How do I point Aider at an OpenAI compatible API?

Set OPENAI_API_BASE to https://aigrow.gg/v1 and OPENAI_API_KEY to your key, then run aider --model openai/ followed by the model id, for example openai/claude-opus-5.5.

Can Aider use Claude through an OpenAI base URL?

Yes. The endpoint serves the Claude models on the OpenAI protocol too, so aider --model openai/claude-opus-5.5 runs Claude with the same two variables.

Where does Aider read .aider.conf.yml from?

From your home directory, the root of the git repository and the current directory. A value in a later file wins over an earlier one.

Aider with an OpenAI API base

Set these two variables and start Aider with openai/ before the model id, and Aider runs on Claude, GPT and Grok models through your AIGROW key.

Buy API credit

Already have a code? Redeem it on API access, then create a key.

Shell, macOS and Linux

export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://aigrow.gg/v1
export OPENAI_API_KEY=ag_your_key_here

aider --model openai/claude-opus-5.5

Swap ag_your_key_here for a key from API access.

Where the setting lives

Your home directory: ~/.aider.conf.yml
The root of the git repository: .aider.conf.yml

On Windows

setx saves the variables for new windows, so open a new shell before you run aider.

setx OPENAI_API_BASE https://aigrow.gg/v1
setx OPENAI_API_KEY ag_your_key_here

Or keep it in .aider.conf.yml

Aider reads the file from your home directory, the git root and the current directory, and the later one wins.

openai-api-base: https://aigrow.gg/v1
openai-api-key: ag_your_key_here
model: openai/claude-opus-5.5

Which model to use

Put the id in exactly as it is written here.

Claude Opus 5.5claude-opus-5.5: The default in every block on this page, and the cheapest Claude model here per token sent and received. Context: 1,000,000 tokens.
Grok 4.7grok-4.7: The lowest output price here. Its context is half the size of the Claude models. Context: 500,000 tokens.
GPT-6 Astragpt-6-astra: For a GPT model. It costs as much per token as Fable, more than Opus. Context: 1,050,000 tokens.
Claude Fable 5.1claude-fable-5.1: Costs more per token than Opus. Compare the two on the coding leaderboard before you switch. Context: 1,000,000 tokens.

The price list has every id and its credit rate, Claude API pricing has the list prices, and the coding leaderboard compares the models on coding prompts.

Check that it works

First the key on its own, then Aider with it.

The key

Ask for the model list. It needs a valid key and costs nothing.

curl https://aigrow.gg/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer ag_your_key_here"

A working key gets the list back:

{
  "object": "list",
  "data": [
    { "id": "claude-opus-5.5", "object": "model", ... },
    { "id": "claude-fable-5.1", "object": "model", ... },
    { "id": "gpt-6-astra", "object": "model", ... },
    { "id": "claude-sonnet-5.5", "object": "model", ... },
    { "id": "gpt-6.1-sol", "object": "model", ... },
    { "id": "grok-4.7", "object": "model", ... },
    ...
  ],
  "has_more": false
}

Aider

Send one message from inside a git repository.

aider --model openai/claude-opus-5.5 --message "Reply with the word ready"

Aider prints its start-up lines, then the reply, and exits:

ready

When it fails

The Aider errors first, then the answers the endpoint gives any tool.

