IDE Configuration Import

Bring your existing development environment into Ironspire without starting from scratch. The IDE import wizard detects installed editors and coding assistants, parses their configuration, and lets you selectively import MCP servers, system prompts, settings, extensions and AGENTS.md files.

Supported adapters

Ironspire ships with 10 built-in adapters covering the most popular editors and AI coding tools:

Each adapter knows where its source application stores configuration on Windows, macOS and Linux. You do not need to locate config files manually.

Adapter detection paths

The wizard checks standard configuration paths for each platform. For example, VS Code configuration lives in %APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json on macOS and ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json on Linux. Cursor, Windsurf and other editors follow similar platform conventions. The AGENTS.md adapter scans the root of your currently open projects for AGENTS.md and .agents.md files.

If an adapter cannot find configuration at the expected path, it is marked as "not detected" in the discovery step. You can still point the wizard to a custom path if your configuration lives in a non-standard location.

What gets imported

The wizard organises importable content into five categories:

• MCP servers: server definitions including transport type, command, arguments and environment variables. The wizard maps source-specific formats into Ironspire's unified MCP configuration.
• System prompts: custom instructions, AI rules, conventions files and CLAUDE.md content. These become agent instruction snippets you can apply to any agent.
• Settings: editor preferences like font size, theme, indentation and language-specific configuration. Mapped to the nearest Ironspire equivalent where one exists.
• Extensions: plugin and extension lists from VS Code, JetBrains and other editors. Matched against the Ironspire marketplace catalogue for one-click install of equivalent skills.
• AGENTS.md: repository-level agent configuration files. Imported as project-scoped instruction sets that apply to agents working in that repository.

The 5-step import wizard

Access the wizard from Settings > General or respond to the post-install prompt that appears the first time you launch Ironspire.

Step 1: Discover

The wizard scans your system for installed editors and coding assistants. Each detected adapter shows a summary of what it found: number of MCP servers, system prompts, settings and extensions. Adapters with nothing to import are greyed out.

Step 2: Parse

Select one or more adapters and click Continue. The wizard reads each adapter's configuration files and extracts importable items. This step takes a few seconds depending on how many adapters you selected.

Step 3: Map

The wizard displays every extracted item grouped by category. Each item shows:

• Its source (e.g. "Cursor > MCP Servers > github-mcp")
• The target location in Ironspire
• A confidence indicator for the mapping quality

Items that conflict with existing Ironspire configuration are flagged. For example, if you already have a GitHub MCP server configured and Cursor also defines one, the wizard highlights the duplicate and lets you choose which to keep.

Step 4: Select

Check or uncheck individual items. The wizard remembers your selections if you navigate back to earlier steps. A running count at the bottom shows how many items will be imported.

Step 5: Apply

Click Apply to write the selected items into your Ironspire configuration. The wizard creates a snapshot of your current configuration before making any changes, so you can undo the entire import later.

Secret filtering

The wizard automatically detects and redacts sensitive values before import. It scans for common secret patterns including:

• API key prefixes: sk-, ghp_, ghs_, glpat-
• Bearer tokens and authorisation headers
• Base64-encoded credential blocks
• Environment variables with names containing SECRET, TOKEN, KEY or PASSWORD

When a secret is detected, the wizard replaces its value with a placeholder and shows a warning. You can then enter the correct value in Ironspire's secure credential storage, or skip the item entirely.

Conflict resolution

When an imported item conflicts with an existing Ironspire configuration, the wizard offers three options:

• Keep existing: skip the imported item and leave your current configuration unchanged
• Replace: overwrite the existing configuration with the imported version
• Rename: import the item under a new name so both versions coexist

For MCP servers, conflicts are detected by server name. For system prompts, conflicts are detected by file path. The wizard groups all conflicts together so you can resolve them in one pass.

Undo and snapshots

Every import creates a timestamped snapshot of your configuration. Snapshots are stored locally and retained for 24 hours.

To undo an import:

1. Open Settings > General
2. Click Import History
3. Find the import you want to revert
4. Click Undo

The undo operation restores your entire configuration to the state it was in immediately before that import. Any changes you made after the import (new agents, manual setting tweaks) are preserved; only the imported items are removed.

Running multiple imports

You can run the wizard as many times as you like. Each run creates its own snapshot, and the wizard is aware of previously imported items. If you import from Cursor and then later import from VS Code, the wizard will flag any overlapping MCP servers from the second import.

This is useful when you switch between editors or adopt a new tool. Run the wizard again and Ironspire will detect only the new or changed items, skipping anything already imported.

Limitations

A few things to keep in mind when using the import wizard:

• Binary extensions cannot be imported. The wizard imports configuration and metadata, not compiled binaries. For VS Code extensions, it matches against the Ironspire marketplace catalogue and suggests equivalent skills where available.
• Encrypted credentials stored by source applications are not accessible to the wizard. For example, if Cursor encrypts its API keys in an OS keychain, the wizard cannot extract them. You will need to re-enter those credentials in Ironspire.
• Workspace-level configuration is imported alongside user-level configuration. If the same setting exists in both, the workspace value takes precedence, matching the behaviour of most editors.
• Custom adapter paths are supported but not remembered between wizard runs. If your editor configuration lives in a non-standard location, you will need to specify the path each time.

Next steps

• Configure settings
• Install MCP servers
• Create your first agent