Axe vs Cursor | agentconfig.ing

Axe vs CursorComparisonUpdated 2026-03-17

SUMMARY

Axe (CLI) uses toml configuration while Cursor (IDE) uses mdc. They differ on 6 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Axe	Cursor	Notes
Config format	toml	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	CLI	✓
Schema / structure	unknown	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

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Axe: toml. Cursor: mdc.

2. Hierarchy support

Axe: Not supported. Cursor: Supported.

3. Subdirectory scoping

Axe: Not supported. Cursor: Supported.

4. Ignore file

Axe: Not supported. Cursor: .cursorignore.

5. IDE integration

Axe: CLI. Cursor: Supported.

6. Schema / structure

Axe: unknown. Cursor: Hybrid (MDC frontmatter + Markdown).

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Axe, configure config.toml. 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

SUMMARY

FEATURE COMPARISON

KEY DIFFERENCES

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

PORTABILITY TIP

SEE ALSO