Migrating to Symbiotic Code

Already using Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot Chat, or another terminal coding assistant? You can get started with Symbiotic Code in just a few minutes. Your existing instructions, commands, and integrations can come with you.

1. Install Symbiotic Code

You can install Symbiotic Code in 2 ways: VS Code extension or CLI. You can use both at the same time.

VS Code extension

Download the .vsix extension and install it in VS Code or another VS Code-based IDE.

CLI

Install the CLI globally with npm:

npm i -g @symbioticsec/code

Then launch Symbiotic Code with:

symbiotic

2. Create your account

You need a Symbiotic Security account to use Symbiotic Code. Create an account or log in through the Symbiotic Portal.

	Free plan	Paid plans
Members	Up to 8	No limit
Included models	One limited free model	Optimized frontier models
Bring your own key	Use additional models from other providers with API keys	Use local models or specific models not offered with your plan with API keys

3. Connect to a model

Use the built-in models

Depending on your plan, Symbiotic Code comes with optimized support for the most popular frontier models. The Auto model uses smart routing to select the right model for each request while helping manage costs. Use /models to switch models.

Use your own provider

To use an existing Claude, OpenAI, or Gemini subscription, or a local or custom model:

Run /connect and select your provider.
Enter your provider API key.
Use /models to list and switch between available models.

See Models and providers for supported providers and custom configuration.

4. Project memory / instructions

Symbiotic Code automatically picks up instruction files from your existing tooling:

File	Tool it came from
`AGENTS.md`	Any coding agent
`CLAUDE.md`	Claude Code
`.cursorrules`	Cursor
`.github/copilot-instructions.md`	GitHub Copilot

For new projects, place instructions in AGENTS.md at your repo root, or in .symbiotic/agents/build.md for agent-specific prompts.

5. MCP servers

MCP servers are configured in symbiotic.json under mcp. For example, to use a local MCP server:

{
  "mcp": {
    "my-server": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "my-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Remote MCP servers with OAuth are also supported:

{
  "mcp": {
    "remote-server": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://mcp.example.com"
    }
  }
}

See MCP servers for details.

Migrate your existing MCP config automatically

Paste this prompt into your coding agent to scan your machine and migrate all existing MCP server configs to Symbiotic Code:

Migrate MCP server configs from other tools to Symbiotic Code

6. Custom commands and agents

Move your existing workflows into Symbiotic Code without changing their format:

Commands: Copy Claude Code commands from .claude/commands/ to .symbiotic/commands/. See Custom commands.
Agents: Store project-specific agents in .symbiotic/agents/. See Custom agents.

For commands or agents shared across projects, use ~/.config/symbiotic/commands/ or ~/.config/symbiotic/agents/.

Migrate your existing commands and agents automatically

Migrate custom commands and agents from other tools to Symbiotic Code

7. Security modes

Symbiotic Code adds a security mode that Claude Code and OpenCode don’t have. Toggle it with Ctrl+S while running, or set a default per-agent in config:

{
  "agent": {
    "build": {
      "security_mode": "balanced"
    }
  }
}

Options: permissive (fastest, fewest confirmations), balanced (default), strict (most confirmations). See Security Modes for details.

Basics

Tools

Configuration

1. Install Symbiotic Code

VS Code extension

CLI

2. Create your account

3. Connect to a model

Use the built-in models

Use your own provider

4. Project memory / instructions

5. MCP servers

Migrate your existing MCP config automatically

6. Custom commands and agents

Migrate your existing commands and agents automatically

7. Security modes

​1. Install Symbiotic Code

​VS Code extension

​CLI

​2. Create your account

​3. Connect to a model

​Use the built-in models

​Use your own provider

​4. Project memory / instructions

​5. MCP servers

​Migrate your existing MCP config automatically

​6. Custom commands and agents

​Migrate your existing commands and agents automatically

​7. Security modes

1. Install Symbiotic Code

VS Code extension

CLI

2. Create your account

3. Connect to a model

Use the built-in models

Use your own provider

4. Project memory / instructions

5. MCP servers

Migrate your existing MCP config automatically

6. Custom commands and agents

Migrate your existing commands and agents automatically

7. Security modes