SUMMARY
JetBrains AI / Junie (IDE) uses markdown configuration while Jinn (CLI) uses yaml. They differ on 6 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.
FEATURE COMPARISON
| Feature | JetBrains AI / Junie | Jinn |
|---|---|---|
| Config format | markdown | yaml |
| Hierarchy support | ✗ | ✗ |
| Global config | ✗ | ✓ |
| Project config | ✓ | ✗ |
| Subdirectory scoping | ✗ | ✗ |
| File inclusion / imports | ✗ | ✗ |
| Ignore file | .aiignore | ✗ |
| IDE integration | ✓ | CLI |
| Schema / structure | Free-form (Markdown) | unknown |
| Git committed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Encoding | UTF-8 | UTF-8 |
KEY DIFFERENCES
JetBrains AI / Junie: markdown. Jinn: yaml.
JetBrains AI / Junie: Not supported. Jinn: Supported.
JetBrains AI / Junie: Supported. Jinn: Not supported.
JetBrains AI / Junie: .aiignore. Jinn: Not supported.
JetBrains AI / Junie: Supported. Jinn: CLI.
JetBrains AI / Junie: Free-form (Markdown). Jinn: unknown.
WHICH SHOULD I USE?
Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use JetBrains AI / Junie, configure .aiassistant/rules/*.md. If you use Jinn, configure config.yaml. 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