✨ AiderDesk: The AI-Powered Development Platform

AiderDesk transforms how you write software by combining an autonomous AI agent, powerful code generation, and a comprehensive toolset into a single desktop application. Whether you're building complex features, refactoring large codebases, or automating repetitive tasks, AiderDesk gives you an intelligent coding companion that works the way you do.

🎬 Overview

✨ Key Features

AiderDesk is packed with features designed for modern software development:

🤖 Autonomous Agent Mode: An intelligent AI agent (powered by Vercel AI SDK) that autonomously plans and executes complex tasks—from implementing features to refactoring entire modules. Just describe what you need, and the agent breaks it down, explores your codebase, uses the right tools, and delivers results.
🧩 Extensible Tool Ecosystem:
- Power Tools: Direct file operations, semantic search, grep, shell commands, web fetching
- Aider Tools: Deep integration with Aider's intelligent code generation and modification
- Memory Tools: Vector-based persistent knowledge storage that learns project patterns and preferences
- Skills: Progressive disclosure system to add domain expertise and custom workflows
- Task Tools: Complete task management with cost tracking and todo lists
- Todo Tools: Built-in checklist management that agents can use to track progress
👥 Specialized Subagents: Create cost-optimized AI specialists for specific tasks (code review, testing, documentation). Automatic or on-demand invocation with configurable permissions and context memory.
🎛️ Customizable Agent Profiles: Configure different agent behaviors with system prompts, custom instructions, tool approvals, and rule files. Pre-built profiles included for common workflows.
🧠 Persistent Memory: The agent remembers project patterns, architectural decisions, and your preferences across tasks using local vector search (LanceDB).
📂 Advanced Task Management: Organize work with tasks that include chat history, context files, cost tracking, todos, and optional Git worktree isolation for safe experimentation.
🌿 Git Worktrees: Create isolated development environments for safe, parallel feature development. Multiple merge strategies with built-in revert support.
🔌 Effortless IDE Integration: Automatically sync context files with your active editor in:
- IntelliJ IDEA (Plugin | GitHub)
- VSCode (Extension | GitHub)
🧩 MCP Server Support: Connect to any Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to add external capabilities (web browsing, database access, custom tools).
⚙️ Hooks & Automation: JavaScript hooks for workflow automation—respond to events, modify behavior, and integrate with external tools.
📊 Usage Dashboard: Visualize token usage, costs, and model distribution with interactive charts and tables.
💰 Cost Tracking: Monitor token usage and associated costs per task for both Aider and Agent.
🌐 REST API: Integrate AiderDesk with external tools and workflows.
🌐 AiderDesk as MCP Server: Expose AiderDesk's core functionality to other MCP-compatible clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.).

Learn more about AiderDesk →

🤖 Agent Mode: Autonomous AI Assistant

AiderDesk's Agent Mode transforms the application into a powerful, autonomous coding companion. Instead of just generating code snippets, the agent can:

Plan Multi-Step Work: Break down complex requests like "implement OAuth authentication" into actionable steps
Intelligently Explore: Use semantic search and grep to understand your codebase structure
Execute Safely: Operate files, run commands, and fetch documentation with your approval
Learn from Context: Retrieve relevant memories about project patterns and your preferences
Delegate to Specialists: Automatically invoke specialized subagents for code review, testing, or documentation

Key Capabilities:

Autonomous Planning: The agent breaks down high-level requests into executable steps
Tool-Driven: Functionality is defined by connected tools (Power Tools, Aider, MCP, Skills, Memory, etc.)
Seamless Integration: Uses Aider for core coding tasks like generation and modification
Multi-Provider Support: Works with various LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Bedrock, Deepseek, OpenAI-compatible)
Transparent Operation: See the agent's reasoning, plans, and tool usage in the chat
Cost Optimization: Use different models for different tasks—premium for complex work, cost-effective for routine operations

Pre-Built Agent Profiles:

Power Tools: Direct file manipulation and codebase analysis
Aider: AI-powered code generation and refactoring
Aider with Power Search: Hybrid approach combining code generation with advanced search

Learn more about Agent Mode →

🌿 Git Worktrees: Isolated Development Environments

AiderDesk's Git Worktrees feature provides professional-grade isolation for your development work, enabling safe experimentation and parallel development without affecting your main project branch.

Key Benefits:

🔒 Complete Isolation: Work on features in separate environments without risking your main codebase
🔄 Flexible Integration: Choose between standard merge, squash & merge, or uncommitted changes only
⚡ Parallel Development: Work on multiple features simultaneously in isolated worktrees
🛡️ Safety Features: Built-in conflict detection, merge revert, and state preservation
🤖 AI Integration: AI assistance works seamlessly within isolated worktree environments

Workflow Overview:

Create Worktree Task: Start a new task in worktree mode for isolated development
Work Safely: All file edits, commits, and AI interactions happen in the isolated environment
Integrate When Ready: Choose your preferred merge strategy when work is complete
Revert if Needed: Built-in revert functionality to undo merges if issues arise

Merge Options:

Standard Merge: Preserves commit history with fast-forward merge
Squash & Merge: Creates a single clean commit with AI-generated message
Uncommitted Only: Transfers work-in-progress changes without merging commits

Learn more about Git Worktrees →

🧠 Memory: AI That Learns Your Project

AiderDesk's Memory system enables the agent to store and retrieve durable, project-scoped knowledge across tasks. This helps the agent remember:

Your Preferences: Formatting rules, frameworks you prefer, naming conventions
Architectural Decisions: "We use Zod for validation", "REST client lives in src/renderer/src/api/"
Reusable Patterns: Error handling conventions, logging standards, common abstractions

How It Works:

Local Vector Search: Uses LanceDB with local embedding models—no data leaves your machine
Project-Scoped: Memories are stored per project, keeping knowledge organized
Agent Integration: Automatically retrieves relevant memories at task start and stores outcomes after completion
Manual Management: Browse, filter, and delete memories from Settings

Learn more about Memory →

📋 Skills: Extend Agent with Expertise

Skills let you package reusable, on-demand expertise that the agent can load when relevant. Instead of pasting large guides into chat, use skills with progressive disclosure:

On Startup: Only loads skill metadata (name + description)—token-efficient
When Relevant: Agent loads skill's SKILL.md and follows its instructions
With Helpers: Skills can include executable scripts and reference materials

Use Skills For:

Repeatable Workflows: "How we do releases", "how we write PR descriptions"
Domain-Specific Playbooks: Internal processes, project conventions, brand guidelines
Project-Specific Knowledge: Keep .aider-desk/skills/ in your repo for team sharing
Global Skills: Personal skills in ~/.aider-desk/skills/ for all your projects

Learn more about Skills →

🎛️ Hooks: Automate Workflows

Hooks allow you to extend AiderDesk's behavior by executing custom JavaScript code in response to system events. Automate workflows, enforce rules, or integrate with external tools.

Hook Events:

Task Events: onTaskCreated, onTaskClosed, onPromptSubmitted
Agent Events: onAgentStarted, onAgentFinished, onAgentStepFinished
Tool Events: `onToolCall

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💡 Summary

🎯 Target Audience