Jules vs Windsurf | agentconfig.ing

Jules vs WindsurfComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Jules (Agent) uses markdown configuration while Windsurf (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 3 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Jules	Windsurf	Notes
Config format	markdown	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	✗	.codeiumignore
IDE integration	Agent	✓
Schema / structure	Free-form (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

Jules

AGENTS.md

markdown

# Agent Instructions

## Project
A Django REST API serving a React frontend.

## Setup
- Python 3.12 with Poetry
- PostgreSQL 15
- Redis for caching and Celery broker

## Key Commands
- poetry run python manage.py runserver
- poetry run pytest
- poetry run mypy .

## Pull Request Guidelines
- Keep PRs focused on a single issue
- Add tests for all new functionality
- Update API docs in docs/api/ if endpoints change
- Run the linter: poetry run ruff check .

## Architecture Notes
- apps/core/ — shared models and utilities
- apps/api/v2/ — current API version
- apps/tasks/ — Celery background tasks

Windsurf

.windsurf/rules/*.md

markdown

---
trigger: glob
globs: "**/*.test.ts"
---

# Testing Conventions

- Use Vitest as the test runner
- Colocate test files next to source files
- Use describe blocks organized by function/component name
- Prefer userEvent over fireEvent in component tests
- Mock external services; never hit real APIs in unit tests

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Global config

Jules: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.

2. Ignore file

Jules: Not supported. Windsurf: .codeiumignore.

3. IDE integration

Jules: Agent. Windsurf: Supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Jules, configure AGENTS.md. 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

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