Plan: Remove Aider Dependency from Prompt Building

Overview

Replace

aider.coders.editblock_prompts.EditBlockPrompts

with our own prompt templates while maintaining the same interface that

MessageContextMixin

and

MessageSimpleMixin

expect.

Current State

prompt_mixin.py

imports

from aider.coders.editblock_prompts import EditBlockPrompts

which provides:

```
main_system
```
- Main system prompt template (we use
```
sys_prompt.md
```
instead)
```
system_reminder
```
- SEARCH/REPLACE format rules with
```
{fence}
```
placeholders
```
example_messages
```
- Few-shot examples for the edit format
```
go_ahead_tip
```
- A small tip string

Design Decisions

sys_prompt.md
is required - Raise clear error if missing, propagates to UI
system_reminder
stays in code - Mechanical SEARCH/REPLACE rules, not user-editable
example_messages
stays in code - Few-shot examples for the format
No fallback prompts - Fail fast with actionable error

File Changes

File	Action
`ac/aider_integration/prompts/__init__.py`	Create - exports `EditBlockPrompts`
`ac/aider_integration/prompts/example_messages.py`	Create - few-shot examples
`ac/aider_integration/prompt_mixin.py`	Modify - change import, fail if `sys_prompt.md` missing
`tests/test_prompts.py`	Create - unit tests

Implementation Details

ac/aider_integration/prompts/__init__.py

class EditBlockPrompts:
    """Replacement for aider's EditBlockPrompts."""
    
    main_system = ""  # Not used - we load sys_prompt.md
    system_reminder = SYSTEM_REMINDER  # SEARCH/REPLACE rules with {fence}, {go_ahead_tip} placeholders
    example_messages = EXAMPLE_MESSAGES  # Few-shot examples
    go_ahead_tip = ""  # Not needed

ac/aider_integration/prompts/example_messages.py

Few-shot examples covering:

Basic edit (modify existing code)
New file creation (empty SEARCH block)
Code deletion (empty REPLACE block)
Multiple edits in one response

ac/aider_integration/prompt_mixin.py

Changes

Change import from
```
aider.coders.editblock_prompts
```
to
```
.prompts
```

Make

_load_prompt_file()

raise

FileNotFoundError

sys_prompt.md

not found

Remove fallback logic in
```
get_system_prompt()
```

Error Propagation Path

When

sys_prompt.md

is missing:

```
_init_prompts()
```
raises
```
FileNotFoundError
```
with clear message
```
AiderEditor.__init__()
```
fails
```
AiderChat.__init__()
```
fails
```
LiteLLM.get_aider_chat()
```
fails
Error returns to UI via JRPC

Token Tracking

No changes needed - token tracking is independent of aider prompts:

```
TokenCounter
```
wraps
```
litellm.token_counter
```

AiderContextManager.count_tokens()

uses

TokenCounter

```
HudMixin.print_hud()
```
/
```
print_compact_hud()
```
display counts
```
LiteLLM.track_token_usage()
```
tracks session totals

Testing

Unit Tests:

tests/test_prompts.py

def test_edit_block_prompts_has_required_attributes():
    """Verify EditBlockPrompts has all required attributes."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'main_system')
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'system_reminder')
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'example_messages')
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'go_ahead_tip')

def test_system_reminder_has_placeholders():
    """Verify system_reminder has required format placeholders."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assert '{fence}' in prompts.system_reminder
    assert '{go_ahead_tip}' in prompts.system_reminder

def test_example_messages_format():
    """Verify example_messages have correct structure."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assert isinstance(prompts.example_messages, list)
    for msg in prompts.example_messages:
        assert 'role' in msg
        assert 'content' in msg
        assert msg['role'] in ('user', 'assistant')

def test_example_messages_contain_search_replace():
    """Verify assistant examples contain SEARCH/REPLACE blocks."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assistant_msgs = [m for m in prompts.example_messages if m['role'] == 'assistant']
    for msg in assistant_msgs:
        content = msg['content'].format(fence='```', go_ahead_tip='')
        assert '<<<<<<< SEARCH' in content
        assert '=======' in content
        assert '>>>>>>> REPLACE' in content

def test_missing_sys_prompt_raises_error():
    """Verify missing sys_prompt.md raises FileNotFoundError."""
    # This test requires mocking the file system or testing in isolation
    pass

Manual Testing

Remove
```
sys_prompt.md
```
temporarily, verify clear error in UI
Run existing chat workflow, verify LLM produces valid SEARCH/REPLACE blocks
Verify HUD token counts are accurate
Test with
```
sys_prompt_extra.md
```
to verify it's still appended

Rollback Plan

Revert import in

prompt_mixin.py

back to:

from aider.coders.editblock_prompts import EditBlockPrompts

Plan: Remove Aider Dependency from Prompt Building

Overview

Replace

aider.coders.editblock_prompts.EditBlockPrompts

with our own prompt templates while maintaining the same interface that

MessageContextMixin

and

MessageSimpleMixin

expect.

