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An owner without developer skills can export the agent and restore it working on a runtime or host the provider does not operate, within minutes of asking and without provider approval. Running the runtime on the owner's own machine counts as not provider-operated.

All agent state is local files (repo-level .aider.* files, ~/.aider/, .aider.conf.yml, .env) whose locations are documented, so it can be copied immediately with no provider approval. There is no export/import feature or documented 'copy this and run it elsewhere' procedure; restoring means reinstalling aider, copying files from several locations (repo and home directory) and re-supplying API keys by hand. Sources

Export is immediate (the agent is one .adf file; copying it and using Open is documented), but restoring a working agent on another machine takes several documented steps: import the owner seed phrase to unlock sealed keys, re-add a model provider key (app-level keys are not in the file), re-register app-level MCP servers, then review and accept the file. One shortfall (restore is not a single action). Sources

The export contains everything that defines the agent: configuration, instructions, memory, action history, logic, schedules and triggers, files, any identity, and credentials or a way to re-link each integration without any provider-registered client or broker. Derived data (embeddings, indexes, summaries) is accompanied by the source it was derived from.

Nothing defining the agent is held by the provider: configuration, conventions/instruction files, chat and input history, model settings/metadata overrides, OAuth-obtained OpenRouter key (~/.aider/oauth-keys.env) and git history are all local files. Model API keys are the owner's own and are re-linked by setting environment variables; the OpenRouter onboarding uses OpenRouter's PKCE flow with a localhost callback, and keys can also be set directly. No schedules or identity exist (G11). Sources

The spec places config, instructions, memory, loops, timers, triggers, lambdas, files, messages, audit, logs, sealed identity keys and per-agent credentials in the .adf file; the project holds nothing. Items outside the file (app-level provider keys, app-scoped MCP credentials, WhatsApp session directory, runtime settings) can be re-linked by the owner without any ADF-registered client (MCP OAuth uses dynamic client registration; subscriptions use OpenAI/xAI client ids). A customised global base prompt is an app setting and does not travel; recorded, not counted, because the default install uses the shipped prompt. Sources

With a non-provider model configured per P4, the exported agent runs indefinitely without any service, account, licence or payment controlled by the original provider, and the owner holds a perpetual, irrevocable right to run it. No provider action, inaction or disappearance can disable or degrade it.

Runtime is Apache-2.0 with no licence check, account or activation. The only provider-related network calls (PostHog analytics, PyPI version check) are optional and failures are caught; core editing works against any owner-configured model endpoint. Hands-on provider-blocked run not performed (desk review). Sources

The runtime is MIT-licensed with no licence check, account or ADF-run relay; the only ADF-project endpoints (GitHub update check, MCP registry, skill catalog, online docs) are optional, have off switches or bundled fallbacks, and are not needed to start or act. Mesh uses LAN, tailnet or owner-chosen addresses. Desk grade; a provider-blocked run is required at certification. Sources

The owner can choose any model that meets a documented minimum, including a local open-weight model, without provider involvement, and every capability of the agent (tools, triggers, messaging, memory, automation) keeps working. A swap may lower reasoning quality but never removes a capability.

Any LiteLLM-supported model, including local Ollama/LM Studio open-weight models, can be used, and code editing uses text-based edit formats rather than vendor tool calling. However, /voice is hard-wired to OpenAI's hosted whisper-1 and refuses to start without OPENAI_API_KEY, so voice input is lost off that vendor. Sources

Tool calling is the documented minimum and local open-weight models (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, llama.cpp) are first-class provider options; triggers, timers, lambdas and middleware run in the runtime. However, video input is implemented by injecting OpenAI-format video_url parts and is documented only for hosted providers (OpenRouter, Gemini), and no test against a local model is published, so under G12 at least one capability is not shown to survive a local model. Sources

Whatever the P2 export contains stays obtainable, current to the moment of termination, after account suspension or ban, a lapsed subscription, a price change, an acquisition, or the provider shutting down.

Aider is local-first software with no provider account; all agent state lives on the owner's machine and is unaffected by any provider action or shutdown. Sources

State is local-first: the agent is a SQLite file on the owner's disk with no ADF account or hosted copy, so no termination, ban or shutdown by the project can remove access to it. Sources