/edit
Alias for /editor: opens an external editor to write a prompt.
According to the command reference, /edit is an alias for /editor and opens an external text editor for writing the next chat message. According to the changelog, the alias was added in version 0.79.0: "Added /edit as an alias for the /editor command".
According to the tips in the docs, you can also open the same editor without a slash command, using the key combination Ctrl-X Ctrl-E, provided the terminal supports it โ the docs describe this for /editor, which /edit directly refers to as an alias.
You type /edit, the external editor opens, you write your prompt there, save and close the file โ the content is then sent to Aider as the next chat message. The docs don't mention any further arguments or options for /edit.
โ WHEN TO USE IT?
Comfortably write a longer, multi-line prompt
Type /edit to write a detailed change description with multiple paragraphs in your usual editor instead of the terminal.
Keyboard workflow without a slash command
Press Ctrl-X Ctrl-E to open the same external editor as with /edit, without taking your hands off the keyboard.
โ WHEN NOT TO?
Write a short one-sentence message
For a single-line message, the detour through an external editor is unnecessary.
Better: Type the message directly into the terminal prompt.
SOURCES
- Aider Docs โ In-chat commands โ aider.chat
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