A coding assistant is an AI tool that helps you write, change and understand code, from suggesting lines to editing many files and running commands.
In plain words
The more capable ones act like agents: they read your project, plan a change, edit several files, run commands, and show you the result. Claude Code works from the terminal, and Aider saves each change as a Git commit so it is easy to see and undo. You still need to review what they write.
A quick example
Imagine asking an assistant to add a dark-mode switch to your website. It looks through the project, edits the stylesheet and the settings page, runs the tests, and leaves a commit you can inspect, keep or roll back.
Where you'll meet it
- Writing and refactoring code in editors and terminals.
- Explaining unfamiliar codebases.
Related
Sources
- Docsaider, Aider (GitHub) · read 29 Sept 2026
- DocsClaude Code overview, Anthropic (Claude Code Docs) · read 29 Sept 2026
Checked by WhatIsAI against the sources above · 29 Sept 2026. Spotted an error? Report it.