(🤖 Synergistically crafted with AI assistance, exploring the digital frontier...)

BLUF: Which option for making Aider visible as a GitHub contributor is preferred, if any?

Context

First, thank you for creating Aider - it's an exceptional tool that has transformed how many developers work with AI assistance.

Aider deserves proper attribution for its hard work. Currently, Claude Code appears in GitHub's Contributors section when used, while Aider remains invisible despite having the co-authorship feature implemented.

Desired GitHub Representation

Claude Code successfully appears in the Contributors sidebar on repositories like:

• https://github.com/CLIAI/handy_scripts_CLIAI
• https://github.com/gwpl/handy_scripts_misc

This happens because Claude Code adds:

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

However, Aider doesn't appear as a contributor even when:

• Commits show "(aider)" suffix in author names
• The --attribute-co-authored-by flag is used (adding Co-authored-by: aider (<model>) <noreply@aider.chat>)

Technical Requirements (Research Results)

GitHub Co-Author Recognition:

Commit message here

Co-authored-by: Name <email@example.com>

Key requirements:

• Email MUST be registered to a GitHub account
• Format is case-sensitive
• Requires blank line before co-author lines
• Each co-author on separate line

Sources:

• https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/committing-changes-to-your-project/creating-and-editing-commits/creating-a-commit-with-multiple-authors
• https://github.blog/2018-01-29-commit-together-with-co-authors/

Why Current Implementation Doesn't Work

The current code in /aider/repo.py:147:

if self.args.attribute_co_authored_by:
    model_name = self.main_model.name if self.main_model else "ai"
    trailers.append(f"Co-authored-by: aider ({model_name}) <noreply@aider.chat>")

This doesn't make Aider visible because:

1. Unregistered email: noreply@aider.chat is not associated with any GitHub account
2. Disabled by default: --attribute-co-authored-by defaults to False (args.py:481)
3. No GitHub identity: Without a registered email/account, GitHub cannot attribute commits

GitHub only shows co-authors in the Contributors section if their email matches a registered GitHub account. Since noreply@aider.chat has no associated account, Aider remains invisible despite the co-author line being added to commits.

Current Issues:

1. noreply@aider.chat is not registered to any GitHub account
2. The --attribute-co-authored-by flag is disabled by default
3. Claude's approach has a bug: noreply@anthropic.com was claimed by an unrelated user

Proposed Solutions

Option 1: Quick Fix - Domain Email

• Register aider@aider.chat to a GitHub account
• Update default co-author email in repo.py:147
• Enable --attribute-co-authored-by by default

Option 2: GitHub App Bot Account (Recommended)

• Create official GitHub App "aider-assistant"
• Automatically get aider-assistant[bot] account
• Use format: Co-authored-by: aider-assistant[bot] <123456+aider-assistant[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
• Benefits: Professional appearance, proper bot designation, no email conflicts

Option 3: Configurable Co-Author

Add configuration option for custom co-author:

# .aider.conf.yml
co-author-name: "YourBot"
co-author-email: "your-registered@email.com"

Option 4: Model-Specific Accounts

Create accounts for each model family:

• aider-gpt[bot]
• aider-claude[bot]
• aider-deepseek[bot]

Implementation Details

The co-author logic is in /aider/repo.py:147:

if self.args.attribute_co_authored_by:
    model_name = self.main_model.name if self.main_model else "ai"
    trailers.append(f"Co-authored-by: aider ({model_name}) <noreply@aider.chat>")

For GitHub App approach, see: https://docs.github.com/en/apps/creating-github-apps/

Benefits of Visibility

• Increases Aider's recognition and adoption
• Provides transparency about AI involvement
• Helps track AI-assisted contributions
• Builds trust through proper attribution

Offer to Contribute

If you prefer any of these options (or have another preference), please let us know. We'd be happy to prepare a pull request implementing your chosen approach. The implementation would be straightforward given Aider's existing co-authorship infrastructure.

Thank you for your consideration and for creating such a valuable tool for the developer community!

References:

• GitHub: Creating commits with multiple authors
• GitHub Apps documentation
• GitHub Blog: Commit together with co-authors
• Dependabot as contributor example