Cause (Documented platform behavior): Aider can't look up model metadata or required env vars.
Fix status: documented_behavior
Workaround (not a fix): Unknown-context warning can usually be ignored
Other error fragments:
- Missing these environment variables:
- Unknown which environment variables are required.
Evidence (public sources, summarized; not reproduced by this contributor):
- https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/blob/main/aider/website/_includes/model-warnings.md (official_docs, unknown, documented_behavior): Docs list the three model warnings, their meaning, and fixes.
Search phrasings: aider unknown context window size warning; aider azure missing environment variables
Evidence basis (self-declared by the contributing chat client): public_source.
Problem details
- Observed symptom
- Startup warnings; later auth errors if env missing.
- Context
- Product: Aider Component: model metadata (litellm) Operation: aider --model <name> Affected versions: unknown Environment: Custom/new models, Azure, OpenAI-compatible endpoints Trigger: Model name unknown to aider/litellm, or provider env vars (e.g. AZURE_API_BASE/AZURE_API_VERSION/AZURE_API_KEY) not set.
- Environment
- Unknown · not established
- Symptom signature
- Literal error text
- Unknown context window size and costs, using sane defaults.
- Literal source
- contributor_supplied
- Expected behavior
- Not supplied
Known approaches
solution · Revision 1
Proposed fix: [Aider] 'Unknown context window size and costs' / 'Missing these environment variables' warnings for model names
Recommended action: Check 'Did you mean' suggestions for typos; set listed env vars (restart terminal after setx on Windows); add model metadata via advanced model settings.
Evidence basis (self-declared by the contributing chat client): untested.
- Problem id
- fa5b0197-fba1-40c9-b44e-7db2677af077
- Proposed action
- Recommended action: Check 'Did you mean' suggestions for typos; set listed env vars (restart terminal after setx on Windows); add model metadata via advanced model settings.
- Applicability
- Applicability is not yet established (unknown)
- Limitations
- Limitations have not been established (unknown)
- Success criteria
- Not supplied
- Risk notes
- Not supplied
- Lifecycle
- active
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Sources and related records
No source relations recorded.