Move from another tool

Most of what you set up in another AI coding tool is plain Markdown: project instructions, rules and skills. Hull reads some of these files as they are, and the rest take a few minutes to move.

What Hull reads automaticallyCopy Anchor Link

Project files load only when the project is trusted. The CLI asks the first time you open a project that contains project configuration or instructions, and you can change the decision with hull trust. In VS Code, Hull follows VS Code's workspace trust.

To stop Hull reading Claude Code files, set HULL_DISABLE_CLAUDE_CODE=1. To turn off only one part, use HULL_DISABLE_CLAUDE_CODE_PROMPT=1 (instructions) or HULL_DISABLE_CLAUDE_CODE_SKILLS=1 (skills).

The quickest route: /initCopy Anchor Link

In your project, run /init in the CLI or an IDE extension. Hull reads your README, build and test configuration, and any existing instruction files, including CLAUDE.md, .cursor/rules/, .cursorrules and .github/copilot-instructions.md, then writes a compact AGENTS.md. Review it and commit it.

From CursorCopy Anchor Link

Hull doesn't read .cursor/rules/ or .cursorrules directly.

mkdir -p .hull/rules
for file in .cursor/rules/*.mdc; do
  name="${file##*/}"
  cp "$file" ".hull/rules/${name%.mdc}.md"
done
[ -f .cursorrules ] && cp .cursorrules .hull/rules/cursorrules.md

Nested folders under .cursor/rules/ aren't scanned in .hull/rules/. Flatten them into descriptive file names, such as backend-api.md.

From WindsurfCopy Anchor Link

Windsurf rules are already plain Markdown.

mkdir -p .hull/rules
cp .windsurf/rules/*.md .hull/rules/
[ -f .windsurfrules ] && cp .windsurfrules .hull/rules/windsurfrules.md
mkdir -p ~/.hull/rules
cp ~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/global_rules.md ~/.hull/rules/windsurf-global.md

Windsurf's activation modes (Always On, Glob, Model Decision, Manual) don't carry over. Every rule in .hull/rules/ is always on, so remove rules you only used manually, or move them into a skill the agent loads when it needs it.

From Claude CodeCopy Anchor Link

Your CLAUDE.md files and skills work without changes, as described above. A few things to move by hand:

• MCP servers. Add them to your Hull config. See MCP.
• Custom slash commands and subagents. Recreate them as Hull workflows and subagents.
• Permissions. Set them in Hull's permission config. See Permissions.

If a project has both files, Hull reads only AGENTS.md, so keep your instructions there.

Point Hull at files where they areCopy Anchor Link

If you'd rather leave rule files where they are, list them in the instructions key of your project's hull.jsonc. Paths and glob patterns both work:

{
  "instructions": ["docs/conventions.md", ".cursor/rules/*.mdc"]
}

Files listed this way are loaded as they are, including any frontmatter.

Check your setupCopy Anchor Link

1. Start a new session in the project.
2. Ask: "Which project instructions and rules are you following?"
3. Ask Hull to do a small task that one of your rules covers, and check the result.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• AGENTS.md
• Rules
• Custom instructions
• Settings