Introduction

a16n (short for "agent customization") is a toolkit for converting AI agent customization between different AI coding tools.

Why a16n?

Different AI coding tools have their own formats for customizing agent behavior:

• Cursor uses .cursor/rules/*.mdc files
• Claude Code uses CLAUDE.md and .claude/settings.json
• Many toolchains understand the AgentSkills.io format.

a16n lets you:

• Convert your existing customizations when switching tools
• Maintain customizations in one format while distributing to multiple tools
• Understand how different tools map similar concepts

Key Features

• Warning system for lossy or impossible conversions
• Git integration for managing output file tracking
• Plugin architecture for extensibility
• API & CLI - use it in scripts or integrate it into your own tools

Quick Start

Using npx (no install)

# Convert Cursor rules to Claude format
npx a16n convert --from cursor --to claude

# Convert Claude rules to Cursor format  
npx a16n convert --from claude --to cursor

Global Installation

npm install -g a16n

# Then use without npx
a16n convert --from cursor --to claude

Preview Changes

Use --dry-run to see what would happen without writing files:

npx a16n convert --from cursor --to claude --dry-run

Discover Without Converting

List agent customization files without converting:

npx a16n discover --from cursor

Next Steps

• CLI Reference - Full command documentation
• Understanding Conversions - How conversion mapping works
• FAQ - Common questions and answers

Packages

a16n is organized as a monorepo with several packages:

Package	Description
a16n	CLI tool
@a16njs/engine	Core conversion engine
@a16njs/models	Type definitions
@a16njs/plugin-cursor	Cursor IDE support
@a16njs/plugin-claude	Claude Code support
@a16njs/glob-hook	Helper CLI for custom glob-based hooks

Contributing

This project is open source & contributions are welcome!

Visit our GitHub repository to get started.