The Cursor to AZMX AI Migration Guide

If you want a seamless, highly integrated IDE experience that feels like a polished extension of VS Code, stay with Cursor. If you want total control over your models, absolute privacy with zero telemetry, and a lightweight native binary that runs your agents locally, it is time to switch to AZMX AI.

The TL;DR

Switch to AZMX AI if you are frustrated by vendor lock-in, high subscription costs for high-usage models, or privacy concerns regarding your codebase. Stay with Cursor if you rely heavily on their specific VS Code fork ecosystem and deep IDE integrations that only a fork can provide.

Comparison at a Glance

Where Cursor is actually better

• VS Code Ecosystem: Because Cursor is a fork of VS Code, every single extension works exactly as expected without friction.
• Feature Polish: Their implementation of "Composer" and codebase indexing is highly refined and easy for beginners to pick up immediately.
• Zero Configuration: For users who just want to pay a flat fee and have everything "just work" without managing API keys, Cursor is the simpler choice.

Where AZMX AI wins

• Model Sovereignty (BYOK): In Cursor, you are tied to their model routing. In AZMX, you can use a cheap Groq endpoint for quick tasks, a heavy Claude 3.5 Sonnet key for complex logic, or a local Llama 3 instance via Ollama for sensitive code.
• Native Performance: While Cursor is an Electron app, AZMX AI is a ~7 MB native binary with a Rust backend. It uses a system webview, making it significantly lighter on RAM and CPU.
• Security-First Agents: Most agents act with high autonomy. AZMX includes an approval gate on every shell command and file write. Furthermore, our default deny-list prevents agents from ever reading .env, .ssh, or other credential files.
• Advanced Agent Architecture: AZMX supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) over both stdio and HTTP, allowing you to connect your editor to external tools, databases, and custom sub-agents.
• Project Memory: Instead of relying on proprietary indexing, AZMX uses AZMX.md within your project to maintain persistent, human-readable context and instructions.

How to switch from Cursor to AZMX AI

Migrating doesn't require a total rewrite of your workflow. Follow these steps to transition smoothly:

1. Export your Environment: Cursor uses standard VS Code settings. Ensure your settings.json and keybindings are backed up. While AZMX is not a VS Code fork, you can import many configurations manually.
2. Install AZMX AI: Download the native binary for your OS from azmx.ai/download.
3. Configure your Models: Instead of a monthly subscription, grab your API keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, or your preferred provider. Input them into the AZMX settings. If you want to go 100% offline, launch Ollama and point AZMX to your local endpoint.
4. Set up Project Context: Create an AZMX.md file in your project root. Document your coding standards, tech stack, and architectural decisions here. This replaces the "indexing" magic with explicit, reliable project memory.
5. Enable MCP Tools: If you used specific Cursor features for database interaction, look into the MCP documentation to connect your local tools to AZMX.

Pricing Breakdown

Let's look at the math for a professional developer using high-end models (like Claude 3.5 Sonnet) over one year.

The Cursor Model

Cursor Pro is $20/month. For a single developer, that is $240/year. If you hit usage limits and need more, the costs scale into business tiers.

The AZMX AI Model

AZMX AI is free to download and use. You only pay for what you consume via your own API keys. For a medium-to-heavy user, API costs often hover around $10-$15/month. If you use local models via Ollama, your cost is $0. For power users requiring advanced sub-agent orchestration and team features, our Pro plan is $20/mo and Teams is $40/seat/mo.

For most, the combination of AZMX Free + BYOK is significantly more cost-effective and offers more flexibility than a fixed subscription.

Conclusion

The choice between Cursor and AZMX AI comes down to your philosophy on software. If you want a managed service that hides the complexity, Cursor is excellent. If you want a professional-grade, high-performance tool that respects your privacy, gives you total control over your intelligence layer, and stays out of your way, switch to AZMX AI. It is free to download, requires no account, and works with the models you already own.

Download AZMX AI today and take control of your development environment.