4 ms·

Congrats on the launch. Can you please compare and contrast Plandex features with another similar solution like aider[1] which also helps solve similar problem.

Congrats on the launch. Can you please compare and contrast Plandex features with another similar solution like aider[1] which also helps solve similar problem. [1] https://github.com/paul-gauthier/aider https://github.com/paul-gauthier/aider

danenania 3y ago
Thanks! Sure, I posted this comment in a Reddit thread a couple days ago to a user who asked the same question (and I added one additional point): First I should say that it’s been a few months at least since I’ve used aider, so it’s possible my impression of it is a bit outdated. Also I’m a big fan of it and drew a lot of inspiration from it. That said: Plandex is more focused on building larger and more complex functionality that involves multiple steps, whereas aider is more geared toward making a single change at a time. Plandex has an isolated, version-controlled sandbox where tentative changes are accumulated. I believe with aider you have to apply or discard each change individually? Plandex has diff review TUI where changes can be viewed side-by-side, and optionally rejected, a bit like GitHub’s PR review UI. Plandex has branches that allow for exploring multiple approaches. aider has cool voice input features that Plandex lacks. aider’s maintainer Paul has done a lot of benchmarking of file update strategies. While I think Plandex’s approach is better suited to larger and more complex functionality, aider’s unified diff approach may have higher accuracy for a single change. I hope to do benchmarking work on this in the future. aider requires Python and is installed via pip, while Plandex runs from a single binary with no dependencies, so Plandex installation is arguably easier overall, especially if you aren't a Python dev. I’m sure I’m missing some other differences but those are the main ones that come to mind.
- wanderingmind 3y ago
  Thank you. Branches to explore different approaches is a really good idea, since LLMs are most powerful when they are used as a rubber duck to generate boilerplate templates and this can help get multiple perspectives. Going to test it soon.
anotherpaulg 3y ago
Thanks for mentioning aider! I haven't had a chance to look closely at plandex, but have read the author's description of differences wrt aider. I'd add a few comments: I think the plandex UX is novel and interesting. The idea of a git-like CLI with various stateful commands is a new one in this space of ai coding tools. In contrast, aider uses a chat based "pair programming" UX, where you collaborate with the AI and ask for a sequence of changes to your local git repo. The plandex author highlights that it makes changes in a "version-controlled sandbox" and can "rewind" unwanted changes. These capabilities are all available "for free" in aider, because it is tightly integrated with git. Each AI change is automatically git committed with a sensible commit message. You can type “/diff” to check the diff, or "/undo" to undo any AI commit that you don't like. Or you can use "/git checkout -b <branch-name>" to start working on a branch to explore a longer sequence of changes, etc. All your favorite git workflows are supported by invoking familiar git commands with "/git ..." inside the aider chat, or using any external git tooling that you prefer. Aider notices any changes in the underlying repo, however they occur.
- bjornsing 3y ago
  > These capabilities are all available "for free" in aider, because it is tightly integrated with git. Sounds like the right approach to me. Some quick questions: 1. Is it easy to customize the system prompt with aider? 2. Does aider save a record of all OpenAI API calls? I’m thinking I may e.g. want to experiment with fine tuning an open source model using these one day. 3. What would you say are aider’s closest “competitors”?
  - danenania 3y ago
    Just to note, Plandex also has integration with git on the client-side and can automatically commit its changes (or not--you can decide when applying changes). One of the reasons I think it's good to have the plan version-controlled separately from the repo is it avoids intermingling your changes and the model's changes in a way that's difficult to disentangle. It's also resilient to a "dirty" git state where you have a mix of staged, unstaged, and untracked changes. One more benefit is that Plandex can be used in directories that aren't git repos, while still retaining version control for the plan itself. This can be useful for more one-off tasks where you're not working in an established project.

danenania 3y ago

Thanks! Sure, I posted this comment in a Reddit thread a couple days ago to a user who asked the same question (and I added one additional point): First I should say that it’s been a few months at least since I’ve used aider, so it’s possible my impression of it is a bit outdated. Also I’m a big fan of it and drew a lot of inspiration from it. That said: Plandex is more focused on building larger and more complex functionality that involves multiple steps, whereas aider is more geared toward making a single change at a time. Plandex has an isolated, version-controlled sandbox where tentative changes are accumulated. I believe with aider you have to apply or discard each change individually? Plandex has diff review TUI where changes can be viewed side-by-side, and optionally rejected, a bit like GitHub’s PR review UI. Plandex has branches that allow for exploring multiple approaches. aider has cool voice input features that Plandex lacks. aider’s maintainer Paul has done a lot of benchmarking of file update strategies. While I think Plandex’s approach is better suited to larger and more complex functionality, aider’s unified diff approach may have higher accuracy for a single change. I hope to do benchmarking work on this in the future. aider requires Python and is installed via pip, while Plandex runs from a single binary with no dependencies, so Plandex installation is arguably easier overall, especially if you aren't a Python dev. I’m sure I’m missing some other differences but those are the main ones that come to mind.

wanderingmind 3y ago
Thank you. Branches to explore different approaches is a really good idea, since LLMs are most powerful when they are used as a rubber duck to generate boilerplate templates and this can help get multiple perspectives. Going to test it soon.

anotherpaulg 3y ago

Thanks for mentioning aider! I haven't had a chance to look closely at plandex, but have read the author's description of differences wrt aider. I'd add a few comments: I think the plandex UX is novel and interesting. The idea of a git-like CLI with various stateful commands is a new one in this space of ai coding tools. In contrast, aider uses a chat based "pair programming" UX, where you collaborate with the AI and ask for a sequence of changes to your local git repo. The plandex author highlights that it makes changes in a "version-controlled sandbox" and can "rewind" unwanted changes. These capabilities are all available "for free" in aider, because it is tightly integrated with git. Each AI change is automatically git committed with a sensible commit message. You can type “/diff” to check the diff, or "/undo" to undo any AI commit that you don't like. Or you can use "/git checkout -b <branch-name>" to start working on a branch to explore a longer sequence of changes, etc. All your favorite git workflows are supported by invoking familiar git commands with "/git ..." inside the aider chat, or using any external git tooling that you prefer. Aider notices any changes in the underlying repo, however they occur.

bjornsing 3y ago
> These capabilities are all available "for free" in aider, because it is tightly integrated with git. Sounds like the right approach to me. Some quick questions: 1. Is it easy to customize the system prompt with aider? 2. Does aider save a record of all OpenAI API calls? I’m thinking I may e.g. want to experiment with fine tuning an open source model using these one day. 3. What would you say are aider’s closest “competitors”?
- danenania 3y ago
  Just to note, Plandex also has integration with git on the client-side and can automatically commit its changes (or not--you can decide when applying changes). One of the reasons I think it's good to have the plan version-controlled separately from the repo is it avoids intermingling your changes and the model's changes in a way that's difficult to disentangle. It's also resilient to a "dirty" git state where you have a mix of staged, unstaged, and untracked changes. One more benefit is that Plandex can be used in directories that aren't git repos, while still retaining version control for the plan itself. This can be useful for more one-off tasks where you're not working in an established project.