AI Rules Converter

AI Rules Converter is a VS Code extension and standalone CLI tool designed to streamline the management of AI coding rules. It allows you to easily convert rule definitions between various AI-assisted IDE and CLI formats, ensuring your coding standards are consistent across all your tools.

Supported Formats

| Format | Files | Trigger/Apply | |---|---|---| | Cursor | .cursor/rules/*.mdc | alwaysApply, globs, description frontmatter | | Windsurf | .windsurf/rules/*.md | trigger: always_on\|glob\|model_decision\|manual | | Kiro | .kiro/steering/*.md, .kiro/specs/ | inclusion: always\|fileMatch\|manual | | Antigravity (legacy) | .agent/rules/*.md | trigger: always_on\|glob\|model_decision\|manual | | Antigravity CLI (agy) | .agent/rules/*.md | trigger: always_on\|glob\|model_decision\|manual | | Claude Code | CLAUDE.md, .claude/CLAUDE.md | Flat markdown with ## Section headings | | Gemini CLI | GEMINI.md | Flat markdown with ## Section headings | | GitHub Copilot | .github/copilot-instructions.md, .github/instructions/*.instructions.md | applyTo glob frontmatter |

Features

• Full Agentic Migrations: Seamlessly migrate all capabilities — rules, skills (including symlinks), MCP servers, and event lifecycle hooks — between formats.
• Multi-Format Support: Convert rules and capabilities between all 8 supported formats.
• Automatic Detection: Automatically detects rules, skills, MCPs, and event hooks in your workspace.
• One-Click Conversion: Convert rules directly from the "Detected Rules" side panel.
• Bulk Conversion: Convert entire folders or all rules for a given format at once.
• Rule Management: Delete obsolete or incorrect rules directly from the extension view.
• Live Updates: The view automatically refreshes when changes are made.
• Standalone CLI: Use from the terminal without VS Code — great for CI/CD pipelines.

VS Code Extension Usage

1. Open the Rules Converter View: Click on the ruler icon in the Activity Bar to open the "Rules Converter" side panel.
2. View Detected Rules & Capabilities: The extension will scan your workspace and list all detected rules, skills, MCP servers, and event hooks, grouped by format.
3. Migrate Workspace Capabilities:
   • Click the Migrate Workspace icon (🔄) in the panel toolbar.
   • Select the source format to migrate FROM.
   • Select the target format to migrate TO.
   • All rules, skills, MCP configs, and hooks will be migrated/merged.
4. Convert a Rule:
   • Hover over a rule in the list.
   • Click the "Convert Rule" icon (or right-click and select "Convert Rule").
   • Select the target format from the quick pick list.
5. Convert All Rules in a folder/format:
   • Hover over an IDE group or subfolder.
   • Click the "Convert All Rules" (⇄) icon.
6. Delete a Rule:
   • Hover over a rule in the list.
   • Click the trash icon to remove it.

Standalone CLI Usage

The CLI is available via npx without any installation:

# List all detected rules in the current directory
npx ai-rules-converter scan

# List all detected agent capabilities (rules, skills, MCPs, hooks) in the workspace
npx ai-rules-converter scan-all

# Migrate all capabilities (rules, skills, MCP, hooks) from Antigravity to the new agy format
npx ai-rules-converter migrate --from antigravity --to agy

# Convert all Cursor rules to Claude Code format
npx ai-rules-converter convert --from cursor --to claude-code

# Convert rules in a specific project
npx ai-rules-converter convert --from antigravity --to gemini-cli --root ./my-project

# Preview migration without writing files
npx ai-rules-converter migrate --from cursor --to agy --dry-run

# List all supported formats
npx ai-rules-converter list-formats

CLI Options

| Option | Description | |---|---| | --root <path> | Workspace root directory (default: current directory) | | --from <format> | Source format (required for convert) | | --to <format> | Target format (required for convert) | | --format <format> | Filter format (for scan command) | | --detail, -d | Show extra details (descriptions, commands, matchers) in scan commands | | --verbose, -v | Show extra details (alias for --detail) | | --dry-run | Preview output without writing files |

Flat-File Format Notes (Claude Code & Gemini CLI)

Claude Code and Gemini CLI use a single flat Markdown file (CLAUDE.md / GEMINI.md) rather than one file per rule. The converter handles this automatically:

• Scanning: Splits the file by ## Heading sections — each becomes a separate rule in the tree view.
• Converting TO Claude Code/Gemini CLI: Rules are written as ## {rule name} sections, concatenated into the flat file.
• Converting multiple rules: The file is freshly written for the first rule, then subsequent rules are appended.

Known Issues

• Ensure your rule files are valid Markdown before converting.
• For Claude Code/Gemini CLI formats, very long rules may exceed token limits recommended by those tools (~500 tokens per file).

Release Notes

| Version | Changes | |---|---| | 1.5.1 | Added compact scan default view. Added --detail / --verbose (and short forms -d / -v) flags to show description and config details in scan and scan-all. | | 1.5.0 | Fully integrated the multi-IDE capability matrix (rules, skills directory, MCP configs, hooks) across both CLI and VS Code extension UI. | | 1.4.0 | Full Agentic Capabilities migration: Rules, Skills, MCP Servers, and Event Hooks. Supported new Go-based agy (Antigravity CLI) format. Windows directory junction creation support for symlinked skills. New commands scan-all and migrate (CLI & VS Code UI). | | 1.3.0 | Claude Code, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot support. Standalone CLI (npx ai-rules-converter). Platform-agnostic core refactor. | | 1.2.0 | Recursive folder actions (convert/delete) and root folder support. | | 1.1.0 | Recursive subfolder scanning. | | 1.0.1 | Icon update. | | 1.0.0 | Production release. | | 0.0.3 | Added extension icon and README documentation. | | 0.0.2 | Added support for deleting rules.Improved rule detection and refresh logic. | | 0.0.1 | Initial release with basic conversion support. |

Enjoy using AI Rules Converter!