The best Windsurf alternatives in 2026

Windsurf is an IDE from Cognition, the company behind Devin. On June 2, 2026, Cognition renamed it Devin Desktop, and calls it the same IDE, with the same editor and features, under the Devin brand. This guide is for developers who want an agent that takes the whole task: what to look for, why we put DCode first, and the other tools worth a look, each described from its own pages. We build DCode, so read our pick as our view.

What should you look for in a Windsurf alternative?

• An agent that finishes the job. One prompt in, and the task carried through: the plan, the edits, your tests and a report of what was verified.
• Work in parallel. A large task with independent parts goes faster when several agents take them at once.
• Reach beyond the editor. Some of the work happens in a browser or a desktop app, not in a file.
• Your own tools. MCP servers, skills and plugins let the agent reach a database, an issue tracker or an internal tool.
• The terminal as well. The same agent from the command line, in any shell, editor or script.
• A model built for agent work. Look at results on tests of long, multi-step work, then run a task of your own.

Why do we put DCode first?

Because DCode is built around the agent. Give it one prompt and a crew of up to 24 agents reads your codebase, plans the change, edits files, runs your tests and reports what was verified. Before it changes anything, DCode indexes the repository tree, type definitions and dependency graph, so each change lands in its full context. Your compilers, linters and test suites run in your own terminal, and when a test fails, DCode reads the error and repairs what it broke.

While a crew works, the Crew dock under the chat header shows every agent side by side, with live counts and the Plan, Work and Review stages. A crew is counted in tokens only, from the same allowance as any other DCode work, with no separate charge for agents working in parallel. How the agent compares with autocomplete and AI-first editors is in our story on why we side with the agent.

What can DCode do beyond the editor?

• Browser Use. DCode opens pages in its own built-in browser, reads them, clicks and types, to look things up and to test your work. Sites you sign in to can stay signed in for 30 days.
• A password manager. Passwords are kept on your computer and filled in by the app, never shown to the model.
• Your yes first. Posting, sending, buying and deleting on a website ask first, with a per-site option to stop asking.
• Computer Use. When a task leaves the terminal, DCode sees the screen and works desktop apps, on Windows and macOS. Browser Use and Computer Use are both on from a fresh install.
• MCP and the catalog. DCode speaks the Model Context Protocol natively, and its Official Marketplace syncs skills, MCP servers and plugins from our public catalog. An agent can search it, install what is missing and carry on.

Which model runs DCode?

DCode runs on the Raven model family: Raven Flash for fast agentic work, Raven Max for deep architectural refactors. In our published results, company-reported and evaluated with maximum reasoning effort, Raven Max placed first among the models compared on Agent's Last Exam, a test of long-horizon reasoning over many dependent steps, at 39.5, 7.9 points ahead of Fable 5. It also placed first on Terminal Bench 4.0, autonomous software engineering in a live terminal, at 42.8, 0.4 ahead of Fable 5.

It does not lead every agentic test. On AutomationBench, Fable 5 placed first at 48.6, with Raven Max second at 48.3; on DeepSWE v1.1, Raven Max placed fourth at 68.7, with GPT-5.6 Sol first at 70.2. All eight results are in our report on Raven Max. You also choose how hard the model thinks: Off, Low, Standard or High, with Standard as the default.

Does DCode work in the terminal?

Yes. The DCode CLI is the same agent in your terminal on Windows, macOS and Linux, with the same account and the same Raven models. It fills the terminal: a header on top, the conversation in the middle, the message box and your usage pinned at the bottom, and a live crew panel while a crew works. /model picks the model with the arrow keys, and the status line shows your model and thinking level. Install it with one line, or from npm:

# macOS and Linux
curl -fsSL https://dipoleml.com/install.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://dipoleml.com/install.ps1 | iex

# or with npm
npm install -g @dipoleml/dcode-cli

Sign in with your account or an API key; a free account works. dcode doctor checks Node.js, your PATH, our servers, your sign-in, the browser and git, and tells you what to fix. The CLI needs Node.js 22.13 or newer.

What does DCode cost?

DCode is a free download for Windows x64 and ARM64 and for macOS on Apple silicon and Intel. It draws on your plan, a Raven plan or the DCode Coding Plan, or on prepaid API credits, and you choose which in Settings. With credits, we set up the API key for DCode on your account, so there is nothing to paste. For engineers who code all day, the DCode Coding Plan is $29 a month.

Which other tools take on whole tasks?

Each is described here only as its maker describes it, and their own pages have the details.

• Windsurf, now called Devin Desktop, is Cognition's IDE. Its FAQ calls Devin Desktop the new name for Windsurf, with apps for macOS, Windows and Linux.
• Cursor, from Anysphere, is a coding agent with a desktop app, and since August 2025 its agent also runs in the terminal through the Cursor CLI.
• Claude Code, from Anthropic, is an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands, in the terminal, an IDE, a desktop app and the browser.
• OpenAI Codex is OpenAI's coding agent, across ChatGPT, your editor and the terminal; the Codex CLI runs locally on your computer.

How do I switch?

1. Download DCode for your computer from the download page, or install the CLI with the line above.
2. Sign in with Google or Apple.
3. Open the project you know best and give DCode a task with a clear end state: tests that pass, a build that is clean.
4. Pick Raven Flash for fast work or Raven Max for a deep refactor, and choose your plan or credits in Settings.

Everything DCode does is on the DCode page, and plans are on the pricing page. The install guide, the Crew guide and the CLI guide walk you through the rest.

Product names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify the products.