Windsurf is now called Devin Desktop, and teams that approved Windsurf need to know what changed in the app, the agent, the file paths and the admin settings. Devin Desktop is Cognition's AI development environment: an editor based on the former Windsurf IDE, with a local coding agent, cloud delegation to Devin and an Agent Command Center for managing several agents. This page sets out the rename timeline, what carried over from Windsurf, the plans and prices, the models, the supported platforms, the admin and data controls and the release history. It is written for developers, platform teams and IT administrators who manage the transition or are evaluating the product. Last checked: 2026-11-15.
This is an independent guide from NHI Mgmt Group, based on Cognition's public Devin Desktop documentation as of November 2026. It is not sponsored or reviewed by Cognition. Product features change, so confirm settings against Cognition's current documentation.
Key takeaways
- Same IDE, new name. Cognition's FAQ states that Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf; the rename shipped as an over-the-air update in v3.0.12 on 2 June 2026.
- Devin Local replaced Cascade. Devin Local, which shares its harness with Devin CLI, is the primary local agent, and the changelog records Cascade being removed in v3.9.19 on 8 September 2026.
- Plans and prices were unchanged by the rename. As of November 2026 the pricing page lists Free ($0), Pro ($20 per month), Max ($200 per month), Teams ($80 per month plus $40 per full seat) and Enterprise (custom).
- Many legacy names remain. Package repositories, update hosts, the
~/.codeium/path,.windsurf/rules/and the Windows policy key still carry Windsurf or Codeium names, which matters for allow-lists and MDM. - Controls live in team settings and device policies. Model allow-lists, MCP allow-lists, Devin Local enablement, web search, data retention and telemetry are set by admins, some in the dashboard and some through operating system policies.
What is Devin Desktop?
Cognition describes Devin Desktop as an Agent Development Environment. From one application a developer can run Devin on their own machine, delegate tasks to Devin in the cloud, or connect a third-party agent through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), and manage all of them from the Agent Command Center. The editor underneath is the former Windsurf IDE, with its extensions, keybindings, workflows and language servers.
- Windsurf: the agentic IDE that Cognition signed a definitive agreement to acquire, announced on its blog on 14 July 2025.
- Devin Desktop: the name used from 2 June 2026, part of bringing Devin Cloud, Devin Desktop, Devin CLI and Devin Review under one brand.
- Devin Local: the local agent inside Devin Desktop, built on the same architecture as Devin CLI.
- Devin (cloud): Cognition's cloud coding agent, a separate SKU that Devin Desktop can delegate to.
- Windsurf Plugins: extensions for JetBrains, VS Code, Eclipse, Visual Studio and NeoVim, still documented under the Windsurf name; the JetBrains plugin is in maintenance mode.
What changed from Windsurf
| Area | Windsurf | Devin Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| App name | Windsurf | Devin.app, Devin.exe, or devin on Linux |
| Primary view | Editor with Cascade panel | Agent Command Center, with the classic editor still available |
| Local agent | Cascade | Devin Local |
| Command line launcher | surf | devin-desktop, installed from the command palette; legacy surf and windsurf binaries still ship |
| Rules folder | .windsurf/rules/ | .devin/rules/ preferred and takes precedence; the old folder still works; AGENTS.md and .cursor/rules also read |
| Ignore files | .codeiumignore, .windsurfignore | Both still read; .devinignore added |
| Linux package | windsurf | devin-desktop; windsurf stays as a transitional package |
| Data path | ~/.codeium/ | Legacy ~/.codeium/ paths unchanged; new Devin data paths added |
On first run, users can choose to migrate from Windsurf, which copies settings, keybindings, snippets, workspace state and extensions, and skips caches, logs, crash dumps and Local History. Nothing is copied if the user starts fresh or a Devin data directory already exists. Cognition's FAQ asked IT teams to add Devin to device management and endpoint allow-lists before 2 June 2026, because policies that only allow Windsurf may block the renamed app.
Key facts at a glance
As of 15 November 2026, from Cognition's Devin Desktop documentation and pricing page.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Developer | Cognition |
| Product type | AI development environment (IDE with local and cloud agents) |
| Former name | Windsurf (renamed 2 June 2026, v3.0.12) |
| Local agent | Devin Local (Cascade removed 8 September 2026) |
| Earliest changelog entry | v1.6.1, 2 April 2025 |
| Latest stable version seen | v3.11.216, 24 October 2026 |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows 10 and later, Linux (tarball, deb, rpm) |
| Plans | Free, Pro, Max, Teams, Enterprise |
| Cognition models | SWE-2, SWE-2 Flash, SWE-1.7, SWE-1.6, SWE-1-mini, plus swe-grep and swe-check |
| Agent protocols | ACP for third-party agents; MCP servers for tools |
Plans and pricing
Prices as listed on devin.ai/pricing on 15 November 2026, in US dollars per month. The FAQ states that the rename did not change plans or pricing, including legacy Windsurf Enterprise plans.
| Plan | Price | What the pricing page lists |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Light quota, limited model availability, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions |
| Pro | $20 | Higher quotas, frontier and open source models, Devin Cloud access, extra usage at API pricing |
| Max | $200 | Everything in Pro with significantly higher quotas |
| Teams | $80 for the team plus $40 per full dev seat | Up to 100 users, multiplayer sessions, SAML or OIDC SSO, three cost-control usage tiers, centralised billing |
| Enterprise | Custom | SCIM, role-based access control, centralised admin controls, dedicated deployment option |
- Usage model: paid plans have a usage allowance that refreshes daily and weekly; usage beyond it is bought at API pricing. Self-serve plans moved to usage-based billing in March 2026, and free trials of paid plans are not offered.
