AiderDesk Integration¶

AI Guardian integrates with AiderDesk via its Extension system (introduced in v0.55.0).

Note: AiderDesk (GUI desktop app) is different from Aider (CLI tool). For Aider CLI integration via git hooks, see AIDER.md.

How It Works¶

Unlike other IDEs that use shell-based hooks or JSON config files, AiderDesk uses TypeScript/JavaScript extensions. AI Guardian ships a thin host extension plus a shared TypeScript process bridge that:

Hooks into AiderDesk events (tool calls, prompts, file access, commits)
Delegates process execution, timeout handling, environment propagation, and response parsing to ai-guardian-bridge.ts
Spawns ai-guardian as a child process with event data on stdin and translates the bridge result into AiderDesk's expected format

The bridge reuses the same exit-code protocol as Kiro hooks: - Exit 0 = allow (stdout content sent as context) - Exit 1 or 2 = block (stderr content shown as error) - Other process failures and timeouts fail open, matching the existing extension behavior

Prerequisites¶

AiderDesk v0.55.0 or later
Node.js (already required by AiderDesk)
ai-guardian installed and on PATH

Installation¶

# Install the extension
ai-guardian setup --ide aiderdesk

# Install dependencies
cd ~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian
npm install

# MCP server is installed by default (use --no-mcp to skip)
ai-guardian setup --ide aiderdesk

The extension installs to ~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian/ (global scope). AiderDesk automatically detects and hot-reloads extensions.

Dry Run¶

Preview what would be installed without making changes:

ai-guardian setup --ide aiderdesk --dry-run

Force Reinstall¶

Overwrite an existing installation:

ai-guardian setup --ide aiderdesk --force

What Gets Scanned¶

AiderDesk Event	AI Guardian Check	Blocking
Tool approval (`onToolApproval`)	Secret scanning, directory rules, SSRF	Yes
Tool execution (`onToolCalled`)	Secret scanning, directory rules	Yes
Tool output (`onToolFinished`)	Secret/PII redaction	Modified output
Prompt submission (`onPromptStarted`)	Prompt injection detection	Yes
File context (`onFilesAdded`)	Directory access rules	Yes
Git commits (`onBeforeCommit`)	Secret scanning	Yes

Extension Files¶

After installation, the extension directory contains:

~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian/
  index.ts          # Extension source (TypeScript)
  ai-guardian-bridge.ts  # Shared process and response bridge
  package.json      # Dependencies (@aiderdesk/extensions)
  node_modules/     # Created by npm install

Verifying Installation¶

Open AiderDesk
The extension should appear in the extensions list
Try a command that would be blocked (e.g., accessing a protected directory)
Check AI Guardian logs: ai-guardian violations list

Comparison with Other IDEs¶

Feature	Shell Hooks (Claude, Kiro)	JSON Config (Cursor, Copilot)	Extension (AiderDesk)
Language	Shell script	JSON config	TypeScript
Location	`.ide/hooks/`	`~/.ide/config.json`	`~/.aider-desk/extensions/`
Setup	`ai-guardian setup --ide X`	`ai-guardian setup --ide X`	`ai-guardian setup --ide aiderdesk` + `npm install`
Hot reload	No (restart IDE)	No (restart IDE)	Yes (automatic)
Node.js required	No	No	Yes

Troubleshooting¶

Extension Not Loading¶

Verify the extension directory exists: ls ~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian/
Verify dependencies installed: ls ~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian/node_modules/
If node_modules/ is missing, run cd ~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian && npm install

ai-guardian Not Found¶

The extension calls ai-guardian from PATH. Verify it's accessible:

which ai-guardian
ai-guardian --version

Blocked Operations Not Working¶

Check ai-guardian config: ai-guardian doctor
Verify scanner is installed: ai-guardian scanner list
Check violations log: ai-guardian violations list

Uninstalling¶

Remove the extension directory:

rm -rf ~/.aider-desk/extensions/ai-guardian

To also remove MCP server config:

ai-guardian setup --ide aiderdesk --no-mcp