Cursor vs Goose | agentconfig.ing

Cursor vs GooseComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Cursor (IDE) uses mdc configuration while Goose (CLI) uses text. They differ on 5 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Cursor	Goose	Notes
Config format	mdc	text
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	Hybrid (MDC frontmatter + Markdown)	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

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

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

Goose

.goosehints

text

This is a Ruby on Rails 7.2 application with Hotwire/Turbo.

Database: PostgreSQL 16
Ruby version: 3.3.x
Node: 22.x (for asset pipeline)

Key commands:
- bin/rails server — start dev server
- bin/rails test — run test suite
- bin/rails db:migrate — run migrations

Conventions:
- Use ViewComponents for reusable UI
- Stimulus controllers for JS behavior
- System tests with Capybara + Playwright
- RuboCop for linting (run: bundle exec rubocop)

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Cursor: mdc. Goose: text.

2. Subdirectory scoping

Cursor: Supported. Goose: Not supported.

3. Ignore file

Cursor: .cursorignore. Goose: Not supported.

4. IDE integration

Cursor: Supported. Goose: CLI.

5. Schema / structure

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

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Cursor, configure .cursorrules. If you use Goose, configure config.yaml. 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