How to Migrate from GitHub Copilot to Cursor

If you have been using GitHub Copilot and keep hearing about Cursor, you are not alone. Over the past year, a growing number of developers have made the switch — and the migration is simpler than you might think. Cursor is built on VS Code, which means your extensions, settings, and muscle memory carry over almost entirely.

This guide walks you through every step of the migration: what transfers automatically, what you need to configure manually, and how to get comfortable with Cursor’s more powerful features that have no Copilot equivalent. Whether you are evaluating Cursor for yourself or planning a team migration, this is the practical guide you need.

Why Developers Are Switching

GitHub Copilot launched the AI coding assistant category and remains the most widely used tool. So why are developers moving? The reasons we hear most often:

• Codebase awareness: Cursor indexes your entire project and uses it as context. Copilot primarily works with open files and recent context. This difference is enormous for large codebases.
• Multi-file editing: Cursor’s Composer mode can orchestrate changes across multiple files simultaneously. Copilot Workspace offers something similar but is still in limited preview.
• Model choice: Cursor lets you pick from GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, and other models. Copilot locks you into GitHub’s model choices.
• Context control: Cursor’s @ mention system (@file, @folder, @codebase, @web) gives you precise control over what context the AI uses.

For a detailed feature-by-feature comparison, see our Cursor vs GitHub Copilot breakdown.

What You Will Keep and What Changes

Before diving into the migration steps, here is what to expect:

The bottom line: you will feel at home in Cursor within minutes. The editing experience is identical to VS Code. The learning curve is entirely about discovering AI features that Copilot does not have.

Step-by-Step Migration

Step 1: Export Your VS Code Settings and Extensions List

Before installing Cursor, document what you have in VS Code. This is not strictly necessary (Cursor imports automatically), but it is good practice to have a backup:

# List all installed VS Code extensions
code --list-extensions > ~/vscode-extensions.txt

# Backup your settings
cp ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/settings.json ~/vscode-settings-backup.json

# On Linux:
# cp ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json ~/vscode-settings-backup.json

# On Windows:
# copy %APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json %USERPROFILE%\vscode-settings-backup.json

Step 2: Install Cursor

Download Cursor from cursor.com. During installation, Cursor will detect your VS Code installation and offer to import:

• Extensions
• Settings
• Keybindings
• Theme

Accept all imports. The process takes 1-2 minutes depending on how many extensions you have.

Step 3: Disable the Copilot Extension in Cursor

This is important — running Copilot and Cursor AI simultaneously causes conflicts. Both tools try to provide tab completions, leading to stuttering, double suggestions, and confusion. In Cursor:

1. Open the Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X)
2. Search for “GitHub Copilot”
3. Click Disable on both “GitHub Copilot” and “GitHub Copilot Chat”

You do not need to uninstall them — disabling is enough. If you decide to switch back, you can re-enable them instantly.

Step 4: Configure Cursor AI Settings

Open Cursor Settings (Cmd+Shift+J or Cursor > Settings > Cursor Settings). Key settings to configure:

• Model selection: Choose your default model for chat (we recommend Claude 3.5 Sonnet for coding tasks)
• Privacy mode: Enable if you work with sensitive code. This prevents your code from being stored by model providers.
• Tab completion: Enabled by default. Adjust aggressiveness if needed.
• Codebase indexing: Ensure this is turned on — it powers the @codebase feature.

Step 5: Set Up .cursorrules for Your Project

This is the step that does not exist in Copilot and provides the most immediate productivity boost. Create a .cursorrules file in your project root:

# Example .cursorrules for a React/TypeScript project

You are a senior TypeScript developer working on a React 18 application.

## Stack
- React 18 with hooks (no class components)
- TypeScript strict mode
- Tailwind CSS for styling
- React Query for server state
- Zod for validation

## Conventions
- Functional components with arrow syntax
- Props interfaces defined above each component
- Custom hooks in hooks/ directory
- API calls through centralized api/ layer
- Error boundaries at route level

## Testing
- Vitest + React Testing Library
- Test behavior, not implementation
- Mock API calls, not internal functions

Step 6: Learn the New Keybindings

The biggest adjustment is learning Cursor-specific shortcuts. Here is a comparison table:

Notice that Cmd+K (inline edit) and Cmd+I (Composer) have no Copilot equivalents. These are the features that make the migration worthwhile.

Step 7: Test with Your Actual Projects

Do not evaluate Cursor with a toy project. Open the real codebase you work on daily and try these tasks:

1. Ask a codebase question: Open chat (Cmd+L) and ask “@codebase Where is the authentication middleware defined?”
2. Do an inline edit: Select a function and press Cmd+K. Ask it to add error handling.
3. Try Composer: Press Cmd+I and describe a change that spans multiple files.
4. Check tab completions: Write some code normally and compare the suggestion quality to what Copilot gave you.

Give yourself at least a full work day before forming an opinion. The first hour might feel slower because the shortcuts are different, but most developers report feeling faster by day two.

Feature Mapping: Copilot to Cursor

Here is a comprehensive mapping of every major Copilot feature to its Cursor equivalent:

What Cursor Does Better: 5 Specific Advantages

1. Project-Wide Understanding

The @codebase feature is genuinely transformative. You can ask Cursor to find patterns across your project, understand architectural decisions, or locate specific implementations — without manually opening files or running grep. Copilot simply cannot do this because it does not index your project.

