Google Antigravity vs Cursor

Google Antigravity vs CursorComparisonUpdated 2026-03-18

SUMMARY

Google Antigravity (IDE) uses markdown configuration while Cursor (IDE) uses mdc. They differ on 4 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Google Antigravity	Cursor	Notes
Config format	markdown	mdc
Hierarchy support	✓	✓	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✗	✓	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✓	✓	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✗	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	✗	.cursorignore
IDE integration	✓	✓
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Hybrid (MDC frontmatter + Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Google Antigravity

AGENTS.md

markdown

# Project Instructions

## Architecture
- Monorepo with apps/ and packages/ directories
- Each app is a standalone Next.js deployment
- Shared packages use TypeScript project references

## Code Standards
- TypeScript strict mode everywhere
- Use Zod for runtime validation at API boundaries
- Prefer server components; use "use client" only when needed
- All database queries go through the data-access layer

## Testing
- Unit tests with Vitest for business logic
- Integration tests for API routes
- E2E tests with Playwright for critical user flows

## Deployment
- Preview deployments on every PR
- Production deploys from main branch only
- Environment variables managed via .env.local (never committed)

Cursor

.cursor/rules/*.mdc

mdc

---
description: React component conventions and patterns
globs: "*.tsx"
alwaysApply: false
---

# React Component Rules

- Use functional components with explicit return types
- Define props interface directly above the component
- Export components as named exports, never default
- Use Tailwind CSS utility classes exclusively

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Google Antigravity: markdown. Cursor: mdc.

2. Global config

Google Antigravity: Not supported. Cursor: Supported.

3. Ignore file

Google Antigravity: Not supported. Cursor: .cursorignore.

4. Schema / structure

Google Antigravity: Free-form (Markdown). Cursor: Hybrid (MDC frontmatter + Markdown).

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Google Antigravity, configure AGENTS.md. If you use Cursor, configure .cursorrules. 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