Cursor vs Kiro | agentconfig.ing

Cursor vs KiroComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Cursor (IDE) uses mdc configuration while Kiro (IDE) 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	Cursor	Kiro	Notes
Config format	mdc	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	.cursorignore	✗
IDE integration	✓	✓
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

Kiro

.kiro/steering/*.md

markdown

---
inclusion: always
---

# Project Standards

## Stack
- TypeScript 5.x with Node.js 22
- AWS CDK v2 for infrastructure
- DynamoDB for data, S3 for assets

## Conventions
- Use ESM imports, not CommonJS
- Lambda handlers export a named `handler` function
- Use middy middleware for cross-cutting concerns
- All API responses follow JSON:API format

## Testing
- Unit tests with vitest
- Integration tests with aws-testing-library
- E2E tests use deployed staging environment

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Cursor: mdc. Kiro: markdown.

2. Subdirectory scoping

Cursor: Supported. Kiro: Not supported.

3. Ignore file

Cursor: .cursorignore. Kiro: Not supported.

4. Schema / structure

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

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Cursor, configure .cursorrules. If you use Kiro, configure .kiro/steering/*.md. 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