Amp vs PearAIUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Amp (CLI) uses markdown configuration while PearAI (Editor) uses markdown. They differ on 4 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

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

FILE MAPPING

PurposeAmpPearAI
Project instructionsAGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
Project rules.agents/checks/*.md.pearai/rules

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

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

PearAI
.pearai/rules
markdown
# PearAI Project Rules

## Framework
- Next.js 15 App Router with TypeScript
- Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL
- TailwindCSS v4 for styling

## Patterns
- Use server actions for mutations
- Colocate loading.tsx and error.tsx with page routes
- Prefer RSC; add "use client" only when needed

## Naming
- Components: PascalCase (UserProfile.tsx)
- Utilities: camelCase (formatDate.ts)
- Database tables: snake_case

## Dependencies
- Do NOT add new dependencies without asking
- Use date-fns for date manipulation
- Use zod for all validation

## Commands
- Dev: pnpm dev
- Build: pnpm build
- Lint: pnpm lint

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Hierarchy support

Amp: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

2. Global config

Amp: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

3. Subdirectory scoping

Amp: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

4. IDE integration

Amp: CLI. PearAI: Editor.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Amp, configure AGENTS.md. If you use PearAI, configure .pearai/rules. 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

Tool pages:
File references:
agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)