- Teams seats: a full seat carries $40 per month of usage across Devin products; flex seats draw on shared on-demand credits.
- Add-on credits: Teams and Enterprise add-on credits are pooled at $120 per 1,000 credits, do not expire, and need an active subscription.
- Enterprise billing: Agent Compute Units (ACUs), with the included amount set by contract.
- Devin Cloud: a separate SKU; Devin Desktop does not require Devin cloud usage, and local-only agents still work.
Models available
The Devin Desktop models page lists Cognition's own SWE models and third-party frontier models. Admins can see available models and prices with the List Models API and restrict them with the Update Model Allowlist API.
| Model | Source | Use as described |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-2 | Cognition | Flagship software engineering model; Medium, High and Max |
| SWE-2 Flash | Cognition | Devin Desktop and Devin CLI; Medium on Free, High and Max on paid plans |
| SWE-1.7 and SWE-1.6 | Cognition | Previous flagship and previous-generation agent models |
| SWE-1-mini | Cognition | Passive suggestions in Tab |
| swe-grep and swe-check | Cognition | Context retrieval and Fast Context; Quick Review |
| Claude Fable 5.2 | Anthropic | Paid, non-trial plans as rollout reaches the organisation |
| Gemini 3.7 Flash, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Gemini 4 Argon | Listed Gemini models | |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | OpenAI | Listed GPT model |
Fusion pairs a frontier lead model with a cost-efficient sidekick, each billed at its own rate, and an Adaptive model router was added in April 2026.
Features and modes
Devin Local modes
| Mode | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Code (default) | Writes and edits code; auto-approves edits inside the workspace; shell commands, web fetches and MCP tools prompt unless an allow rule covers them |
| Smart | Like Code, with a fast model judging whether other actions are safe; package installs, mutating git, rm, sudo, destructive cloud CLI operations and sensitive files always prompt; rolling out gradually |
| Ask | Read-only questions and exploration |
| Plan | Read-only exploration that writes an implementation plan to ~/.devin/plans/, outside the repository |
| Bypass Permissions | Auto-approves all tool calls; organisation deny and ask rules still take priority |
When sandboxing is enabled, the session runs in Autonomous mode instead: an operating system level sandbox limits what commands can touch, and the user is prompted for capabilities such as network access rather than for each command.
Other features
- Agent Command Center: one view for local, cloud and ACP agents.
- Customisations: plugins, skills, MCP servers, hooks and rules; subagents and Git worktrees.
- Editor features: Tab completions, Command, Quick Review, Codemaps, DeepWiki, previews, AI commit messages and Fast Context.
- Conversation sharing: shared links open only for logged-in team members, and need a Devin account rather than a Windsurf-only account.
- ChatGPT sign-in: added in v3.10.48 on 29 September 2026.
Supported IDEs and platforms
| Platform | Requirement or package |
|---|---|
| macOS | OS X Yosemite or later; download from devin.ai |
| Windows | Windows 10 or later; download from devin.ai |
| Linux tarball | glibc 2.28+ and glibcxx 3.4.25+ (for example Ubuntu 20, Debian 10, Fedora 36, RHEL 8); does not self-update |
| Linux deb | Ubuntu 20.04+ and Debian 10+, amd64, from windsurf-stable.codeiumdata.com |
| Linux rpm | Fedora 36+, CentOS 8+ and RHEL 8+, from windsurf-stable.codeiumdata.com |
| Other IDEs | Windsurf Plugins for JetBrains, VS Code, Eclipse, Visual Studio and NeoVim; Cognition recommends Devin over ACP for JetBrains users |
Onboarding can import settings from VS Code or Cursor. Network allow-lists need the update and download hosts such as update.windsurf.com and windsurf-stable.codeiumdata.com, and Cognition Platform customers also need app.devin.ai and api.devin.ai.
Enterprise and admin controls
| Control | Where it is set | Notes from the docs |
|---|---|---|
| Allowlisted models | Team settings, Models | Filter by model or provider |
| Devin CLI permissions | Team settings, Permissions and security | Governs Devin Local and Devin CLI; organisation deny and ask rules apply in every mode |
| MCP allowlist and MCP registry | Team settings, MCP and ACP | Once one server is allow-listed, all others are blocked |
| Devin Local Agent | Team settings, Features | Off by default on Enterprise plans |
| Web search | Team settings, Permissions and security | Disabled by default for enterprise teams; blocking it does not stop reads of specific URLs |
| Share conversations | Team settings, Sharing | Links limited to logged-in team members |
| Data retention | Team settings, Data retention | Toggles for Anthropic and OpenAI models that require retention for trust and safety verification |
| TelemetryLevel, EnableFeedback | Device policy only | TelemetryLevel accepts all, error, crash or off |
| Roles, SSO and SCIM | Account administration | RBAC role management; changing team settings needs the Devin Desktop admin permission |
Device policies are enforced by the operating system before sign-in: Windows Group Policy under Software\Policies\Windsurf\Devin, a macOS configuration profile, or /etc/vscode/policy.json on Linux. Some Windsurf Enterprise settings are still managed through the Windsurf dashboard.
