Back to Guides
Lesson 1 of 5

What is Windsurf?

The AI-Native Code Editor

Windsurf vs Traditional Editors

| Feature | VS Code | Windsurf | |---------|---------|----------| | AI Integration | Extension | Native | | Context Awareness | File-level | Project-level | | Chat | Sidebar | Inline | | Code Generation | Suggestions | Full functions | | Learning Curve | Familiar | New paradigm |

Key Features

Cascade: Codeium's AI engine

  • Project-wide understanding
  • Multi-file editing
  • Contextual suggestions
  • Natural language commands

Chat: Inline AI assistant

  • Ask questions about code
  • Generate entire features
  • Debug with AI
  • Explain complex code

Supercomplete: Advanced autocomplete

  • Predicts full implementations
  • Understands patterns
  • Learns your style

Installation

Download: codeium.com/windsurf

Platforms:

  • macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon)
  • Windows
  • Linux

Setup:

  1. Download installer
  2. Sign in with GitHub/Google
  3. Import VS Code settings (optional)
  4. Start coding!

→ Proceed to Lesson 2: AI Features