Current State

prompt_mixin.py

imports

from aider.coders.editblock_prompts import EditBlockPrompts

which provides:

```
main_system
```
- Main system prompt template (we use
```
sys_prompt.md
```
instead)
```
system_reminder
```
- SEARCH/REPLACE format rules with
```
{fence}
```
placeholders
```
example_messages
```
- Few-shot examples for the edit format
```
go_ahead_tip
```
- A small tip string

Design Decisions

sys_prompt.md
is required - Raise clear error if missing, propagates to UI
system_reminder
stays in code - Mechanical SEARCH/REPLACE rules, not user-editable
example_messages
stays in code - Few-shot examples for the format
No fallback prompts - Fail fast with actionable error

File Changes

File	Action
`ac/aider_integration/prompts/__init__.py`	Create - exports `EditBlockPrompts`
`ac/aider_integration/prompts/example_messages.py`	Create - few-shot examples
`ac/aider_integration/prompt_mixin.py`	Modify - change import, fail if `sys_prompt.md` missing
`tests/test_prompts.py`	Create - unit tests

Implementation Details

ac/aider_integration/prompts/__init__.py

class EditBlockPrompts:
    """Replacement for aider's EditBlockPrompts."""
    
    main_system = ""  # Not used - we load sys_prompt.md
    system_reminder = SYSTEM_REMINDER  # SEARCH/REPLACE rules with {fence}, {go_ahead_tip} placeholders
    example_messages = EXAMPLE_MESSAGES  # Few-shot examples
    go_ahead_tip = ""  # Not needed

ac/aider_integration/prompts/example_messages.py

Few-shot examples covering:

Basic edit (modify existing code)
New file creation (empty SEARCH block)
Code deletion (empty REPLACE block)
Multiple edits in one response

ac/aider_integration/prompt_mixin.py

Changes

Change import from
```
aider.coders.editblock_prompts
```
to
```
.prompts
```

Make

_load_prompt_file()

raise

FileNotFoundError

sys_prompt.md

not found

Remove fallback logic in
```
get_system_prompt()
```

Error Propagation Path

When

sys_prompt.md

is missing:

```
_init_prompts()
```
raises
```
FileNotFoundError
```
with clear message
```
AiderEditor.__init__()
```
fails
```
AiderChat.__init__()
```
fails
```
LiteLLM.get_aider_chat()
```
fails
Error returns to UI via JRPC

Token Tracking

No changes needed - token tracking is independent of aider prompts:

```
TokenCounter
```
wraps
```
litellm.token_counter
```

AiderContextManager.count_tokens()

uses

TokenCounter

```
HudMixin.print_hud()
```
/
```
print_compact_hud()
```
display counts
```
LiteLLM.track_token_usage()
```
tracks session totals

Testing

Unit Tests:

tests/test_prompts.py

def test_edit_block_prompts_has_required_attributes():
    """Verify EditBlockPrompts has all required attributes."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'main_system')
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'system_reminder')
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'example_messages')
    assert hasattr(prompts, 'go_ahead_tip')

def test_system_reminder_has_placeholders():
    """Verify system_reminder has required format placeholders."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assert '{fence}' in prompts.system_reminder
    assert '{go_ahead_tip}' in prompts.system_reminder

def test_example_messages_format():
    """Verify example_messages have correct structure."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assert isinstance(prompts.example_messages, list)
    for msg in prompts.example_messages:
        assert 'role' in msg
        assert 'content' in msg
        assert msg['role'] in ('user', 'assistant')

def test_example_messages_contain_search_replace():
    """Verify assistant examples contain SEARCH/REPLACE blocks."""
    from ac.aider_integration.prompts import EditBlockPrompts
    prompts = EditBlockPrompts()
    assistant_msgs = [m for m in prompts.example_messages if m['role'] == 'assistant']
    for msg in assistant_msgs:
        content = msg['content'].format(fence='```', go_ahead_tip='')
        assert '<<<<<<< SEARCH' in content
        assert '=======' in content
        assert '>>>>>>> REPLACE' in content

def test_missing_sys_prompt_raises_error():
    """Verify missing sys_prompt.md raises FileNotFoundError."""
    # This test requires mocking the file system or testing in isolation
    pass

Manual Testing

Remove
```
sys_prompt.md
```
temporarily, verify clear error in UI
Run existing chat workflow, verify LLM produces valid SEARCH/REPLACE blocks
Verify HUD token counts are accurate
Test with
```
sys_prompt_extra.md
```
to verify it's still appended

Rollback Plan

Revert import in

prompt_mixin.py

back to:

from aider.coders.editblock_prompts import EditBlockPrompts

Plan: Remove Aider Dependency from Prompt Building

Plan: Remove Aider Dependency from Prompt Building

Overview

Current State

Design Decisions

File Changes

Implementation Details

`ac/aider_integration/prompts/init.py`

`ac/aider_integration/prompts/example_messages.py`

`ac/aider_integration/prompt_mixin.py`
Changes

Error Propagation Path

Token Tracking

Testing

Unit Tests:
`tests/test_prompts.py`

Manual Testing

Rollback Plan

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Plan: Remove Aider Dependency from Prompt Building

Overview

Current State

Design Decisions

File Changes

Implementation Details

`ac/aider_integration/prompts/init.py`

`ac/aider_integration/prompts/example_messages.py`

`ac/aider_integration/prompt_mixin.py`
Changes

Error Propagation Path

Token Tracking

Testing

Unit Tests:
`tests/test_prompts.py`

Manual Testing

Rollback Plan