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Skillintermediate
LM Studio
Aider can connect to models served by LM Studio.
Claude Code Knowledge Pack7/10/2026
Overview
LM Studio
Aider can connect to models served by LM Studio.
First, install aider:
{% include install.md %}
Then configure your API key and endpoint:
# Must set a value here even if its a dummy value
setx LM_STUDIO_API_KEY dummy-api-key # Windows, restart shell after setx
# LM Studio default server URL is http://localhost:1234/v1
setx LM_STUDIO_API_BASE http://localhost:1234/v1 # Windows, restart shell after setx
Note: Even though LM Studio doesn't require an API Key out of the box the LM_STUDIO_API_KEY must have a dummy value like dummy-api-key set or the client request will fail trying to send an empty Bearer token.
Start working with aider and LM Studio on your codebase:
# Change directory into your codebase
cd /to/your/project
aider --model lm_studio/<your-model-name>
See the model warnings section for information on warnings which will occur when working with models that aider is not familiar with.