Unknown context window size and costs: A harmless warning: Aider has no data on the id and uses sane defaults. --no-show-model-warnings hides it. The cost of each request is on API access.
The model is not found: Put openai/ before the id, as in openai/claude-opus-5.5. It tells Aider to use OPENAI_API_BASE; without it Aider looks for the model elsewhere.
My tool says 401 or authentication error: The key is missing or mistyped. Copy it again from API access on the dashboard, and make sure it is sent as the key, not as a model name. A revoked key fails the same way: create a new one and swap it in.
I get 402 or a message about credit: Your balance is empty. Open API access on the dashboard, redeem a code or buy another pack, and the next request goes through. Nothing else needs to change.
It says 404 or Unknown model: The model has to be one the endpoint serves, for example claude-opus-5.5. The provider’s own spellings work too (claude-opus-5-5, anthropic/claude-opus-5.5), but a dated id or any model outside the catalogue is rejected before the request is forwarded, and nothing is billed. Request GET /v1/models with your key for the live list, or read the ids on the price list.
Requests are rejected with 429: The endpoint’s capacity is shared by every buyer: about 20 requests a minute and 4 at once. Each 429 carries a retry-after header, and the OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs wait that long and retry on their own. In a loop of your own, wait the seconds it names or lower your concurrency.
The model is unavailable right now: A 404 that says the model is not available right now means it is briefly down at the upstream provider, not a problem with your key or balance. Retry in a moment or send the request to another model.
I get a 502 or 503: A transient upstream or configuration hiccup, not a charge against your balance. Retry the request; if it keeps failing, reach us through the store and we will look into it.

What does not work through AIGROW

Aider’s own cost figures. It does not know these ids, so it cannot price them; the activity log on API access shows what each request cost.
Live web search inside the model. A web search tool sent with a request is answered from what the model already knows, with no live results. A tool that fetches pages on your own machine still works.
Any endpoint past these three: /v1/messages, /v1/chat/completions and /v1/models. The Responses API, embeddings and token counting answer 404.
Router fields such as models, route, provider and plugins. They are dropped, so a request always goes to the one model it names.

What a month of Aider costs

Aider is billed per token at the credit rates in the price list. An agent sends the whole conversation again with each step, so a long task costs more than its last message suggests; the activity log on API access shows what each request cost.

Questions about Aider and a custom API

How do I point Aider at an OpenAI compatible API?: Set OPENAI_API_BASE to https://aigrow.gg/v1 and OPENAI_API_KEY to your key, then run aider --model openai/ followed by the model id, for example openai/claude-opus-5.5.
Can Aider use Claude through an OpenAI base URL?: Yes. The endpoint serves the Claude models on the OpenAI protocol too, so aider --model openai/claude-opus-5.5 runs Claude with the same two variables.
Where does Aider read .aider.conf.yml from?: From your home directory, the root of the git repository and the current directory. A value in a later file wins over an earlier one.

Sources: Aider OpenAI compatible APIs · Aider Options · Aider YAML config file · Aider Model warnings. Read 21 October 2026.

Set up another tool

Claude CodeAnthropic protocol
Four environment variables, in the shell or in settings.json.
ClineOpenAI protocol
The OpenAI Compatible provider, four fields in the settings screen.
Roo CodeOpenAI protocol
The OpenAI Compatible provider, the same fields as Cline.
Kilo CodeOpenAI protocol
A custom provider in the Providers tab; the model list fills itself.
ContinueOpenAI protocol
A models entry in config.yaml, with provider openai and an apiBase.
OpenCodeOpenAI protocol
A provider block in opencode.json and the key through /connect.
ZedAnthropic and OpenAI protocols
An Anthropic compatible provider for Claude, an OpenAI compatible one for GPT and Grok.
GooseOpenAI protocol
The OpenAI provider with OPENAI_HOST, or a custom provider file.
Vercel AI SDKAnthropic and OpenAI protocols
The OpenAI Compatible provider for every model, or the Anthropic provider for Claude.
OpenAI Agents SDKOpenAI protocol
Your own AsyncOpenAI client, switched to chat completions, with tracing off.
LangChainAnthropic and OpenAI protocols
ChatOpenAI with base_url for every model, or ChatAnthropic for Claude.

The API guide has the SDKs, curl, the endpoints and the rate limits.

Paste the block and Aider runs on your credit.

Buy a credit pack, redeem the code from your email on API access, create a key and put it in place of ag_your_key_here.

Buy API credit See prices and models