Dev tools · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Windsurf?

KINDA· weekend project

Windsurf is a VS Code fork with a coding agent on top, plus a Tab model that predicts your next edit. A prompt gets the agent half in a few hours: a model with file, search, edit and shell tools inside your repo, rules and memories read from plain files, and every change shown as a diff you accept or reject. The editor half is not something one prompt gives you: trained next-edit completion, near-instant retrieval of the right files, the extension world and cloud agents that open pull requests. If an agent in a terminal is all you need, open-source ones already exist, so try them before building.

$20/moprice per seat

$240you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA few hours for a working agent, a weekend before you trust it

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22 and Gitbetter-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
A model API keyBilled per token by the provider, separately from any editor plan.
Your Windsurf rulesRule files are Markdown: copy AGENTS.md as it is, and move .windsurf/rules or .devin/rules files into ./.agent/rules/.

Before you buildWindsurf's Free plan keeps unlimited Tab completions and inline edits with a light agent quota. If you code a few hours a week, that may be enough before you pay $20 or build anything.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a terminal coding agent to replace Windsurf's Cascade for chat-driven edits. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript, installed with `npm link` as an `agent` command. It runs inside the
  current Git repo and treats that folder as the project root.
- Model: `@anthropic-ai/sdk` with a tool-use loop. ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and MODEL live in
  ~/.agent/.env; an optional OPENAI_BASE_URL switches to any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Stream
  replies to the terminal.
- Tools: list_files and read_file (honour .gitignore with the `ignore` package), grep (ripgrep when
  installed, a Node fallback otherwise), edit_file (exact string replace, fails when the match isn't
  unique), write_file and run_command.
- Review: each edit prints a coloured unified diff (`diff` package) and waits for y, n or a (accept
  all for this session). run_command asks first unless it is on the allowlist in
  ./.agent/config.json; 30 second timeout, output capped at 20 KB, never sudo.
- Rules and memories: read AGENTS.md and every file in ./.agent/rules/*.md into the system prompt.
  `/remember <text>` appends a dated line to ./.agent/memories.md for this repo only; `/forget`
  opens that file in $EDITOR.
- Workflows: a Markdown file ./.agent/workflows/<name>.md runs as `/<name>` with $ARGS substituted,
  so a repeated job such as release notes becomes one command.
- Safety: refuse any path outside the repo. Before the first accepted edit, create a branch
  `agent/<timestamp>`; `/undo` resets to the last checkpoint after a confirmation.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ~/.agent/sessions.db with messages, tool calls and token counts. `agent
  --resume` reopens the last session and prints a running cost estimate.
- No accounts, no telemetry, local-first: only calls to the model endpoint leave the machine, and
  the README lists what is sent.
- Out of scope: tab completion, repo embeddings, an editor or GUI, cloud agents, parallel agents.
  README: the .env keys, the rules and workflow folders, and a warning that run_command can still
  damage a repo, so work on a branch.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Windsurf.

Add a Windsurf importer to the agent in this folder. Requirements:

- `agent import-windsurf` reads the repo's .devin/rules/*.md, .windsurf/rules/*.md and a root
  .windsurfrules file, and ~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/global_rules.md.
- Copy repo rules into ./.agent/rules/ and the global file into ~/.agent/rules/global.md, stripping
  any front matter that only matters to Windsurf, and keep file names.
- Never overwrite an existing file: print a diff and ask first.
- Print what was copied and what was skipped.
- Update the README.

Add a plan mode to the agent in this folder. Requirements:

- `agent --plan` lets the model read and search but not edit; it ends by writing a numbered plan to
  ./.agent/PLAN.md.
- After you approve the plan, the same session switches to edit mode with the plan in context and
  ticks each step off in PLAN.md as it finishes.
- Refuse write_file, edit_file and run_command (except read-only git commands) while in plan mode.
- Update the README.

Add automatic test runs to the agent in this folder. Requirements:

- A `testCommand` in ./.agent/config.json (for example `npm test`) runs after each accepted edit
  batch, with a 120 second timeout.
- On failure, send the last 4 KB of output back to the model and let it retry, at most 3 times per
  request, then stop and show the failure.
- Print a one-line pass or fail summary after every run and log it in the session database.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Tab and Supercomplete, which predict your next edit while you type
Fast Context, the step that finds the right files and lines in milliseconds
A full IDE with extensions, debugging and a board view for managing several agents
Cloud agents that keep working after you close the laptop, and code review before you push
Free use of the SWE-2 model and one quota that covers models from several vendors

Why people still pay

For $20 a month a developer gets an agent that already knows how to work in a repo, models from several vendors under one quota, and no keys to juggle. A quota that refreshes daily is a cap rather than a surprise token bill, at least until you choose to buy extra usage.

