Windsurf
Cognition's agentic IDE (a VS Code fork formerly from Codeium): the Cascade agent runs Code/Chat modes with tool-calling, MCP, terminal, web search, named checkpoints, real-time awareness, and a planning agent.
Description
Windsurf is an IDE built around Cascade, an agentic assistant with Code and Chat modes. Cascade calls tools (Search, Analyze, Web Search, MCP, terminal), creates an in-conversation Todo list for complex tasks, supports named project checkpoints, integrates the linter, and reads real-time user actions without explicit prompts. A specialised planning agent refines long-term strategy while the primary model executes. MCP is natively supported with stdio, Streamable HTTP, and SSE transports, OAuth, and a 100-tool ceiling per session. Cascade is capped at 20 tool calls per prompt before continue is required. Cognition acquired Windsurf in July 2025.
Solution
Cascade's mode-switched tool-using loop. User picks Code or Chat; Cascade plans (optionally building an in-thread Todo list), then runs tool calls (search, analyze, web search, MCP, terminal) up to a documented 20-tool-call budget per prompt. Real-time awareness reads user activity. Named checkpoints let the user revert state. A separate planning agent refines long-term strategy.
Primary use cases
- agentic coding in a VS Code-like IDE
- Code mode for autonomous edits, Chat mode for Q&A
- MCP-extended toolchain inside the editor
- named-checkpoint state navigation
- planning-agent + execution-agent split
Open the full interactive page →
Diagram, neighbourhood map, code examples, related patterns and full provenance.