the model responds. Check app.chuizi.ai to confirm the request appears in your logs.

Recommended Models for Aider

Model	Best For	Cost
`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6`	Best overall coding	Medium
`anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`	Complex refactoring	High
`openai/gpt-4.1`	General code editing	Medium
`deepseek/deepseek-chat`	Budget-friendly coding	Low

Troubleshooting

"Model not found" error

Ensure you use the correct model name format. When using OpenAI protocol, prefix with openai/ for Aider, then the Chuizi.AI model name: openai/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6.

Timeout errors

Aider defaults to a 60-second timeout. For complex requests with large models, increase it:

terminal

bash

aider --model openai/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 --timeout 120

Authentication errors

Verify your API key is set correctly and starts with ck-. Check that the environment variable name matches the protocol you are using (OPENAI_API_KEY for OpenAI protocol, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY for Anthropic protocol).

Next Steps

Choose a Model — find the right model for your use case
Cost Optimization — reduce costs with prompt caching and model selection
Streaming Guide — understand how streaming works through the gateway