Local packages, the Hub, then the vendor.
When you ask for a tool, AIDC looks at its enabled sources: a directory of prepared packages if you set one, AIDC Server, and the tool vendor's own release site. A Hub package is preferred; if the Hub cannot be reached or does not have the release, a default install falls back to the vendor, and --hub or --vendor pins the choice.
| Source | Checked before it is installed |
|---|---|
| AIDC Server | The archive is checked against the checksum the Hub publishes; a mismatch is refused |
| Local package directory | Place only packages from a source you trust here |
| Vendor | For some tools aidc prints a warning that the download could not be checked. Use --hub for a package that is checked |
A path entry, not a shim.
AIDC does not put wrapper programs in front of your tools. Shell integration asks AIDC which tools the project selects and puts their directories at the front of the path, so the shell runs the real executable.
After the integration runs, which node shows the installed directory instead of a wrapper. The integration combines parent and child manifests, so a nested project wins over its parent.
Installed tools, caches and your settings are separate.
| Location | Holds |
|---|---|
~/.aidc/installs/<tool>/<version> | The installed tool. /opt/aidc for root |
~/.cache/aidc | Session choices and counters |
.aidc.yaml | The project's tool selection, committed with the project |
~/.mait/aidc.yaml, /etc/mait/aidc.yaml | Settings, user then system |
~/.mait/credentials[.channel] | Your MAIT credentials |
Inside an AIDC Launch container, ~/.aidc and ~/.mait are your host folders shared with every workspace, so removing tools or credentials there affects all of them. AIDC does not move where an agent CLI keeps its own settings.
MAIT features, not tool accounts.
Most commands work without credentials. A few need usable MAIT credentials: hub status, hub config, hub packages, upgrade and prune. Everyday commands such as install, uninstall, list, latest, setup, doctor and update print one warning line without credentials and carry on; version, help, env, use, config and login do not look for them at all.
A product install such as aidc install mait:aide@latest still needs usable credentials to resolve and download. Credentials near expiry renew automatically before a command runs. They never sign you in to Claude Code, Codex or any other tool.
aidc legal lists the third-party components built into the aidc binary with their notices; it covers AIDC itself, not the tools it installs.