Data handling and privacy
- Model provider retention: the Data retention section lets admins decide whether members can use Anthropic and OpenAI models that require data retention for trust and safety verification.
- Context exclusion:
.devinignore, alongside the legacy.codeiumignoreand.windsurfignore, keeps files out of agent context. - Telemetry: set centrally with the TelemetryLevel device policy.
- Plan files: Plan mode writes Markdown files to
~/.devin/plans/on the developer's machine, outside the repository.
For how coding tools spread credentials into prompts, logs and configuration, see the AI Coding Tools and Secrets Sprawl guide.
Release history
| Date | Version | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 April 2025 | v1.6.1 | Earliest entry in the Devin Desktop changelog (then Windsurf) |
| 15 May 2025 | v1.9.0 | SWE-1 model family (SWE-1, SWE-1-lite, SWE-1-mini) |
| 14 July 2025 | Announcement | Cognition announces a definitive agreement to acquire Windsurf |
| 24 December 2025 | v1.13.3 | SWE-1.5 Free |
| 6 April 2026 | v1.9600.38 | Adaptive model router |
| 29 April 2026 | v2.1.29 | Devin for Terminal, with the Devin Local agent inside Windsurf |
| 2 June 2026 | v3.0.12 | Windsurf is now Devin Desktop |
| 10 June 2026 | v3.1.7 | Devin CLI settings section renamed Devin Local |
| 8 September 2026 | v3.9.19 | Cascade removed; Devin Local becomes the only agent |
| 10 September 2026 | v3.10.23 | Fusion introduced |
| 29 September 2026 | v3.10.48 | ChatGPT sign-in |
| 24 October 2026 | v3.11.216 | Latest stable entry seen on 15 November 2026 |
Limits and known constraints
- Legacy names in infrastructure: repositories, update hosts, data paths and the Windows policy key still use Windsurf or Codeium names, so allow-lists must include both old and new names.
- Allowances refresh daily and weekly: heavy use beyond the allowance is billed at API pricing, so set usage tiers on Teams.
- Model access varies by plan: the Free plan has limited model availability, and some models need a paid, non-trial plan.
- JetBrains plugin in maintenance mode: it may break with newer JetBrains releases; Cognition points JetBrains users to Devin over ACP.
- Linux tarball does not self-update: use the deb or rpm repository for managed updates.
- Cascade-era settings: legacy Cascade controls carry over, are replaced by permissions, or are unsupported, so review old Windsurf policies after migration.
Security guidance
The customer-side controls that matter most are the Devin CLI permission rules, the MCP allow-list, the model allow-list, web search, data retention toggles and device policies set before sign-in. Detailed hardening for the IDE, including terminal execution, MDM policies and token handling, is in the Windsurf Security Guide, and controls for Cognition's cloud agent are in the Devin Security guide; this page does not repeat them. For risks that apply to rules files such as .devin/rules/ and AGENTS.md, see Coding Agent Configuration File Attacks.
Practitioner checklist
- Add Devin, Devin.app and Devin.exe to MDM and endpoint allow-lists while keeping the Windsurf entries the transitional packages still use.
- Allow the update and download hosts (update.windsurf.com, windsurf-stable.codeiumdata.com) and, where Devin cloud is used, app.devin.ai and api.devin.ai.
- Review legacy Windsurf and Cascade policies and re-express them as Devin CLI permission rules with organisation deny and ask rules.
- Set an MCP allow-list and a model allow-list before enabling Devin Local for Enterprise users, where it is off by default.
- Decide the data retention toggles for Anthropic and OpenAI models and the TelemetryLevel device policy, and record the decision.
- Move repository rules to
.devin/rules/, add.devinignoreentries for secrets and generated files, and review rules files in code review. - Use the deb or rpm repository on Linux so updates are managed, and track the changelog because versions ship frequently.
- Configure Teams usage tiers or Enterprise budgets before rollout, since usage beyond the allowance is billed at API pricing.
Standards and references
- Cognition: Devin Desktop documentation
- Cognition: Devin Desktop FAQ
- Cognition: Devin Desktop changelog
- Cognition: Admin controls reference
- Cognition: Devin Local modes
- Cognition: AI models
- Cognition: Install Devin Desktop
- Cognition: Devin pricing
- Cognition: Cognition to acquire Windsurf
Related NHI Mgmt Group resources: Windsurf Security Guide · Devin Security · AI IDE and Coding Agent Security Guide · How to audit AI coding assistant tokens and config files