Claude Code vs PearAIUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Claude Code (CLI) uses markdown configuration while PearAI (Editor) uses markdown. They differ on 6 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

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

FILE MAPPING

PurposeClaude CodePearAI
Project instructionsCLAUDE.mdAGENTS.md
Project rules.claude/rules/*.md.pearai/rules

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Claude Code
CLAUDE.md
markdown
# Project Name

> TypeScript + React monorepo. Deployed on Vercel.

## Code Style

- TypeScript strict mode — no `any`, no `ts-ignore`
- Named exports only (no default exports)
- Prefer functional patterns: map/filter/reduce over for-loops
- Error handling: use Result<T, E> from `src/lib/result.ts`

## Architecture

- `src/routes/`   — Route handlers (thin layer, delegates to services)
- `src/services/`  — Business logic, one file per domain entity
- `src/db/`        — Drizzle ORM schema and query helpers
- `src/lib/`       — Shared utilities (logger, result type, validation)

## Commands

```bash
pnpm install          # Install dependencies
pnpm dev              # Start dev server (port 3000)
pnpm test             # Run Vitest suite
pnpm test:e2e         # Run Playwright tests
pnpm lint             # ESLint + Prettier check
pnpm db:migrate       # Run pending Drizzle migrations
```

## Git Conventions

- Conventional Commits: `feat:`, `fix:`, `chore:`, `docs:`
- Branch naming: `feat/short-description`, `fix/issue-number`
- Squash merge to main; delete branches after merge

## Notes

- The `src/legacy/` directory is being migrated. Do not add new code there.
- All dates are stored as UTC. Never use local time.

@docs/api-patterns.md
@docs/database-conventions.md
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

Claude Code: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

2. Global config

Claude Code: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

3. Subdirectory scoping

Claude Code: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

4. File inclusion / imports

Claude Code: Supported. PearAI: Not supported.

5. Ignore file

Claude Code: .claudeignore. PearAI: Not supported.

6. IDE integration

Claude Code: CLI. PearAI: Editor.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Claude Code, configure CLAUDE.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

agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)