Claude Code vs Windsurf (Now Devin Desktop) in 2026

If you’re comparing Claude Code with Windsurf, the first thing to know is that Windsurf isn’t called Windsurf any more. Cognition renamed it Devin Desktop in June 2026, and its Cascade agent has since been replaced by Devin Local. Most comparisons online predate that. This one doesn’t.

Based on the official docs at code.claude.com and docs.devin.ai (where windsurf.com now redirects) as of 24 October 2026. We don’t quote prices or benchmark scores; check each vendor’s pricing page.

What changed with Windsurf

Date	Change
2025	Cognition (maker of Devin) acquires Windsurf
2 June 2026	Windsurf becomes Devin Desktop, with an “Agent Command Center” as the main view; plans and extensions carry over
Mid-2026	The local agent is rebranded Devin Local; Cascade stays available for a transition period
September 2026	Cognition’s changelog records Cascade’s removal; Devin Local is the only built-in agent

What carried over: your settings, rules in .windsurf/rules/ (now with .devin/rules/ taking precedence), and MCP configuration. What didn’t: Cascade memories and workflows, which Devin Local doesn’t support. Cognition offers a migration wizard that converts them into skills. The legacy surf command became devin-desktop, and the JetBrains plugin is in maintenance mode.

Quick verdict

• Pick Claude Code if you want a terminal-first agent you delegate whole tasks to, Claude models, and a mature ecosystem of skills, subagents, hooks and plugins.
• Pick Devin Desktop if you want an AI-native editor with Tab completions, a choice of models including Cognition’s SWE family, and one place to manage local and cloud Devin agents.
• Use both if you like the editor: Devin Desktop can run Claude’s agent inside it over ACP, and both read AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md.

At a glance

	Claude Code	Windsurf / Devin Desktop
Maker	Anthropic	Cognition
Starting point	Agent first (terminal)	Editor first (VS Code-based IDE)
Built-in agent	Claude Code	Devin Local (replaced Cascade)
Models	Claude models only	Cognition SWE models (e.g. SWE-1.x, SWE-2), plus Claude, GPT and Gemini depending on plan
Inline completions	No dedicated autocomplete	Tab, powered by SWE-1-mini
Other agents in the app	—	Claude Agent, Codex, Gemini CLI and others via ACP (Pro, Max, Teams)
IDE plugins	VS Code (and forks), JetBrains	JetBrains plugin in maintenance mode
Project instructions	CLAUDE.md (can read AGENTS.md)	AGENTS.md (recommended), CLAUDE.md, .devin/rules/, legacy .windsurf/rules/
Reusable workflows	Skills (SKILL.md)	Skills in .devin/skills/ (workflows not supported in Devin Local)
Subagents	Yes, .claude/agents/	Yes
Hooks	Settings-based lifecycle hooks	Devin CLI hooks (.devin/hooks.v1.json; also reads .claude/settings.json)
MCP	claude mcp add, .mcp.json	.devin/mcp_config.json (project), .devin/mcp_config.local.json (personal)
Permissions	Permission modes + allow/deny rules + optional sandbox	Deny / Ask / Allow rules; sandboxing
Headless	claude -p	Devin CLI: devin -p
Cloud	Claude Code on the web	Devin cloud agents, managed from the Agent Command Center

Workflow: agent-first vs editor-first

Claude Code starts from a task. You run claude in a repo, describe the outcome, and it explores, edits, runs tests and iterates, asking permission according to your mode. It also runs as a VS Code extension and JetBrains plugin (setup guide), a desktop app and on the web.

Devin Desktop starts from the editor. You get Tab completions as you type, an agent panel for multi-step work, and the Agent Command Center, a Kanban-style view of local and cloud agents running in parallel. If you liked Windsurf for Supercomplete-style editing, that part of the experience is still the draw.

Models

Claude Code runs Claude models only. Devin Desktop offers Cognition’s own SWE models alongside models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, depending on your plan. Cognition’s docs don’t list exact Claude versions per plan, so check in the app before you choose.

A notable twist: through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), Devin Desktop can host third-party agents, including Claude’s, inside the editor. That’s a way to keep Devin Desktop’s editor and Tab while running a Claude-based agent.

Customisation

Instructions. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md every session (how to write one). Devin recommends AGENTS.md but also reads CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.local.md, .devin/rules/ and legacy Windsurf rules. A shared AGENTS.md, imported from CLAUDE.md with @AGENTS.md, serves both.

