Migration Guide
Export MeowKit to external coding-agent tools (Cursor, Codex, Droid, OpenCode, and more) — and recover when things go sideways.
The mewkit migrate command exports your .claude/ kit to 15 external coding-agent tools. This page covers when to use it, what each tool accepts, and how to recover when conflicts surface.
When to migrate
| Scenario | Command |
|---|---|
Just ran mewkit init, want Cursor to see the kit too | mewkit migrate cursor |
| Set up a fresh project for both Cursor and Codex in one shot | mewkit init --migrate-to cursor,codex |
| Have multiple coding agents installed and want them all in sync | mewkit migrate --all |
Just ran mewkit upgrade, need to propagate changes to external tools | mewkit migrate TOOL (re-runs are idempotent) |
| Want to check what would happen before writing | mewkit migrate TOOL --dry-run |
Capability matrix
What each tool can receive from your .claude/ kit:
| Tool | Agents | Commands | Skills | Config | Rules | Hooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code (source) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cursor | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Codex | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Droid | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| OpenCode | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Goose | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Gemini CLI | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Antigravity | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| GitHub Copilot | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Amp | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Kilo Code [unverified] | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Kiro IDE | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Roo Code | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Windsurf | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Cline | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| OpenHands | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
✓ supported · — not supported by tool
Special cases:
- Antigravity treats agents as a special case of skills. Your Claude Code agents migrate into Antigravity's skills directory.
- Codex commands migrate as Agent Skills (
.agents/skills/source-command-<name>/SKILL.md) — Codex custom prompts gave way to skills. Dynamic template syntax ($ARGUMENTS,$1,{...},!`cmd`,@file) has no skill equivalent; the template migrates verbatim with a manual-adaptation warning. - Capability resolution adds one generated, bounded instruction block to
AGENTS.mdand writes.codex/capabilities.json. The block tells the agent to usenpx mewkit capabilities resolve --intent "..." --provider codex; the JSON is data-only resolver input, never always-on model context. Re-running migration replaces the managed block without touching user-authoredAGENTS.mdcontent. - Codex rules merge into
AGENTS.mdas## Rule:sections (native.rulesfiles only acceptprefix_rule()command policies). Orchestration/runtime-only rules are skipped by default; pass--all-rulesto merge everything. The merged file is checked against Codex's 32 KiBproject_doc_max_bytesbudget — over-budget merges warn with the exact config line to add to~/.codex/config.toml, but mewkit never truncates the file or writes to your home config. .mcp.jsonconverts toconfig.toml [mcp_servers]entries with the opt-in--include-mcpflag (Codex only; project-scoped MCP config loads only in trusted projects). When.mcp.jsonexists and the flag is off, the preflight tells you the exact re-run command..claude/.envconverts to a Codex[shell_environment_policy]scaffold from key names only. Values are never copied; secret-like key names are omitted and counted only as an aggregate warning.- Hooks only migrate to four tools (Claude Code, Codex, Droid, Gemini CLI). For other tools, mewkit skips hooks with a warning. Codex events are version-gated: recent Codex (0.142+) supports 10 events with hooks enabled by default; older versions fall back to the conservative 6-event table.
- Codex shell hooks (
.sh) migrate through generated.cjswrappers that execute the copied script inside.codex/hooks/. Unsupported shell-family handlers such as.ps1,.bat,.cmd, and.pyare reported as skipped with a reason. - Kilo Code entries are ported from upstream but unverified by mewkit. A runtime warning appears when you select it.
Reference rewriting
Markdown content is rewritten with a fence-aware classifier instead of blanket string replacement:
| Reference | Inline prose / frontmatter | Fenced code (runnable) | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
Mapped asset (.claude/skills/x/...) | rewritten to the provider path | rewritten only if the asset migrates in the same run, else preserved + warned | preserved |
Unmapped runtime (.claude/scripts/, .claude/memory/) | neutralized to provider-agnostic phrasing | preserved + warned | preserved |
CLAUDE.md token | rewritten to the provider config name | preserved (command examples stay runnable) | preserved |
Every preserved reference appears in the preflight/dry-run report with file:line and a reason — nothing is silently dropped, and no path is ever fabricated. A post-conversion scanner verifies the invariant: any surviving source reference must be explained by a classifier decision, otherwise the run aborts before writing. Codex runs also persist the outcome to .codex/migration-report.json and .codex/migration-report.md, with one row per migrated, skipped, failed, or narrowed artifact.
Quick start
One-shot scaffold + export
# Fresh project, scaffold and export to Cursor in one command
npx mewkit init --migrate-to cursor
# Multiple tools at once
npx mewkit init --migrate-to cursor,codex,droid
# All 15 tools (CI-friendly)
npx mewkit init --migrate-to allStandalone after init
# Already have a .claude/ — export to one tool
npx mewkit migrate cursor
# Export to all installed tools (auto-detected)
npx mewkit migrate --yes
# Interactive picker
npx mewkit migrateIdempotent re-runs
mewkit tracks every install in ~/.mewkit/portable-registry.json with SHA-256 checksums for both source and target. Re-running migrate reconciles changes per file using an 8-case decision matrix:
Practical impact: running mewkit upgrade followed by mewkit migrate cursor automatically propagates new agents/skills to Cursor without overwriting your local edits.
Portable evolution manifest
mewkit migrate also reads packages/mewkit/portable-manifest.json from the installed package. This file has one narrow job: clean up old registry-owned paths after MeowKit moves a source item or changes a provider install path.
