PearAI vs Windsurf | agentconfig.ing

PearAI vs WindsurfComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

PearAI (Editor) uses markdown configuration while Windsurf (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 5 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	PearAI	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	Editor	✓
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

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	PearAI	Windsurf
Project rules	.pearai/rules	.windsurf/rules/*.md

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

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

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. Hierarchy support

PearAI: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.

2. Global config

PearAI: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.

3. Subdirectory scoping

PearAI: Not supported. Windsurf: Supported.

4. Ignore file

PearAI: Not supported. Windsurf: .codeiumignore.

5. IDE integration

PearAI: Editor. Windsurf: Supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

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

SUMMARY

FEATURE COMPARISON

FILE MAPPING

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

KEY DIFFERENCES

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

PORTABILITY TIP

SEE ALSO