Migrate from VS Code
LingXizhi IDE keeps the interaction and editor experience you know from VS Code, so switching from VS Code or Cursor costs almost nothing. The built-in migration wizard imports your keybindings, themes, settings, and common plugin configurations in one click — the whole process takes under 5 minutes.
Run the Migration Wizard
Open the wizard: the migration wizard pops up automatically on the welcome page when you first launch LingXizhi IDE; you can also re-run it anytime later in "Settings → Migration".
Choose sources: the wizard auto-detects the VS Code / Cursor config directories on your machine — check the sources you want to migrate from.
Select what to migrate: check keybindings, themes, settings, and common plugin configurations as needed, then confirm to start importing.
Finish and verify: after the import completes, restart the UI, open the command palette, and try your usual shortcuts (e.g. Ctrl + Shift + P) to confirm your muscle memory carries over seamlessly.
Migration is a read-only import: the wizard only reads your VS Code / Cursor configuration and copies it into LingXizhi — it never modifies or deletes any of your original configuration, so you can safely run it as many times as you like.
What Can Be Migrated
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Keybindings | Imports custom keybindings; VS Code default bindings work out of the box |
| Themes | Imports your current color theme and icon theme settings |
| Editor settings | Common items from settings.json: font, indentation, word wrap, formatting, etc. |
| Common plugin configurations | Imports common plugins and their settings; the marketplace defaults to the open-source registry, so a small number of vendor-exclusive plugins may be unavailable |
Key Differences from VS Code
LingXizhi is not "VS Code + an AI plugin" — it is an IDE redesigned for agents from the kernel up. Before migrating, it is worth understanding these differences:
| Dimension | VS Code / Cursor | LingXizhi IDE |
|---|---|---|
| AI architecture | AI bolted on as plugins | Natively driven by a Rust kernel — AI chat, completion, and the task engine talk directly to the local kernel (127.0.0.1:3721) |
| Deep tasks | Rely on third-party agent plugins | Built-in RUSH multi-agent deep task engine, launched with Ctrl + Shift + R |
| Code understanding | Text-based indexing | Built-in Semantic Code Graph with traceable cross-file references and call chains |
| Smart completion | Plugin-based completion | Built-in FIM Code Completion, wired directly to kernel models |
| Model access | Each plugin configured separately | Unified access to 15+ mainstream models (Kimi K3, GLM-5.2, DeepSeek-V4, etc.), with BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) support |
| Billing model | Per-token or per-plugin subscription | Metered by daily Agent runs: Free 10/day · Pro 1000/day · Ultimate unlimited — no token billing shown in the UI |
| Data policy | Depends on each plugin | Local-first: code stays on your machine by default, API keys stored with AES-256 encryption |
About the plugin ecosystem: common plugins and their settings can migrate with the wizard, but the marketplace targets the open-source registry by default — a small number of plugins exclusive to Microsoft's official marketplace may not install directly. If a plugin is missing, search the LingXizhi marketplace for one with the same name or an alternative.
After Migrating
- Follow First-Time Setup to choose a default model and confirm your daily quota.
- Read the RUSH guide and try a multi-agent deep task — the most tangible difference from plugin-style AI.
- If any shortcut has changed, check the keyboard shortcuts reference.