Aider memory: conventions files, then nothing after the session
Aider is built around explicit context: you add files, it edits them, the repository is the truth. That design is excellent for patches and poor for the reasons behind them.
Aider. Sources checked 2026-09-25.
How Aider handles memory today
Aider documents CONVENTIONS.md style files that you load with /read or the --read flag, so coding guidelines become read-only context for the session. The repo map gives the model a condensed view of the code it is working in.
There is no cross-session memory store. A new session starts from files and the repo map, so the discussion that shaped a change is gone even when the change is still in the tree.
What Aider forgets
Aider remembers code, not the argument about the code.
- Session conversation at exit. Nothing carries a decision forward unless it landed in a file or a commit message.
- The reasons behind a convention. CONVENTIONS.md says what to prefer; it does not say which approach failed in March and why.
- Cross-tool continuity. Aider has no shared memory with your other assistants.
- Context across a long refactor. The repo map shows structure, not the plan you agreed on for the next three steps.
The fix with MemoryRouter
Aider speaks the OpenAI-compatible protocol, so MemoryRouter runs as a drop-in endpoint. Every request is retrieved and stored automatically, with no plugin to install.
- 1
Point Aider at the MemoryRouter endpoint
Shell environment
export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://api.memoryrouter.ai/v1 export OPENAI_API_KEY=mk_your_memory_key - 2
Start Aider as usual
Run Aider with a MemoryRouter-supported model. Aider talks to the endpoint exactly like it talks to OpenAI, and memory happens inside the request path.
Run Aider
aider --model openai/gpt-5.5
Because this is a proxy, it works the same for any other OpenAI-compatible tool you already use.
Exact commands and model notes on the Aider page. 14-day free trial.
Related
Full Aider guide
Exact commands and model notes on the Aider page. 14-day free trial.
Claude Code memory
Keep project decisions across sessions and compaction with the published hook package.
OpenCode memory
AGENTS.md for instructions, MCP for a vault that outlives sessions.
Continue memory
Rules for behavior plus a shared vault over MCP for agent sessions.
Aider memory FAQ
Sources
Sources checked 2026-09-25. Tool behavior changes; check the vendor docs before relying on a detail.