The AI Developer's Toolkit: Syncing Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, and Windsurf Settings

In 2026, most professional developers use at least two AI coding tools daily. Cursor for its inline completions and chat. Claude Code for CLI-based development. GitHub Copilot embedded in VS Code. Windsurf for its AI-native editing experience. Each tool has its own settings files, keybindings, credentials, and behavioral configurations.

The problem is familiar: you spend an hour tuning your AI tools on your work laptop, then sit down at your home machine and none of those settings are there. Multiply that across four or five tools and you are spending real time on configuration instead of coding. ConfigSync solves this by treating AI tool configs the same way it treats your shell and editor — as first-class configuration that deserves syncing, encryption, and backup.

Cursor stores its configuration in a directory structure similar to VS Code but separate from it. Your settings.json controls AI model preferences, editor behavior, and theme. Your keybindings define shortcuts for AI features like inline edits and chat. And .cursorrules files define per-project AI behavior instructions.

This tracks settings.json, keybindings.json, and detects any .cursorrules files in your projects. On macOS, these live under ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/User/. On Linux, under ~/.config/Cursor/User/. ConfigSync handles the path differences across platforms automatically.

Claude Code stores its configuration in ~/.claude/. This includes your settings and keybindings, authentication credentials, and your global CLAUDE.md file that guides Claude across every project.

Credentials are automatically encrypted because they contain authentication tokens. Your settings and CLAUDE.md are stored as plain text since they contain no secrets. When you pull on a new machine, Claude Code is authenticated and configured immediately — no need to log in again or recreate your global instructions.

Claude Desktop stores its configuration in a JSON file that includes MCP (Model Context Protocol) server definitions. These servers extend Claude with tools like file system access, database queries, and custom integrations. The config often contains API keys and server URLs that need encryption.

GitHub Copilot's configuration lives inside VS Code's settings.json. If you are already syncing your VS Code settings with ConfigSync, your Copilot configuration — model preferences, enabled languages, suggestion behavior — is already included. No separate module needed.

Windsurf, like Cursor, is a VS Code fork with its own settings directory. It stores configuration including AI preferences, .windsurfrules files, and keybindings. Track its settings directory as a config path to keep everything in sync.

Here is the full workflow for syncing your entire AI development toolkit across machines. Run this once on your primary machine, then pull on every other machine.

One push captures your entire AI toolkit configuration. One pull restores it on any machine. Every AI tool opens configured exactly the way you left it — model preferences, keybindings, project rules, MCP servers, and credentials all in place.