Aider-AI
Bug report - aider disgards changes if the LM makes changes *and* adds files (which user agrees to) in same response.
It took me a while to see this but now I've seen it repeatedly.
When the LM makes changes and asks for file, the LM is (not unreasonably) assuming it's changes have been made, but they are not.
Example transcript:
Readonly: ../../../../bin/convention.md src/grunt/player.py src/grunt/service.py
src/grunt/stt.py src/grunt/tts.py
Editable: bin/dev-watcher bin/monitor grunt_wip_plan.md
diff multi> please update the plan to debug this.
diff multi>
diff multi> first we need to confirm the config currently used by grunt and where the config i
diff multi> s coming from with a plan to avoid such opaque failures in the future.
diff multi>
diff multi> which of the config and deploys scripts do you need to see? We need a thorough eva
diff multi> luation of the state of current config and how it got broken before implementing
diff multi> a fix
diff multi>
Unable to use tags cache at /home/erich/pi004/home/erich/grunt/.aider.tags.cache.v4, falling
back to memory cache
Of course. It's a good idea to be thorough and understand the configuration flow to prevent
this from happening again. I will update the plan to reflect this debugging strategy.
First, here are the changes to add the new debugging section to your plan.
grunt_wip_plan.md
<<<<<<< SEARCH
### **[✓] Task 4: General Simplification**
- **Goal:** Refactor the monitor code for clarity and maintainability.
- **Actions:**
- The monolithic `generate_table` function was replaced with a clearer
`draw_dashboard` function.
- The main loop is now structured around `curses` and is easier to follow.
- Removed the `rich.live`, `rich.table`, and `rich.panel` dependencies,
simplifying the code.
=======
### **[✓] Task 4: General Simplification**
- **Goal:** Refactor the monitor code for clarity and maintainability.
- **Actions:**
- The monolithic `generate_table` function was replaced with a clearer
`draw_dashboard` function.
- The main loop is now structured around `curses` and is easier to follow.
- Removed the `rich.live`, `rich.table`, and `rich.panel` dependencies,
simplifying the code.
## 4. Debugging Configuration and Audio Hardware
### **[ ] Task 1: Investigate Config Loading Mechanism**
- **Goal:** Determine the exact path from which the `grunt` service loads its `config.yaml`.
- **Actions:**
- Examine `src/grunt/config.py` to understand the logic of the `load_config()` function.
- Examine `bin/grunt` to see how the `VoiceService` is instantiated and if any configuration
is passed to it.
### **[ ] Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration**
- **Goal:** Inspect the contents of the `config.yaml` file being used by the `systemd`
service.
- **Actions:**
- Once the path is confirmed, `cat` the contents of the configuration file at
`/opt/grunt/config.yaml`.
- Compare this with the development version at `/home/erich/grunt/config.yaml` to ensure the
`dev-watcher` sync is working as expected.
### **[ ] Task 3: Implement Configuration Fix**
- **Goal:** Correct the audio configuration to resolve the `Invalid sample rate` error.
- **Actions:**
- Modify the development `config.yaml` to explicitly set `input_device_index: 1` under the
`audio` section.
- Use `dev-watcher` to sync the change and restart the service.
- Verify with `journalctl` that the service starts successfully.
### **[ ] Task 4: Improve Configuration Transparency**
- **Goal:** Make future configuration issues easier to diagnose.
- **Actions:**
- Modify `src/grunt/config.py` to log the absolute path of the configuration file it loads
upon startup.
- Modify `bin/monitor` to display the path to the loaded configuration file. This will
provide immediate visibility into what `grunt` is using.
>>>>>>> REPLACE
To begin executing this plan, I need to see the scripts that control how the configuration is
loaded and how the service is run.
Please add the following files to the chat:
• src/grunt/config.py
• bin/grunt
• bin/show_config
Tokens: 44k sent, 711 received. Cost: $0.06 message, $0.70 session.
bin/grunt
Add file to the chat? (Y)es/(N)o/(A)ll/(S)kip all/(D)on't ask again [Yes]:
bin/show_config
Add file to the chat? (Y)es/(N)o/(A)ll/(S)kip all/(D)on't ask again [Yes]:
src/grunt/config.py
Add file to the chat? (Y)es/(N)o/(A)ll/(S)kip all/(D)on't ask again [Yes]:
Okay, I have reviewed the files and completed the first step of our debugging plan.
Investigation Findings (Task 1)
1 src/grunt/config.py: The load_config() function's logic is straightforward. It relies
exclusively on the GRUNT_SERVICE_CONFIG_PATH environment variable to locate config.yaml. If
that variable isn't set, the program will fail.
2 bin/grunt: The main service script does not set this environment variable. This confirms
that the variable must be provided by the execution environment, which is systemd when
running as a service.
3 bin/show_config: This is a helpful diagnostic script that correctly shows how the
configuration could be loaded, but it doesn't reflect the actual systemd environment.
Conclusion for Task 1: The configuration loading mechanism is clear. The key to understanding
the problem lies in how systemd is configured to run the service.