Moatproprietary models execution polish

Do the math

Windsurf or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Windsurf, 1 yr$240

Your own copy, 1 yr$405running + build session

Paying is cheaper by$165never pays for itself

Estimate · No subscription, but every agent step is billed in tokens by your model provider. A few light sessions a month cost a few dollars, while daily heavy use of a frontier model can pass the $20 plan. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Windsurf

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Windsurf

1Your code stays in your own repo, so there is nothing to export. Rules are plain files: workspace rules in .devin/rules/*.md or .windsurf/rules/*.md, the older .windsurfrules at the root, and AGENTS.md.
2Global rules sit in ~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/global_rules.md, and auto-generated memories in ~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/. Memories belong to the workspace they were made in and aren't committed to your repo, so copy the folder.
3After the rename, installed extensions live in ~/.devin/extensions/; the old ~/.windsurf/extensions/ path stays read-only.
4Workflows are saved prompts you run with a slash command; the page we read doesn't give their folder, so look in the app's workflow settings.

2 · Cancel Windsurf

1Individuals cancel on the plans page; paid features stay until the end of the billing period, then the account drops to Free.
2On Teams plans only the admin can cancel, delete the team or remove users.
3Free trials of paid plans aren't offered, but the docs say you can request a refund before you've used the subscription.

The app is now Devin Desktop (renamed June 2, 2026); your plan and price carried over, and legacy Enterprise logins stay at windsurf.com/enterprise.
Windsurf for JetBrains stays available as a separate download, per Devin's pricing FAQ.

Checked 2026-10-19 against Windsurf's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

ClineOpen sourceApache-2.0 autonomous coding agent for VS Code that edits files and runs commands with your approval, on your own model key.★ 71k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
vscodeVisit ↗ContinueOpen sourceApache-2.0 coding agent offered as an SDK, an IDE extension or a CLI assistant.★ 36k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
vscode, jetbrainsVisit ↗Kilo CodeOpen sourceMIT-licensed open-source coding agent; the repo calls Kilo an agentic engineering platform.★ 28k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
vscodeVisit ↗

All 7 free alternatives to Windsurf ›

The numbers

Windsurf pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0	$0	Light quota for agent work, limited model availability, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions.
Pro	$20	—	Bigger daily and weekly quotas with frontier models from OpenAI, Claude, Gemini and others plus open-source models, free use of the SWE-2 model, Devin Cloud agents, extra usage at API prices.
Max	$200	—	Everything in Pro with significantly higher quotas.
Teams	$40	—	Up to 200 users, shared work, central billing, an admin dashboard with analytics, priority support.
Enterprise	custom	—	SAML or OIDC single sign-on, central admin controls, dedicated account management, a dedicated deployment option.

Free tier: A light agent quota and limited models; Tab completions and inline edits are unlimited.
Billing: Monthly. Paid plans include a quota that refreshes daily and weekly instead of monthly credits, a model Windsurf introduced in March 2026. Individuals cancel on the plans page and keep paid features to the end of the period, then drop to Free. Free trials of paid plans aren't offered, but a refund can be requested before you use the subscription.
Hidden costs: Past the included quota you buy extra usage at API pricing, so a heavy day on a frontier model can exceed the $20. Teams adds an $80 monthly team fee on top of each $40 seat. Windsurf was renamed Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026; plan and price carried over.
Source: devin.ai

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Questions

Windsurf, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Free gives one member a light agent quota, a limited model list, and unlimited inline edits and Tab completions.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Tab and Supercomplete, which predict your next edit while you type, Fast Context, the step that finds the right files and lines in milliseconds.

About $20 a month on the Pro plan per seat, $240 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

Tab and Supercomplete, which predict your next edit while you type; Fast Context, the step that finds the right files and lines in milliseconds; A full IDE with extensions, debugging and a board view for managing several agents; Cloud agents that keep working after you close the laptop, and code review before you push; Free use of the SWE-2 model and one quota that covers models from several vendors. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.