Devin Desktop was formerly Windsurf

Cognition renamed Windsurf to Devin Desktop in June 2026. Existing users get the change as a routine update, and Cognition says plans, pricing and extensions stay the same.

If you used it: Nothing to do. Our getting-started guide still uses the Windsurf name in places.

Source: devin.ai · checked 2026-10-20

Getting-started guide

Getting Started with Devin Desktop

The code editor that used to be called Windsurf, with an AI agent built in.

Current prices: Free, from $15-20/mo · See all plans

Last reviewed 2026-09-07 · for Devin Desktop

How it works

Devin Desktop is the app formerly called Windsurf. You install it and open a folder of code in it. Describe a job in a side panel and its agent — AI that takes actions rather than only answering — proposes edits across the files involved, for you to approve.

What it is

Windsurf, and before that Codeium. Cognition bought it in July 2025 and renamed it in June 2026 — same editor, same account, same plans, windsurf.com now redirecting to devin.ai. A tutorial saying Windsurf is still the right one.

It is honestly a developer tool, assuming files and folders. Cursor is the closest comparison; Claude Code runs in a text window with no editor around it. Its own bet is fleet management — one subscription covering the agent on your laptop, agents in the cloud, and a command-line version.

Before you start

Free to start: unlimited inline edits and tab completions, a light agent quota, a reduced model list. You need a machine you can install software on (macOS, Windows 10 or later, mainstream Linux) and a folder of code.

Usage is metered in tokens — chunks of text, roughly a short word each, how AI usage gets counted — not messages, so a big model on a big file costs far more than a quick question. Budgets refresh daily as well as weekly.

Living off autocomplete you probably will not pay; hand the agent multi-file jobs most days and you will want the entry paid plan — current prices are on its Launchpad page. This category reprices often.

Getting set up safely

Official source: https://devin.ai/download — Cognition's own download page

Download from devin.ai/download and nowhere else. The rename left stale "download Windsurf" links across blogs and aggregator sites, and a code editor runs with your permissions, on your files.

Pick the download that matches your computer. On a Mac, click the Apple menu then About This Mac — it will say either Apple silicon or Intel. On Windows, open Settings then System then About and read the system type, which will say 64-bit or ARM. Downloading the wrong one is the most common reason the app will not open.

Onboarding imports your settings and keyboard shortcuts from VS Code or Cursor. Check before switching for good: you cannot install extensions from a marketplace here, and other AI-completion extensions are incompatible by design.

Official docs ↗

Security & privacy

Your code leaves your machine: relevant files go to a cloud model on every request. Normal, not sinister — but think before pointing it at a client's private codebase, anything under a confidentiality agreement, or a project with passwords in it. No offline mode exists.

Before pointing it at real work

By default Cognition may use data processed through the product to train models; the opt-out, which also switches on zero data retention with its providers, is a paid-plan setting. On free, assume your code contributes.
Cognition is independently audited on how it handles customer data (SOC 2 Type II). Enterprise agreements go further: no training without express prior written consent.
Autocomplete only adds text at your cursor; the agent creates, rewrites and deletes files and runs terminal commands project-wide. Keep it in version control and commit before setting it loose.

What it's good (and not good) at

Best at

Multi-file changes — renaming a concept everywhere, wiring in a new page
Explaining a codebase you did not write, from the actual files
Everyday typing speed, via unlimited inline completion

Okay at

Building from nothing before you know what you want
Very large old codebases — more context costs more quota

Avoid

Work where source code cannot leave your machine
Learning to program from zero — it writes code you do not understand
Being your only copy of anything

First things to try

Tour a codebase you did not write

Read this project and explain what it does and where I would change the homepage.

Why this one: A read-only tour barely touches the light agent quota the free plan gives you, and a specific answer confirms it is reading your disk rather than guessing — Cursor's free tier is shaped differently, so this ordering is specific here.

Your first agent edit, deliberately tiny

Change the main heading on the homepage to say Hello from my first edit. Change nothing else, then list every file you modified.

Why this one: Pre-2026 guides describe an approval flow around an agent called Cascade, since retired, so learn this from the current app. Reviewing before approving is the whole safety model, so keep the change small.

Common pitfalls

Accepting large agent edits without reading them. The approve button is right there and reading nine files of changes feels like it defeats the purpose. It does not.

Where to next

Other AI coding tools Run models on your own machine

Want the full picture first? See the Devin Desktop overview for pricing, the free tier and related tools.