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Comment by SOLAR_FIELDS | Hacker News Reader

OpenAI API key with GPT4 plus aider[1]: https://github.com/paul-gauthier/aider

For reference against the actual product called “Copilot”, I would say this is actually useful, vs Copilot which I would use words like “glorified autocomplete” and “slightly better intellisense” to describe. Only really good for saving you some rote typing periodically.

The primary limit with “aider” is the GPT4 context window, so really it’s about learning to work within that as its only learning curve.

I have been curious about sourcegraph’s “Cody” product if anyone here has tried it

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re Cody - I found it very similar to Codium, Copilot, et al. Impressive when it works, but consistently has trouble identifying the right context to inject or using it effectively. At its best when writing code that does not require a lot of local context - speeding up standard operations that might need a lot of boilerplate or using publicly documented + stable APIs are where they shine.

re getting some keys - for most tasks I have not yet found a better tool than finding a chat interface to your liking, setting a fairly generic “you’re an expert programmer” system prompt with output instructions tuned to your needs, and manually adding relevant context (copy/paste) to your messages when relevant. I can’t wait for big content windows and RAG methods to improve enough to replace all that with one of assistants, but it’s just not there yet.

I love aider but it feels like a giant black box that consumes copious credits.

The output is amazing though, so I keep using it. But I feel like I have no insight or control. Maybe I should read the docs more carefully.

I use mine in earnest with the full context window filled prompting probably 20-30x a week and have not gotten a monthly bill over $5 USD in a long while. When I first started using it when GPT4 access was limited last year and the tokens were expensive it was a lot more. I think my bills were around $200 USD per month at that point

I switched from GitHub Copilot to Sourcegraph and have not wanted to switch back yet.

The output is more or less of similar quality as far as I can tell. However, what makes me like Sourcegraph's Cody more is the more advanced interface it gives me in VSCode. It allows me to do all the things I want (get quick answers to code-related questions, refactor code, write tests, and explain code that's confusing) all one hot key away.

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