🌊

AI IDEFree Tier Available

Windsurf

by Codeium — The AI-first IDE built around deep codebase awareness

Windsurf is a full IDE (based on VS Code) where every feature is designed around AI. Its standout feature is Cascade — an agentic AI that understands your entire codebase, not just the current file, and can autonomously plan and execute multi-step tasks.

Made by

Codeium

Based on

VS Code

Free tier

Yes (generous)

Best for

Agentic coding

Platform

Mac, Win, Linux

Website

codeium.com/windsurf

⚡ Install & Setup

Step 1 — Download Windsurf

Go to codeium.com/windsurf → click Download. Available for macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel), Windows, and Linux.

Step 2 — Sign In (Free Account)

Launch Windsurf → click "Sign in with Codeium" → create a free account. No credit card needed for the free tier.

Step 3 — Open Your Project

File → Open Folder → select your project. Windsurf indexes your entire codebase in the background — this gives Cascade full context.

Step 4 — Open Cascade

Press Cmd+L (Mac) or Ctrl+L (Windows) to open the Cascade panel on the right.

🔑 Key Features

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Cascade (Agentic AI)

Autonomous AI agent that reads your codebase, plans multi-file changes, runs terminal commands, and iterates until the task is complete.

💡

Supercomplete

Context-aware inline completion that understands your entire repo — not just the current line. Predicts whole functions and logical next steps.

💬

Chat Mode

Ask questions about your code. Reference files with @filename. Cascade answers with full repo context.

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Codebase Indexing

Windsurf automatically indexes your project so Cascade knows every function, class, and file — no need to paste context manually.

🔌

VS Code Compatible

All your VS Code extensions work in Windsurf. Same keybindings, themes, and settings — minimal transition friction.

🆓

Generous Free Tier

Free tier includes 25 Cascade uses per month + unlimited completions. Premium adds higher limits and GPT-4/Claude models.

🚀 Sample Usage

1. Inline Completion

Start typing and let Supercomplete finish your thought. Accept with Tab.

// calculate shipping cost based on weight and zone
function calcShipping(weight, zone) {
// ← Windsurf fills in the entire function body

2. Cascade — Agentic Task

Open Cascade (Cmd+L) and type a high-level task:

"Add pagination to the /api/products endpoint. Use cursor-based pagination. Update the React ProductList component to load more on scroll. Add tests for the new params."

Cascade reads your existing files, proposes a plan, writes the changes, and runs your tests — all without you writing a single line.

3. Ask a Codebase Question

"Where does this app handle authentication? Walk me through the full auth flow from login to session."

Cascade traces through your actual files and gives a specific answer with file references — no need to grep the codebase yourself.

💡 Pro Tips

Let Windsurf fully index your project before using Cascade — wait for the indexing spinner to finish
Use @filename in Cascade to focus on specific files
Cascade can run terminal commands — useful for running tests and seeing results inline
Migrate from VS Code in seconds: Settings → Import from VS Code
For large tasks, set scope in your prompt: "Only modify files in src/api/ — do not touch the frontend"

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Open CascadeCmd+L / Ctrl+L

Accept completionTab

Reject completionEsc

Accept next wordCmd+→ / Ctrl+→

Open command paletteCmd+Shift+P

New Cascade conversationCmd+N in Cascade

→ Compare: Cursor → Compare: VS Code + AI → Compare: GitHub Copilot