Use DaoXE in Aider

Aider reads OPENAI_API_BASE and OPENAI_API_KEY for OpenAI-compatible endpoints. Point the base at DaoXE and prefix your model with openai/ so Aider takes the OpenAI-compatible path. A cheap --weak-model handles commit messages while a stronger one does the edits — see the cheapest APIs guide.

Why route Aider through DaoXE#

• Terminal + git native. Aider commits its own diffs; DaoXE just supplies the model.
• Strong + weak split. Frontier model for edits, cheap model for commit messages, one key.
• No lock-in. Two env vars; revert anytime.

Set it up in Aider#

1. Export the endpoint. Set OPENAI_API_BASE=https://daoxe.com/v1 and OPENAI_API_KEY to your DaoXE key.
2. Run with an openai/ model. aider --model openai/YOUR_EXACT_MODEL_ID — the openai/ prefix is required.
3. Add a weak model (optional). --weak-model openai/YOUR_SMALL_MODEL_ID for cheap commit messages and summaries.
4. Persist it (optional). Put the vars in .env or the model in .aider.conf.yml so you don't retype them.

export OPENAI_API_BASE="https://daoxe.com/v1"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_api_key"

# The openai/ prefix tells Aider to use the OpenAI-compatible path
aider --model openai/YOUR_EXACT_MODEL_ID

# optional: a cheaper model for commit messages / summaries
#   --weak-model openai/YOUR_SMALL_MODEL_ID

Verify you actually get the model#

Prove the endpoint works before blaming the client — if this fails, no setting will fix it:

export DAOXE_API_KEY="your_api_key"

# List the exact model IDs your account can call
curl --fail-with-body --show-error --silent \
  https://daoxe.com/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DAOXE_API_KEY}"

Confirm the endpoint independently, then compare a fixed prompt against the official API at temperature 0 before trusting big refactors:

curl --fail-with-body --show-error --silent \
  https://daoxe.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DAOXE_API_KEY}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "YOUR_EXACT_MODEL_ID",
    "max_tokens": 64,
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in one sentence."}]
  }'

Frequently asked questions#