Axe vs Zed | agentconfig.ing

Axe vs ZedComparisonUpdated 2026-03-18

SUMMARY

Axe (CLI) uses toml configuration while Zed (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

Feature	Axe	Zed	Notes
Config format	toml	markdown
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	✗	✗
IDE integration	CLI	Editor
Schema / structure	unknown	Free-form (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

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Axe	Zed
Settings / configuration	config.toml	.zed/settings.json

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Axe: toml. Zed: markdown.

2. Hierarchy support

Axe: Not supported. Zed: Supported.

3. IDE integration

Axe: CLI. Zed: Editor.

4. Schema / structure

Axe: unknown. Zed: Free-form (Markdown).

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

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