Devin (formerly Windsurf)
FreemiumAI-native IDE with a built-in agent command center.
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About
Devin (formerly Windsurf) is an AI-native IDE built by Cognition on top of VS Code's open-source core. Originally launched as Windsurf by Codeium in late 2024, it was acquired by Cognition — the company behind the Devin autonomous software engineer — and rebranded as Devin Desktop in June 2026.
Its defining local agent is Devin Local — the successor to Cascade, completely rewritten in Rust. Devin Local can understand an entire codebase, plan multi-step changes, edit files across directories, run terminal commands, and debug errors in a single conversational loop, with 30% better token efficiency than Cascade.
The Agent Command Center is a Kanban-style dashboard for managing both local agents (running in Devin Desktop) and cloud agents (Devin Cloud) from one surface. Spaces let you group sessions, pull requests, and files so agents share context across tasks. Agent Client Protocol (ACP) support means third-party agents — Claude Agent, Codex, OpenCode — can use the same interface as Devin.
Devin Desktop inherits VS Code's extension compatibility, keybindings, and settings, making it a low-friction switch for existing VS Code users. A chat interface handles questions, refactoring, and code generation for smaller tasks.
Pricing is freemium: a free tier covers basic usage with limited quotas; Pro ($20/month) unlocks higher quotas, frontier models (Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini), and cloud agent access; Max ($200/month) and Teams/Enterprise plans are available for heavier use. Available on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Key Features
- Devin Local agent for complex, multi-file operations (Cascade successor, built in Rust)
- Agent Command Center — Kanban view for managing local and cloud agents
- Spaces — shared context across agent sessions and pull requests
- Agent Client Protocol (ACP) support for third-party agents
- Codebase-wide awareness and understanding
- Based on VS Code — familiar workflow and full extension compatibility
- Privacy-focused — code not used for training
- Cross-platform: macOS, Windows, Linux
Pros
- Free tier available with no credit card required
- Devin Local agent handles complex multi-file changes with 30% better token efficiency than Cascade
- Codebase understanding is genuinely useful for large projects
- VS Code base means familiar workflow and full extension compatibility
- Agent Command Center unifies local and cloud agent management in one surface
- Privacy-first approach
- Regular updates and improvements
- Good for onboarding to unfamiliar codebases
Cons
- Advanced AI features require paid plan (Pro from $20/month)
- Cascade agent no longer supported — replaced by Devin Local
- AI quality can be inconsistent on complex tasks
- Smaller user base and community than Cursor or VS Code
- Less customization than raw VS Code
- Documentation still maturing post-rebrand
- Cloud agents only available on paid plans
- Less established ecosystem than traditional IDEs
Pricing
FreemiumPossible Stacks
Devin + Claude + GitHub
DeveloperWindsurf as the AI-first IDE with Claude as the underlying model, paired with GitHub for version control. A clean alternative to Cursor for developers who prefer Windsurf's flow-state editing experience.
Development
LLM
Related Tools
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Integrates with (3)
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Learning Resources
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