This cheat sheet cross-references six configuration concepts across major AI tools: personalization instructions, project rules, memory, privacy opt-out, automation, and MCP. Details and sources are in the corresponding units; this table only tells you where each setting lives. Verified as of 2026-06; these tools update frequently, so confirm against current official documentation before acting.
1. How to read this table
Reading across a row shows where the same concept lives in different tools. Reading down a column shows all six configuration dimensions for one tool. The six concepts follow the layer model from 02-1 Configuration Layer Model:- Personalization (account-level instructions): standing instructions for how the model talks to you.
- Project rules: what the model should follow inside this repo.
- Memory: what to remember across conversations.
- Privacy opt-out: whether your conversations are used for training.
- Automation: reusable commands, skills, and event hooks.
- MCP: how external tools and data sources are connected.
2. Personalization and project rules file locations
Windows paths useC:\Users\<user>\; macOS / Linux equivalent is ~.
3. Memory locations
4. Automation and integration locations
5. Privacy opt-out quick reference
6. Cross-tool rules baseline: AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md is an open standard for converging each tool’s proprietary rules file into one (governed by the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation). Adoption: Codex, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Jules, Devin, Amp, VS Code, and over twenty other tools support it natively (as of 2026-06, adopted by more than sixty thousand open-source projects).
7. Hands-on: 30-second alignment exercise
Scenario: migrating a Claude setup to Codex
1
Fill in the six-concept table for your current Claude setup as the source of truth
- Personalization:
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md - Project rules:
./CLAUDE.md,.claude/rules/ - Memory: auto-memory +
MEMORY.md - Privacy opt-out: Help improve Claude toggle
- Automation: skills / hooks / commands
- MCP:
.mcp.json(project),~/.claude.json(user)
2
Map each cell to Codex
- Personalization:
~/.codex/AGENTS.md - Project rules:
./AGENTS.md,.codex/config.toml - Privacy opt-out: Data Controls training toggle
- Automation:
[hooks]inconfig.toml,prompts/*.md,[mcp_servers.<id>] - MCP: same as automation
- Memory: none dedicated; use
AGENTS.mdas substitute
3
Extract overlapping project rules into AGENTS.md so both tools share one source
Once you do this, you will find only two real differences: Codex centralizes configuration in
config.toml, while Claude uses settings.json.8. Corresponding units
- Layer model and six-concept framework: 02-1 Configuration Layer Model
- Claude three products (Chat, Cowork, Code) detail: 02-2 Anthropic Claude Setup
- Config file precedence and
settings.local.json: 02-3 settings.json and settings.local.json - What
~/.claude.jsonstores: 02-4 claude.json - Skills / Hooks / Subagents / Plugins overview: 02-5 Mechanism Overview
- Other four tools aligned: 02-6 Other Tools Comparison
- Privacy and security checklist: Appendix B: Privacy and Security Settings Checklist
- Evaluation resources: 03-2 Beyond GitHub Stars, 03-3 Security, Privacy, and Supply Chain Risk
- Extended resources and community: Appendix D: Resources and Community List