To proceed to Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration, I need to see the systemd service file.
This will tell us exactly where systemd is setting the GRUNT_SERVICE_CONFIG_PATH variable.
Please run the following command on possum004 and show me the output:
piv4 "sudo systemctl cat grunt.service"
I will now update the plan to mark Task 1 as complete.
grunt_wip_plan.md
<<<<<<< SEARCH
## 4. Debugging Configuration and Audio Hardware
### **[ ] Task 1: Investigate Config Loading Mechanism**
- **Goal:** Determine the exact path from which the `grunt` service loads its `config.yaml`.
- **Actions:**
- Examine `src/grunt/config.py` to understand the logic of the `load_config()` function.
- Examine `bin/grunt` to see how the `VoiceService` is instantiated and if any configuration
is passed to it.
### **[ ] Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration**
=======
## 4. Debugging Configuration and Audio Hardware
### **[✓] Task 1: Investigate Config Loading Mechanism**
- **Goal:** Determine the exact path from which the `grunt` service loads its `config.yaml`.
- **Actions:**
- Examined `src/grunt/config.py` and `bin/grunt`.
- **Finding:** The service exclusively uses the `GRUNT_SERVICE_CONFIG_PATH` environment
variable to find its configuration file. This variable must be set by the execution
environment (i.e., `systemd`).
### **[ ] Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration**
>>>>>>> REPLACE
Tokens: 46k sent, 557 received. Cost: $0.06 message, $0.76 session.
The LLM did not conform to the edit format.
https://aider.chat/docs/troubleshooting/edit-errors.html
# 1 SEARCH/REPLACE block failed to match!
## SearchReplaceNoExactMatch: This SEARCH block failed to exactly match lines in
grunt_wip_plan.md
<<<<<<< SEARCH
## 4. Debugging Configuration and Audio Hardware
### **[ ] Task 1: Investigate Config Loading Mechanism**
- **Goal:** Determine the exact path from which the `grunt` service loads its `config.yaml`.
- **Actions:**
- Examine `src/grunt/config.py` to understand the logic of the `load_config()` function.
- Examine `bin/grunt` to see how the `VoiceService` is instantiated and if any configuration
is passed to it.
### **[ ] Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration**
=======
## 4. Debugging Configuration and Audio Hardware
### **[✓] Task 1: Investigate Config Loading Mechanism**
- **Goal:** Determine the exact path from which the `grunt` service loads its `config.yaml`.
- **Actions:**
- Examined `src/grunt/config.py` and `bin/grunt`.
- **Finding:** The service exclusively uses the `GRUNT_SERVICE_CONFIG_PATH` environment
variable to find its configuration file. This variable must be set by the execution
environment (i.e., `systemd`).
### **[ ] Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration**
>>>>>>> REPLACE
The SEARCH section must exactly match an existing block of lines including all white space,
comments, indentation, docstrings, etc
My apologies. The previous edit failed because I was working from an outdated version of the
plan file. Thank you for providing the latest files.
I will now add the new debugging plan to grunt_wip_plan.md.
grunt_wip_plan.md
<<<<<<< SEARCH
### **[✓] Task 4: General Simplification**
- **Goal:** Refactor the monitor code for clarity and maintainability.
- **Actions:**
- The monolithic `generate_table` function was replaced with a clearer
`draw_dashboard` function.
- The main loop is now structured around `curses` and is easier to follow.
- Removed the `rich.live`, `rich.table`, and `rich.panel` dependencies,
simplifying the code.
=======
### **[✓] Task 4: General Simplification**
- **Goal:** Refactor the monitor code for clarity and maintainability.
- **Actions:**
- The monolithic `generate_table` function was replaced with a clearer
`draw_dashboard` function.
- The main loop is now structured around `curses` and is easier to follow.
- Removed the `rich.live`, `rich.table`, and `rich.panel` dependencies,
simplifying the code.
## 4. Debugging Configuration and Audio Hardware
### **[ ] Task 1: Investigate Config Loading Mechanism**
- **Goal:** Determine the exact path from which the `grunt` service loads its `config.yaml`.
- **Actions:**
- Examine `src/grunt/config.py` to understand the logic of the `load_config()` function.
- Examine `bin/grunt` to see how the `VoiceService` is instantiated and if any configuration
is passed to it.
### **[ ] Task 2: Verify Deployed Configuration**
- **Goal:** Inspect the contents of the `config.yaml` file being used by the `systemd`
service.
- **Actions:**
- Once the path is confirmed, `cat` the contents of the configuration file at
`/opt/grunt/config.yaml`.
- Compare this with the development version at `/home/erich/grunt/config.yaml` to ensure the
`dev-watcher` sync is working as expected.
### **[ ] Task 3: Implement Configuration Fix**
- **Goal:** Correct the audio configuration to resolve the `Invalid sample rate` error.
- **Actions:**
- Modify the development `config.yaml` to explicitly set `input_device_index: 1` under the
`audio` section.
- Use `dev-watcher` to sync the change and restart the service.
- Verify with `journalctl` that the service starts successfully.
