Junie vs PearAIUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Junie (Agent) uses markdown configuration while PearAI (Editor) uses markdown. They differ on 1 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

FeatureJuniePearAI
Config formatmarkdownmarkdown
Hierarchy support
Global config
Project config
Subdirectory scoping
File inclusion / imports
Ignore file
IDE integrationAgentEditor
Schema / structureFree-form (Markdown)Free-form (Markdown)
Git committed
EncodingUTF-8UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

PurposeJuniePearAI
Project instructions.junie/guidelines.mdAGENTS.md

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Junie
.junie/guidelines.md
markdown
# Project Guidelines

## Language & Framework
- Kotlin with Spring Boot 3.x
- Gradle with Kotlin DSL
- JDK 21 with virtual threads

## Architecture
- Hexagonal architecture (ports & adapters)
- Domain events for cross-module communication
- CQRS for read-heavy endpoints

## Code Standards
- Follow Kotlin coding conventions
- Use data classes for DTOs
- Prefer sealed classes for domain errors
- Extension functions over utility classes

## Testing
- JUnit 5 with Kotest assertions
- Testcontainers for integration tests
- MockK for mocking (not Mockito)

## Build & Run
- Build: ./gradlew build
- Test: ./gradlew test
- Run: ./gradlew bootRun

PearAI
.pearai/rules
markdown
# PearAI Project Rules

## Framework
- Next.js 15 App Router with TypeScript
- Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL
- TailwindCSS v4 for styling

## Patterns
- Use server actions for mutations
- Colocate loading.tsx and error.tsx with page routes
- Prefer RSC; add "use client" only when needed

## Naming
- Components: PascalCase (UserProfile.tsx)
- Utilities: camelCase (formatDate.ts)
- Database tables: snake_case

## Dependencies
- Do NOT add new dependencies without asking
- Use date-fns for date manipulation
- Use zod for all validation

## Commands
- Dev: pnpm dev
- Build: pnpm build
- Lint: pnpm lint

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. IDE integration

Junie: Agent. PearAI: Editor.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Junie, configure .junie/guidelines.md. If you use PearAI, configure .pearai/rules. 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

SEE ALSO

agentconfig.ing2026-03-16COMPARE(1)