Aider: what it remembers, who owns it, and what it costs
thecontinuitylayer.com/coding-agents/aiderAI pair programming in your terminal, on a new or existing codebase, with any model you bring.
- 1Partly
Does Aider remember across sessions?
Partly, by Aider-AI's own page.
A conventions file listed under read: in .aider.conf.yml loads every session; earlier chat messages come back only if restore-chat-history is turned on, which is off by default.
Yes means: Persistent instructions or stored memory carry into a new session without you pasting them again.
- 2Yes
Can you see what Aider remembered?
Yes, by Aider-AI's own page.
Everything is a local file: CONVENTIONS.md, .aider.chat.history.md, .aider.input.history and an optional .aider.llm.history.
Yes means: A file or panel lists the stored memory.
- 3Yes
Can you edit Aider's memory?
Yes, by Aider-AI's own page.
The conventions file is plain Markdown you write; the history files are plain text.
Yes means: The memory is editable by you.
- 4Yes
Can you delete or turn off Aider's memory?
Yes, by Aider-AI's own page.
Remove the read: entry or the file; chat history is not re-injected unless you turn restore-chat-history on.
Yes means: A documented way to delete it or switch it off.
- 5Yes
Does Aider keep memory in a file you own?
Yes, by Aider-AI's own page.
All context and history lives in files in your repository or home folder.
Yes means: The memory lives in a plain file on your machine or in your repository.
- 6Not stated
Does Aider read a format other tools read?
Aider-AI's pages do not say.
The docs show reading any Markdown file with /read or --read, but do not mention AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md.
Yes means: It reads a shared convention such as AGENTS.md, so the same file works elsewhere.
- 7No
Does Aider use your code for training by default?
No, by Aider-AI's own page.
Aider never collects your code, chat messages, keys or personal information; analytics are opt-in. Your model provider's terms are separate.
Yes means: Here no is the good answer: the maker's page says your data is not used for training. Yes means it is unless you opt out; partly means it depends on the plan or the page does not give the default.
- 8Yes
What does Aider cost?
Yes, by Aider-AI's own page.
Free and open source with no paid tier or pricing page; the cost is whatever your chosen model provider charges.
Yes means: A free tier exists and the entry paid price is published.
What these grades say about continuity, and what they do not.
Every grade on this site is read from the maker's own pages. The Continuity Framework asks five things of any system that carries state: that it carry, govern, evolve, prove and forget. These tests reach carry, govern, prove and forget; they do not reach evolve, which no maker's page documents in a gradeable way. A high letter is a good coding agent, not a continuity layer.
- C1 RemembersCarry
- Remembering across sessions is question C1: state outlives the session that created it.
- C2 See itProve
- Being able to see the stored memory is the smallest form of question P1: the owner can inspect what is carried.
- C3 Edit itGovern
- An editable memory means the owner, not only the agent, has write authority (question G1, in part).
- C4 Delete itForget
- Deleting or switching off memory is rung 5 of the erasure ladder for the store the agent keeps; summaries and indexes it built are not covered unless documented. Rung 5 of the erasure ladder: delete the record.
- C5 Your fileCarry
- Memory in a file you own is portability by construction: question C3 answered without an export.
- C6 PortableCarry
- Reading a shared convention such as AGENTS.md is question C2: the same file works when the agent changes.
- C7 TrainingGovern
- Not training on your code by default is a scope boundary on the maker's side: what leaves the record and where it may go.
License as stated: Apache-2.0, per the repository.. Every grade above is read from Aider-AI's own page on the day shown. If a page has changed, tell us.