diff --git a/aider/coders/base_coder.py b/aider/coders/base_coder.py
index f48b3ec2cb2..97faeb0d764 100755
--- a/aider/coders/base_coder.py
+++ b/aider/coders/base_coder.py
@@ -1331,6 +1331,9 @@ async def preproc_user_input(self, inp):
         if not inp:
             return
 
+        # Strip whitespace from beginning and end
+        inp = inp.strip()
+
         if self.commands.is_command(inp):
             if inp[0] in "!":
                 inp = f"/run {inp[1:]}"