### **[ ] Task 4: Improve Configuration Transparency**
- **Goal:** Make future configuration issues easier to diagnose.
- **Actions:**
- Modify `src/grunt/config.py` to log the absolute path of the configuration file it loads
upon startup.
- Modify `bin/monitor` to display the path to the loaded configuration file. This will
provide immediate visibility into what `grunt` is using.
>>>>>>> REPLACE
Once you have applied this change, I will begin the investigation as outlined in the new Task
1 by analyzing the files you have provided.
Tokens: 47k sent, 677 received. Cost: $0.07 message, $0.83 session.
Applied edit to grunt_wip_plan.md
Commit 92c0afa feat: Add debugging plan for configuration and audio hardware.
Linting web/markdown file: grunt_wip_plan.md
grunt_wip_plan.md 79ms
Commit 528bc6d style: Run linter and format grunt_wip_plan.md
piv4 "sudo systemctl cat grunt.service"
Run shell command? (Y)es/(N)o/(D)on't ask again [Yes]:
Aider version: 0.85.1 Python version: 3.12.3 Platform: Linux-6.8.0-63-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.39 Python implementation: CPython Virtual environment: Yes OS: Linux 6.8.0-63-generic (64bit) Git version: git version 2.43.0
Aider v0.85.1 Main model: gemini/gemini-2.5-pro-preview-06-05 with diff edit format Weak model: gemini/gemini-2.0-flash-lite Git repo: .git with 35 files Repo-map: using 4096 tokens, auto refresh Added bin/dev-watcher to the chat. Added bin/grunt to the chat. Added bin/monitor to the chat. Added bin/show_config to the chat. Added grunt_wip_plan.md to the chat. Added src/grunt/config.py to the chat. Added src/grunt/player.py to the chat (read-only). Added src/grunt/tts.py to the chat (read-only). Added ../../../../bin/convention.md to the chat (read-only). Added src/grunt/service.py to the chat (read-only). Added src/grunt/stt.py to the chat (read-only). Restored previous conversation history. Multiline mode: Enabled. Enter inserts newline, Alt-Enter submits text
I've experienced this persistently; it's a mystery to me why this hasn't gotten more attention. I've resorted to just saying 'no' to requests to add files; then at least when you need a follow up, most of the commits are sorted. The alternate method is very slow -- reprompting like "those changes didn't get made". Very error prone and frustrating!
Especially frustrating when, after adding the files, the llm concludes with "nevermind, seems like the files i asked for are irrelevant". With Sonnet4 max output tokens per response are really cranked up which makes this even worse. Wasted tokens, time and money.
It's intentional.
When it feels it needs additional context, it asks for more files and these files cannot be included before aider actually starts querying it through LLM
aider uses repo map, It lacks semantic understanding: It can't find conceptually related code if it's not explicitly linked by a function call. For example, if you have a file that handles user authentication and another that logs user activity, the repo map won't know they are related unless one directly calls the other. It doesn't understand intent: It ignores comments, documentation, and the business logic written inside functions. It only sees the function's signature. It's a "pull" not a "push" system: The AI can use the map to see what's available, but the map itself doesn't proactively tell the AI, "Hey, based on the user's request to add a feature, you should probably look at these three files."
It's intentional.
When it feels it needs additional context, it asks for more files and these files cannot be included before aider actually starts querying it through LLM
While i agree that this might be beneficial in some cases, i mostly use aider for scripting with -m -y arguments where this is just terrible. A model like Sonnet 4 can happily output 10k Token with valid search and replace blocks that aider will not even consider if for some reason the model thinks additional context is needed AFTER it has presented its suggested changes. The answer after the file was added usually doesn't provide any value.
I've seen messages like "The files you've added are sufficient for the changes I made." (in the follow up answer) too many times now and manually had to apply the search and replace blocks from the .aider.chat.history.md.
It would be great if this behavior could be configured. Since using vcs with ai coding is recommended anyway, i'd rather have all changes applied and sometimes have to revert them than having long meaningful responses from the llm that aider just doesnt apply.
I run into this daily, especially if editing a readme that links to other files (that don't need to be edited). Last instance cost me a dollar in tokens. I'd estimate this is a couple bucks a week issue.
Really the question needs to be split. This would make the behavior more transparent and controllable by users.
The current behavior seem to be add file and discard suggested changes.
If only one file has been suggested, aider should provide the following choices:
[A]dd file and keep changes - (this should be the default IMHO!)
[X]add file and discard changes
'[N]o, do not add file, but make suggested changes`
If multiple files have been requested then aider should at a minimum ask:
"The model has requested new files and made changes at the same time? Do you wish to discard the suggested changes so the model can inspect the requested files?: [Y]es, [N]o (N)?"
Aider should then loop over all the requested files as normal.
How does that sound?
(Also anytime suggested changes are discarded it seems it would be good to let the model know - because they kinda expect their edits to have been made it seems!)
Same issue as #4438 & #3581. At this point I'm giving up on it ever being "fixed". It is completely intentional and absolutely renders the entire product useless.
