Where Does Trae Store Settings and Rules?
Trae's .trae home folder, global rules path per OS, and project level rules directories.
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Trae keeps agent customization in a .trae folder in your home directory plus a rules tree inside each project. Global rules apply everywhere while project rules in .trae/rules stay scoped to that repo.
The settings center exposes the same files graphically, including export of chat data and IDE settings. Hand editing the rule files is faster once you have more than a couple of them.
Where Trae stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\.trae\user_rules
Global rules root under %USERPROFILE%\.trae. Project rules in [ProjectDir]\.trae\rules. Import VS Code or Cursor settings once from the setup wizard rather than copying files.
~/.trae/user_rules
Same layout. Project rules at [ProjectDir]/.trae/rules with AGENTS.md at project root. Subdirectory .trae/rules folders scope rules to modules.
~/.trae/user_rules
Same layout across deb, rpm and ARM64 builds. Export user data including builder, chat and IDE settings from the account menu before migrations.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I put rules for one project only?
In .trae/rules under the project root, or deeper .trae/rules folders for modules. Global ~/.trae/user_rules instead applies to every project.
How do I migrate Trae to a new machine?
Copy the home .trae folder plus project .trae trees, then use Export user data from settings for chats and IDE prefs. Reimport VS Code extensions rather than copying caches.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.