Aider vs Continue | agentconfig.ing

Aider vs ContinueComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Aider (CLI) uses markdown configuration while Continue (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 3 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Aider	Continue	Notes
Config format	markdown	markdown
Hierarchy support	✗	✓	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✓	✓	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✓	✓	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✗	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	.aiderignore	✗
IDE integration	CLI	✓
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Free-form (Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Aider	Continue
Settings / configuration	.aider.conf.yml	.continue/config.yaml

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Aider

CONVENTIONS.md

markdown

# Project Conventions

## Language
- TypeScript strict mode, no `any` types
- Prefer const over let, never use var
- Use template literals over string concatenation

## Architecture
- Feature-based folder structure under src/features/
- Each feature exports through an index.ts barrel file
- Shared utilities go in src/lib/

## Error Handling
- Use Result<T, E> pattern for expected failures
- Throw only for programmer errors
- Always log errors with structured context

## Testing
- Colocate tests next to source files (*.test.ts)
- Use factories for test data, not fixtures
- Integration tests in __tests__/ directories

Continue

.continue/rules/*.md

markdown

# Code Style Rules

- Use TypeScript strict mode for all files
- Prefer named exports over default exports
- Use async/await over .then() chains
- Keep functions under 30 lines
- Use descriptive variable names (no single letters except loop counters)

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Hierarchy support

Aider: Not supported. Continue: Supported.

2. Ignore file

Aider: .aiderignore. Continue: Not supported.

3. IDE integration

Aider: CLI. Continue: Supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Aider, configure .aider.conf.yml. If you use Continue, configure .continue/config.yaml. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh

bash

# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md