2. Multi-File Orchestration

Composer mode handles changes that touch multiple files — adding a new API endpoint (route + controller + service + test), renaming a component across imports, or implementing a feature that spans frontend and backend. Copilot requires you to make these changes file by file.

3. Directed Edits with Cmd+K

The Cmd+K inline edit bar lets you describe exactly what you want changed in a specific piece of code. It is faster than opening a chat window and more precise than hoping the AI suggests the right thing via tab completion. This feature alone saves significant time daily.

4. Model Flexibility

Different models excel at different tasks. Claude 3.5 Sonnet is excellent for precise coding. GPT-4o is strong at creative problem-solving. With Cursor, you can switch models mid-conversation based on the task. Copilot gives you whatever model GitHub has selected.

5. Customization via .cursorrules

A .cursorrules file means your AI assistant knows your tech stack, coding conventions, and project structure from the first prompt. This eliminates the repetitive “I am using React with TypeScript and Tailwind” prefix that Copilot users add to every chat message.

What You Might Miss from Copilot

Being honest about the trade-offs:

• GitHub integration: Copilot integrates deeply with GitHub — PR descriptions, issue references, and repository context. Cursor does not have this level of GitHub integration.
• Slash commands: Copilot’s /explain, /fix, /tests commands are convenient shortcuts. Cursor accomplishes the same things through Cmd+K and chat, but the dedicated commands are slightly faster for common tasks.
• Enterprise features: GitHub Copilot Enterprise offers organization-level customization and fine-tuning on your codebase. Cursor’s enterprise offering is newer and less mature.
• Stability: Copilot runs as a lightweight VS Code extension. Cursor is a full editor fork, which occasionally means VS Code updates take a few days to arrive in Cursor.

Cost Comparison

Cursor is more expensive at every tier. The question is whether the additional features — codebase indexing, Composer mode, model choice, .cursorrules — deliver enough productivity gain to justify the premium. For our full analysis, read the Cursor vs Copilot comparison.

Migration Checklist

Use this checklist to track your migration progress. Most developers complete the entire process in under two hours.

Tips for the First Week

The transition period is where most developers either commit to Cursor or give up prematurely. Here are practical tips for getting through the first week:

Day 1-2: Focus on Familiarity

Use Cursor exactly like you used VS Code. Edit code, run terminal commands, navigate files. Confirm that everything you relied on still works. The only new thing to try is tab completions — let Cursor suggest code and compare the quality to what Copilot gave you.

Day 3-4: Introduce New Features Gradually

Start using Cmd+K for small inline edits. When you catch yourself manually rewriting a function, try describing the change to Cmd+K instead. Open a chat (Cmd+L) when you have a question about your codebase. Try one Composer (Cmd+I) task per day — something small like adding error handling across a few related files.

Day 5-7: Build New Habits

By the end of the week, you should be reaching for Cmd+K instinctively for targeted edits, using @codebase for project-wide lookups, and using Composer for any change that touches more than two files. This is the point where most developers say Cursor feels faster than Copilot for their workflow.

Keep a Migration Journal

Write down what works better in Cursor and what you miss from Copilot. After two weeks, review the journal. If the advantages outweigh the drawbacks, commit fully. If not, the rollback to VS Code and Copilot takes less than five minutes.

No matter which tool you choose, the core skill of writing effective prompts transfers across all AI coding assistants. Invest in learning that skill and you will get more from any tool. For a deeper exploration of what works and what does not across the entire AI coding landscape, see our Windsurf vs Cursor comparison for another migration perspective.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use both Copilot and Cursor at the same time?

Technically, you could keep VS Code with Copilot and use Cursor as a separate editor. However, running the Copilot extension inside Cursor is not recommended — the tab completions conflict. Most developers commit to one editor to build consistent muscle memory.

What about data privacy?

Both tools send code context to external AI providers. Copilot uses GitHub’s infrastructure (Azure OpenAI). Cursor sends to OpenAI or Anthropic depending on your model choice. Both offer enterprise options with stricter data handling. Cursor’s Privacy Mode adds an extra layer by preventing code storage.

Will my VS Code extensions all work in Cursor?

The vast majority work perfectly. Cursor supports the VS Code extension marketplace. Occasionally, extensions that deeply hook into VS Code internals may have issues, but this is rare. After importing, check that your critical extensions (linters, formatters, language servers) are functioning normally.

How do I migrate a team?

Start with a pilot group of 2-3 developers who are enthusiastic about the switch. Have them use Cursor for two weeks and document their experience. Create a shared .cursorrules template for your team. Once the pilot group is productive, roll out to the rest of the team with their documentation and .cursorrules file as a starting point.

What is the rollback plan if Cursor does not work out?

The rollback is simple: reopen your projects in VS Code and re-enable the Copilot extension. Your VS Code installation is untouched by Cursor. Nothing is deleted or modified during the migration. You can keep both editors installed simultaneously with zero conflict.

For a broader perspective on which AI coding tool fits your workflow, check out our definitive guide to AI coding tools.