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How do I switch from Cursor to Codex without losing my rules and context?

Kayvan Zahiri ·

Open Codex in the same folder and bring your Cursor setup with it. In a local Codex CLI session, type /import and choose Cursor: Codex brings over the setup, project files and recent chats you select, and Cursor's instruction files land in AGENTS.md, which both tools read. Importing does not change your Cursor setup. Then check the diff and start the first Codex task with a short note. With BuildGist, the card in the new Codex chat offers Cursor's task, and Continue carries it.

BuildGist is a Mac app for Claude Code, Cursor and Codex. Download for Mac.

Three things to move

1. Look at what Cursor changed

git status
git diff --stat

Cursor's checkpoints stay in Cursor, so if you want a point to come back to, commit or stash before Codex starts. Inside Codex, /diff shows the Git diff, untracked files included. Cursor's own review tools are in how to review Cursor agent changes.

2. Import your Cursor setup

Start a local Codex CLI session in the project and type /import. Choose Cursor, then select the setup, project files and recent chats you want. Codex imports up to 50 chats from the last 30 days. /import is not available while a task is running, in a remote session, or while connected to the local app-server daemon. The ChatGPT desktop app has the same import under Settings → Import.

What arrives where, per OpenAI's import documentation:

Review the result before you rely on it: tool permissions in imported skills, MCP servers that need you to sign in again, and prompt templates that use arguments or file paths.

3. Or move the rules by hand

Cursor reads .mdc files in .cursor/rules, each with description, globs and alwaysApply at the top, and plain AGENTS.md files at the root and in subfolders. Codex reads AGENTS.md. The simplest shared setup:

AGENTS.md          the rules every agent follows (both tools read it)
.cursor/rules/     only rules that use Cursor's globs or descriptions

If the project has no instructions yet, /init in Codex writes an AGENTS.md to start from. Which coding agents read AGENTS.md covers the other tools.

4. Write the note

Task: (what you asked Cursor for)
Done: (what is finished)
Not done: (what is left)
Ruled out: (what failed, and why)
Next step: (the first thing to do)

You can ask Cursor's agent to draft it before you leave. Check it against the diff, because it records what the agent believes it did. Paste it as your first message in Codex and ask for the plan before any edit.

Or choose Continue

Start a new Codex chat in the same project and a BuildGist card at the bottom right offers the Cursor task, if it was active in the last 12 hours. Continue starts the chat with that task's context, and Start fresh hands nothing over. The context is your own words from the task, with a short summary of the last run's files when they are unchanged. Codex needs you to approve BuildGist once, in Codex; BuildGist shows the steps. BuildGist also explains each meaningful run in plain English, so you can read what Cursor did before Codex builds on it.

Going from Codex back to Cursor

Cursor reads the same AGENTS.md, so the rules come with you. In Codex, type /export session.md to save the conversation as Markdown, and give Cursor the parts that matter in a short note. With BuildGist, start a new chat in Cursor and choose Continue on the card. In Cursor the handoff is best effort: if the new chat does not show the task, paste the note.

Questions

Can Codex import my Cursor chats?

Yes. In a local Codex CLI session, type /import and choose Cursor. It imports up to 50 chats from the last 30 days, along with the setup and project files you select. The ChatGPT desktop app has the same import under Settings, Import.

Does Codex read .cursor/rules?

Codex reads AGENTS.md. The /import command brings Cursor's instruction files into AGENTS.md, or you can move shared rules there yourself, since Cursor reads AGENTS.md too.

How do I switch from Codex to Cursor?

Open Cursor in the same folder: it reads the same AGENTS.md. Save the Codex conversation with /export session.md and start Cursor with a short note, or choose Continue on the BuildGist card in a new Cursor chat.

Does importing change my Cursor setup?

No. OpenAI's documentation says importing does not change or delete your existing agent setup.

Sources

What you need

Codex needs you to approve BuildGist once, in Codex. BuildGist shows the steps. Setup is in Getting started.

To explain a run, your computer sends BuildGist what that run needs, and BuildGist passes it to Anthropic. BuildGist does not keep this material. It does not send your whole repository, files the run did not change, or files named like secrets, such as .env files and keys. It keeps the explanation and short cited excerpts of changed code, at most 12 lines each. Secret masking is best-effort. Privacy has the full list.

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Related

Questions: kayvanandre@gmail.com.