Windsurf is an AI editor where completion, chat and agent-style edits share one interface; it operates your project directory directly and shows changes as diffs you can revert before accepting. The product is now maintained by Cognition, the Devin team, and downloads and docs have moved under devin.ai. The difference from web chat is concrete: it writes files in your local repo. Ownership and capability limits follow the official page.
What it does
- Completion and chat that write directly into project files
- Agent edits: search the repo, edit multiple files, run terminal commands
- Pass files, docs or symbols as context
- Diffs you can revert piece by piece before accepting
Who it is for
- Feature work in an existing repo that spans several files
- Wanting one tool to find, change and run code
- Moving from a CLI agent to a GUI where changes are visible
- Small refactors and boilerplate fill
How to get started
- Open an existing project and let it change one file to judge diffs
- Constrain scope, such as one directory and no config changes
- Run tests each round; revert on failure instead of stacking changes
