Migrating to Cursor from VS Code

The import lives in Cursor Settings, not in a first-run wizard, so you can run it whenever you like - including after you have already been using Cursor for a while. Three steps get you there.

1. 1Open Cursor Settings: Mac press Cmd + Shift + J; Windows/Linux press Ctrl + Shift + J.
2. 2Go to General → Account.
3. 3Under VS Code Import, click the Import button.

That single action brings over your extensions, themes, settings and keybindings. If you want more control over exactly what moves - for example, importing one VS Code profile rather than your whole setup - you can export a profile from VS Code and import it manually instead. Cursor's VS Code migration guide has the step-by-step instructions for that path.

This is the one place where migrating is not a straight copy. Cursor uses the Open VSX extension registry, not the VS Code Marketplace. Many popular extensions are available there, but not all VS Code extensions are listed, and the ones that are may not work exactly the same way.

Muscle memory is the thing most people worry about, and it is the thing that survives the move most cleanly. Cursor ships the same default shortcuts as VS Code, so the keys you already press keep doing what they did. Custom keybindings come across when you run the import above - they are part of the same bundle as your settings and themes.

Yes. Cursor and VS Code run as separate applications, and you can use both on the same projects. Nothing forces you to pick one on day one: install Cursor, run the import, and keep VS Code open next to it until you stop reaching for it.