Karpathy Guidelines VS Code Extension

Apply Andrej Karpathy's behavioral guidelines across the main AI coding CLIs and IDEs from a single VS Code extension.

Karpathy Guidelines install dialog

What changed

This extension now uses a shared AGENTS.md source of truth when possible, then generates tool-specific entrypoints only for tools that need them.

That makes it practical to keep Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Cline, Continue, and Aider aligned instead of hand-maintaining separate instruction files.

Commands

Command	Description
`Karpathy: Show Rules`	Open the full guidelines in a new tab
`Karpathy: Quick Reference`	Open a compact quick-reference panel
`Karpathy: Insert into Current File`	Insert the guidelines into the active editor
`Karpathy: Create Configs for Selected Tools`	Pick one or more targets and generate matching config files
`Karpathy: Create Detected Tool Configs`	Detect tools from the current workspace and generate compatible files
`Karpathy: Create All Supported Configs`	Generate every supported target config
`Karpathy: List Supported Tools`	Show supported tools, output paths, and notes
`Karpathy: Check Workspace Configs`	Inspect which workspace configs already exist
`Karpathy: Install Global Configs`	Open the install dialog in global mode
`Karpathy: Install Workspace Configs`	Open the install dialog in workspace mode
`Karpathy: Install Local Configs`	Alias for workspace install
`Karpathy: Install All Global Configs`	Open the install dialog with all global targets selected
`Karpathy: Open Settings`	Open the install and configuration dialog

Supported targets

Tool	Type	Generated files
Claude Code	CLI	`AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`
OpenAI Codex	CLI	`AGENTS.md`
Gemini CLI	CLI	`AGENTS.md`, `GEMINI.md`, `.gemini/settings.json`
Aider	CLI	`AGENTS.md`, `.aider.conf.yml`
Cursor	IDE	`AGENTS.md`, `.cursor/rules/karpathy-guidelines.mdc`
Windsurf	IDE	`AGENTS.md`, `.windsurf/rules/karpathy-guidelines.md`
GitHub Copilot	IDE	`AGENTS.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, `.github/instructions/karpathy-guidelines.instructions.md`
Cline	VS Code extension	`AGENTS.md`, `.clinerules/karpathy-guidelines.md`
Continue	VS Code extension	`AGENTS.md`, `.continue/rules/karpathy-guidelines.md`

Installation

Development

cd vscode-extension
npm install
npm run compile
code --extensionDevelopmentPath=$(pwd)

Package

cd vscode-extension
npm install
npm run package
code --install-extension karpathy-guidelines-1.1.2.vsix

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
`karpathyGuidelines.insertAs`	`markdown`	Insert format: `markdown`, `comments`, or `plaintext`
`karpathyGuidelines.autoActivate`	`false`	Automatically open quick reference when a Markdown file is opened
`karpathyGuidelines.defaultTool`	`cursor`	Default preselected target in the multi-tool picker
`karpathyGuidelines.overwriteExisting`	`true`	Overwrite existing config files during generation
`karpathyGuidelines.language`	`auto`	Language for generated configs and dialogs

Design approach

AGENTS.md is the canonical repository rule file whenever the target supports it.
Tool-specific files stay thin and mostly point back to the shared rules.
Generation is adapter-driven, so adding another mainstream target means adding one registry entry instead of editing command logic.

License

MIT

Karpathy Guidelines

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