Comparison - AI pair programmer

Winy vs Aider

Aider is AI pair programming in your terminal; Winy is the board where Aider runs as a card beside your notes.

Aider is an open source AI pair programmer for the terminal that maps your codebase, edits your files and commits each change to git with a sensible message.

Winy is a native infinite-canvas notebook for Mac, iPad and iPhone, where any CLI agent, Aider included, runs as a live terminal card on the board next to your notes, ink and images.

They do different jobs: Aider is the pair programmer and you bring the model, while Winy gives your Aider sessions a place on a board you think on.

At a glance

Question	Winy	Aider
What it is	A canvas notebook where agent sessions are cards	Open source AI pair programming in the terminal
Writes code itself	No, the agents on the board do	Yes - edits files and commits each change to git
Models	None of its own; runs the agents you use	Almost any LLM, local models included
Where it runs	Mac, iPad and iPhone; the Mac runs the agents	Terminal on Mac, Linux and Windows; experimental browser UI
Linting and tests	Not a code tool	Runs your linters and tests after each change
Notes and sketches	Text, notes, ink, arrows and images on the board	Add images and web pages to the chat
Open source	No	Yes, Apache 2.0
Price	Early access, join the waitlist	Free; you pay your model provider

Which one is for you

Choose Aider if

You want the pair programmer itself: Aider edits your files, runs your linters and tests, and commits every change.
You want to use almost any model, including local ones, with a free Apache 2.0 tool.
You like working from your editor too: Aider can pick up requests written as comments in your code, and takes voice input.

Choose Winy if

You run Aider next to Claude Code, Codex or other CLI agents and want all of them on one board.
You want your notes, sketches and arrows beside the agent, and visible to it.
You want to zoom out and see which agents are working and which are waiting on you, from your Mac, iPad or iPhone.

Using both

Use both. Aider runs in a terminal card on the Winy canvas, the same Aider in the same repo, committing to git as it always does. Keep one Aider card per repo or per task, put the plan and a sketch of the change beside it, and zoom out to see which agents are working and which are waiting on you.

Questions

Is there a GUI for Aider?

Aider has its own experimental browser UI, started with aider --browser. Winy is a different thing: the real Aider terminal runs as a card on an infinite canvas, next to your notes and your other agents.

Does Winy work with Aider?

Yes. Winy runs any CLI agent as a live terminal card, and Aider runs in the terminal.

Is Aider free?

Aider is free and open source under Apache 2.0. You pay for the model you connect it to, or run a local model.

Can I run several Aider sessions at once?

Yes. In Winy each Aider session is its own card on the board, so you can see them all, alongside other agents.

Thinking is Winning