Setting Up 11 AI Coding Tools on a New Machine in Under 5 Minutes

The 2026 AI Tool Landscape

If you're a developer in 2026, you probably have several of these installed:

That's 11 tools, each with their own config format and storage location. On a new machine, you'd need to manually find, copy, and place each file in the right location. On the right OS. With the right paths.

The Old Way: Hours of Manual Work

Setting up AI tools on a new machine traditionally looks like this:

1. Install each tool individually
2. Find your old config files (where did I put those?)
3. Copy them from your old machine (if you still have access)
4. Figure out the right paths on the new OS
5. Test each tool to make sure your settings loaded
6. Realize you forgot one tool's config and repeat

For 11 tools, this takes 1-3 hours. And you'll probably miss something.

The New Way: Two Commands

On your current machine (before you wipe it or stop using it):

npm install -g memoir-cli
memoir init    # one-time setup
memoir push    # backs up all 11 tools

On your new machine:

npm install -g memoir-cli
memoir init    # connect to same repo
memoir restore # everything is back

That's it. memoir automatically detects every installed AI tool, backs up their settings, and restores them to the right locations on any OS.

What memoir Detects Automatically

When you run memoir status, memoir scans your system and shows exactly what it found:

$ memoir status

  memoir  v2.5.0

  Detected AI Tools:
  ✔ Claude Code    ~/.claude/, 3 CLAUDE.md files
  ✔ Cursor         .cursorrules in 5 projects
  ✔ ChatGPT        CHATGPT.md in 2 projects
  ✔ GitHub Copilot .github/copilot-instructions.md
  ✔ Gemini CLI     ~/.gemini/settings.json
  ✔ Aider          ~/.aider.conf.yml

  6 tools detected · 14 config files

It finds configs in your home directory and scans project directories for per-project rules files.

Cross-Platform: Mac → Windows → Linux

memoir handles the hardest part of cross-device sync: path differences between operating systems.

• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Cursor\
• Linux: ~/.config/Cursor/

You push from a Mac. You restore on Windows. memoir maps every path automatically. Your .cursorrules from /Users/alice/projects/myapp end up at C:\Users\alice\projects\myapp.

Session Handoff: Pick Up Where You Left Off

Beyond settings sync, memoir can capture your entire coding session:

# On your laptop (leaving for the day)
memoir snapshot

# On your desktop (next morning)
memoir resume

Snapshot captures git state, recent changes, and open file context. Resume injects this into your AI tool so it knows exactly where you left off.

The 5-Minute New Machine Checklist

1. Install Node.js (if not already present)
2. Install memoir: npm install -g memoir-cli
3. Connect to your backup: memoir init
4. Restore everything: memoir restore
5. Verify: memoir status

Install your AI tools themselves (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) separately. memoir handles the configuration, not the installation.

Pro Tips

Use profiles for work vs personal

memoir profile create work
memoir push --profile work

Keep your work AI configs separate from personal projects.

Back up to the cloud

memoir login
memoir cloud push

No GitHub repo needed. Cloud sync includes version history so you can roll back.

Translate between tools

memoir migrate --from cursor --to claude

Trying a new tool? Bring your existing instructions with you.