Amazon Q Developer vs AmpUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Amazon Q Developer (CLI) uses markdown configuration while Amp (CLI) uses markdown. They differ on 2 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

FeatureAmazon Q DeveloperAmp
Config formatmarkdownmarkdown
Hierarchy support
Global config
Project config
Subdirectory scoping
File inclusion / imports
Ignore file
IDE integrationCLICLI
Schema / structureFree-form (Markdown)Free-form (Markdown)
Git committed
EncodingUTF-8UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

PurposeAmazon Q DeveloperAmp
Project rules.amazonq/rules/*.md.agents/checks/*.md
Settings / configuration.amazonq/mcp.jsonsettings.json

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Amazon Q Developer
.amazonq/rules/*.md
markdown
# React Component Standards

## Purpose
Ensure consistent React component patterns across the frontend codebase.

## Priority
High

## Instructions
- Use functional components with TypeScript
- Define props interfaces above the component
- Use React.FC only when children are expected
- Colocate styles using CSS Modules (*.module.css)
- Extract hooks into separate files when reused
- Memoize expensive computations with useMemo
- Use React.lazy for route-level code splitting

Amp
AGENTS.md
markdown
# Agent Instructions

## Project Context
Go microservices monorepo using Bazel for builds.

## Build & Test
- Build all: bazel build //...
- Test all: bazel test //...
- Integration tests: docker compose up -d && bazel test //integration/...
- Lint: golangci-lint run ./...

## Code Conventions
- All services follow standard layout in /cmd and /internal
- Use structured logging with slog
- Error wrapping with fmt.Errorf("op: %w", err)
- See @docs/api-style-guide.md for API conventions

## Cross-Repo References
- Shared proto definitions in sourcegraph/proto
- Common Go libraries in sourcegraph/lib

## Security
- Never log sensitive data (tokens, passwords, PII)
- All external inputs must be validated
- Use parameterized queries for database access

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Hierarchy support

Amazon Q Developer: Not supported. Amp: Supported.

2. Subdirectory scoping

Amazon Q Developer: Not supported. Amp: Supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Amazon Q Developer, configure .amazonq/rules/*.md. If you use Amp, configure AGENTS.md. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh
bash
# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md

SEE ALSO

agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)