The portable evolution manifest is not the release checksum manifest and it is not a provider capability manifest. Release manifests verify packaged files. Provider manifests describe supported surfaces. The portable evolution manifest only records real path evolution that must be reconciled once per registry.
Dry runs show manifest cleanup actions without updating ~/.mewkit/portable-registry.json. A successful non-dry-run migration records the applied manifest version so the cleanup does not repeat.
Resolving conflicts
When source AND target both changed since last install, mewkit prompts:
[!] Conflict: cursor/agent/scout
mewkit updated source since last install
Target file was also modified (user edits detected)
? How to resolve?
> Overwrite with mewkit version (lose your edits)
Keep your version (skip mewkit update)
Show diffOptions:
| Choice | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Overwrite | Take mewkit's version. Your edits are lost. |
| Keep | Take your version. mewkit's update is deferred until next conflict. |
| Show diff | Display unified diff (then re-prompt). Limit: 5 views per item. |
| Smart merge | (merge-target files only) Update mewkit's sections, keep your additions outside the sentinels. |
Bypass the prompt:
--force— overwrite all conflicts without asking--yes— non-interactive default is "keep your version"
Scope flags
Restrict what gets migrated:
# Only skills
mewkit migrate cursor --only=skills
# Only skills and rules
mewkit migrate cursor --only=skills,rules
# Everything except hooks
mewkit migrate gemini-cli --skip-hooks
# Everything except config and rules
mewkit migrate codex --skip-config --skip-rules
# Merge every rule into AGENTS.md, bypassing the portability filter
mewkit migrate codex --all-rules
# Also convert .mcp.json servers into config.toml [mcp_servers]
mewkit migrate codex --include-mcpCodex migration report
Codex migrations write two managed report files at the end of every run:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
.codex/migration-report.json | Machine-readable artifact ledger with counts, budget lines, preserved-reference details, and the minimum supported Codex hook version. |
.codex/migration-report.md | Human-readable summary with the same data plus next actions for anything skipped, failed, or narrowed. |
The final summary prints a single verdict line:
Migration: 125 migrated, 67 skipped, 39 need attention -> .codex/migration-report.jsonneed attention does not necessarily mean the run failed. It means at least one artifact migrated with reduced coverage, preserved an out-of-scope runtime reference, or was intentionally skipped by portability policy.
Project vs. global scope
By default, mewkit writes to project-local paths (./.cursor/rules/, ./.codex/agents/, etc.). Pass --global to write to your home directory (~/.cursor/rules/, ~/.codex/agents/).
# Project scope (default)
mewkit migrate cursor
# Global scope
mewkit migrate cursor --global
# Init + migrate to global
mewkit init --migrate-to cursor --migrate-globalRule of thumb: project scope keeps the kit confined to one repo. Global scope is for users who want every project on their machine to share the same Cursor/Codex config.
Path collisions
Some tools share install paths. mewkit detects this and emits a banner during the preflight:
[i] Shared target: .agents/skills/ (skills) used by codex + amp + windsurf — each provider writes the same content hereCurrently shared paths:
.agents/skills/— used by Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Amp (5 tools)~/.agents/skills/— globally shared between several of the above
When you select multiple sharing providers, mewkit issues distinct install actions per provider, but each writes byte-identical content (same direct-copy format) so the final on-disk state is consistent.
Uninstalling / starting over
The registry tracks every installation. To clean a partial state:
# Remove the registry — next migrate becomes a fresh install
rm ~/.mewkit/portable-registry.json
# Per-tool: delete the tool's directory then re-run
rm -rf .cursor
mewkit migrate cursorConcurrency
A PID-based file lock at SCOPE/.mewkit/.lock (./.mewkit/.lock for project, ~/.mewkit/.lock for global) prevents two mewkit migrate runs from racing. Stale locks with dead PIDs auto-clear after 60 seconds.
If you see Another mewkit migrate is in progress (PID X), check whether that PID is actually alive:
ps -p <PID> # Unix
tasklist | grep <PID> # WindowsIf dead, delete the lock manually: rm .mewkit/.lock.
Troubleshooting
"Provider detection failed" in --yes mode
A which probe threw an unexpected error. mewkit refuses to default to "all 15 targets" silently. Pass --all or specify a tool explicitly:
mewkit migrate cursor --yes # explicit single tool
mewkit migrate --all --yes # explicit all 15Codex hooks require recent Codex version
mewkit probes codex --version and picks a version-gated capability table: Codex 0.142+ gets the full 10-event surface (hooks enabled by default), while older or undetectable versions fall back to the conservative 0.124.0-alpha.3 table (6 events, feature flag written). Unsupported events are skipped with a structured warning. Set MEWKIT_CODEX_COMPAT=optimistic to assume the newest capabilities, or MEWKIT_CODEX_COMPAT=strict to force the conservative table.
"Kilo Code support is UNVERIFIED"
This warning is informational only — Kilo Code's registry entry is ported from upstream but no mewkit maintainer has tested it on a live install. If migration fails, please open an issue with the error.
Upgrading mewkit itself
Independent of mewkit migrate, the CLI tool itself updates via:
npx mewkit upgrade # latest stable
npx mewkit upgrade --beta # latest beta
npx mewkit upgrade --check # show available without installingAfter upgrading mewkit, your .claude/ kit content does NOT change. Run mewkit init (in a fresh dir) or mewkit upgrade (to refresh the kit) — both flows can chain --migrate-to TOOL to update external tools.
See also
- CLI Commands Reference — every flag with examples
- TDD Optional Migration — older migration guide for the v2.x TDD-optional change