SUMMARY
CodeRabbit (Platform) uses yaml configuration while Windsurf (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 7 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.
FEATURE COMPARISON
| Feature | CodeRabbit | Windsurf |
|---|---|---|
| Config format | yaml | markdown |
| Hierarchy support | ✗ | ✓ |
| Global config | ✗ | ✓ |
| Project config | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subdirectory scoping | ✗ | ✓ |
| File inclusion / imports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ignore file | ✗ | .codeiumignore |
| IDE integration | Platform | ✓ |
| Schema / structure | unknown | Free-form (Markdown) |
| Git committed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Encoding | UTF-8 | UTF-8 |
KEY DIFFERENCES
CodeRabbit: yaml. Windsurf: markdown.
CodeRabbit: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.
CodeRabbit: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.
CodeRabbit: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.
CodeRabbit: Not supported. Windsurf: .codeiumignore.
CodeRabbit: Platform. Windsurf: Supported.
CodeRabbit: unknown. Windsurf: Free-form (Markdown).
WHICH SHOULD I USE?
Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use CodeRabbit, configure .coderabbit.yaml. If you use Windsurf, configure .windsurfrules. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.
PORTABILITY TIP
# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md