Skills. Both support SKILL.md skills: .claude/skills/ in Claude Code, .devin/skills/ in Devin. Writing to the open Agent Skills standard keeps them portable. Old Windsurf workflows need converting to skills.

Memories. Cascade’s auto-generated memories are gone; Devin Local doesn’t keep memories across sessions. Claude Code relies on CLAUDE.md plus its own auto memory, which you can review with /memory.

Hooks. Claude Code’s hooks cover many lifecycle events. Devin CLI documents hooks such as PreToolUse, PostToolUse, UserPromptSubmit, Stop and SessionStart, and can read hook definitions from .claude/settings.json. Devin’s docs don’t spell out whether every CLI hook applies inside Devin Desktop’s agent, so test before relying on one for enforcement.

Packaging. Claude Code plugins and team marketplaces have no direct equivalent in Devin Desktop today, and the third-party ecosystem of skills, subagents and kits is still larger on the Claude Code side.

Safety

Claude Code uses permission modes (default, acceptEdits, plan, auto and more), allow/deny rules, and an optional OS-level sandbox via /sandbox.

Devin Desktop replaced Cascade’s terminal auto-execution levels (Disabled, Allowlist Only, Auto, Turbo) with Deny / Ask / Allow permission rules, and Devin Local adds sandboxing. Devin CLI exposes permission modes such as accept-edits, smart and dangerous.

MCP

Both support MCP. Claude Code adds servers with claude mcp add and shares them through .mcp.json. Devin uses .devin/mcp_config.json for project servers you commit and .devin/mcp_config.local.json for personal ones; older Windsurf MCP config under ~/.codeium/ was left in place by the transition. The servers in our best MCP servers list work with either.

Automation

claude -p "task" runs Claude Code headlessly with JSON output options (headless guide) and powers its GitHub Actions integration. On Cognition’s side, Devin CLI runs headlessly with devin -p, and cloud Devin agents handle longer background tasks. If you need CI, compare Claude Code’s official action with how your team would run Devin’s CLI or cloud agents in your pipeline.

Team setup

Claude Code shares configuration as files you commit: CLAUDE.md, .claude/skills/, .claude/agents/, .claude/settings.json and .mcp.json. A teammate who clones the repo gets the same agent behaviour, and a private plugin marketplace distributes shared skills and hooks across many repos. Admins can enforce policy through managed settings.

Devin Desktop also reads committed files (AGENTS.md, .devin/rules/, .devin/skills/, .devin/mcp_config.json) and keeps personal overrides in .local variants that stay out of git. Its Teams and Enterprise plans add organisation management, and the Agent Command Center gives a shared view of which agents are running.

The practical difference for teams is lock-in risk. Windsurf users have just been through a rename, an agent replacement and a migration from workflows and memories to skills. Whichever tool you pick, keeping conventions in AGENTS.md and procedures in standard SKILL.md files means the next change costs an afternoon, not a quarter.

A one-week trial plan

1. Pick four real tasks: a bug fix, a small feature, a refactor across several files, and a test-writing task.
2. Share one instruction file (AGENTS.md) so both tools start with the same conventions.
3. Run each task in both, each in its own branch or git worktree.
4. Score passing tests without help, number of corrections, diff size and review time.
5. Check the cost against your plan’s usage after the week, not after one task.

Choose Claude Code if

• You work mostly in the terminal and delegate whole tasks.
• You want Claude models with plan mode and graded permissions.
• You rely on skills, subagents, hooks, plugins or a ready-made Claude kit.
• You’d rather not migrate again after the Windsurf-to-Devin changes.

Choose Devin Desktop if

• You want an AI editor with strong Tab completions.
• You want to switch between Cognition’s SWE models and other vendors.
• You want local and cloud agents managed from one dashboard, or already use Devin.
• You want to run several agents, including Claude’s, inside one editor via ACP.

Migrating from Windsurf to Claude Code

1. Rules → CLAUDE.md. Move .windsurf/rules/ content into AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md. Keep it short; procedures become skills.
2. Workflows → skills. Each Windsurf workflow maps naturally to a .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md, invoked as a slash command.
3. Memories → CLAUDE.md. Copy the ones still true; delete the rest.
4. MCP → .mcp.json. Re-add each server with claude mcp add --scope project.
5. Editor. Install the Claude Code extension in VS Code, or keep Devin Desktop as your editor and run claude in its terminal.

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