Routic

Using Routic with Aider

Switch Aider's AI backend to Routic and use Claude, GPT-4o, and more at a lower cost.

How it works

Aider supports --openai-api-base for any OpenAI-compatible endpoint and --anthropic-api-base for Anthropic-compatible endpoints. Routic supports both formats.

Prerequisites

  • Aider installed (pip install aider-install or pip install aider-chat)
  • A Routic Base URL and Virtual Key

Setup

Option 1: Command-line flags (quick test)

aider \
  --openai-api-key YOUR_ROUTIC_VIRTUAL_KEY \
  --openai-api-base https://YOUR_GATEWAY_HOST/v1 \
  --model YOUR_MODEL_NAME

Example with Claude Sonnet:

aider \
  --openai-api-key sk-tb-xxxx \
  --openai-api-base https://api.yourdomain.com/v1 \
  --model claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022

Note: --openai-api-base must include the /v1 suffix.

Option 2: .aider.conf.yml (recommended for daily use)

Create in your project root or ~/.aider.conf.yml:

openai-api-key: YOUR_ROUTIC_VIRTUAL_KEY
openai-api-base: https://YOUR_GATEWAY_HOST/v1
model: YOUR_MODEL_NAME

After this, run aider from the project directory without any extra flags.

Option 3: Environment variables

export OPENAI_API_KEY="YOUR_ROUTIC_VIRTUAL_KEY"
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://YOUR_GATEWAY_HOST/v1"

Older Aider versions may read OPENAI_API_BASE (without _URL). Check your version's docs.

Using Anthropic format (Claude models)

To use Anthropic's native message format instead:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://YOUR_GATEWAY_HOST"
aider \
  --anthropic-api-key YOUR_ROUTIC_VIRTUAL_KEY \
  --model claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL should not include /v1 — Aider appends the path automatically.

Verify

aider --message "reply with pong" --no-git

A normal response confirms everything is working.

Choosing a model

The --model value must exactly match a name in the Routic catalog.

Suggested models (verify against current catalog):

Use caseModel
Everyday coding (speed/cost balance)claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 or equivalent
Complex refactors / long contextClaude Opus series
Fast small editsgpt-4o-mini or equivalent

Troubleshooting

Model ... not found
Use the full catalog name — shorthand like sonnet won't work.

Aider warns about missing function calling support
Switch to a catalog model that supports function calling.

Different models per project
Create a .aider.conf.yml in each project root; project-level config overrides ~/.aider.conf.yml.

Related