Start here: your first Cascade task
Goal. Install Windsurf and hand the Cascade agent a whole task — turning a data file into a working Python script.
I have a BLAST output file called blast_results.txt. Write a Python script that reads it, extracts the top hit per query (e-value, accession, description), and saves a clean CSV.
Download Windsurf from windsurf.com (it redirects to devin.ai/desktop — Windsurf is now Devin Desktop). Open your project folder, then open the Cascade panel and type your task — in any language you like.
- 1Install Windsurf from windsurf.com and sign in. It is built on VS Code, so if you have used VS Code the layout is already familiar. The Free plan needs no credit card.
- 2Open a folder that contains your file (e.g. blast_results.txt), open the Cascade panel, and paste the task above. Cascade is the autonomous agent: it reads your whole project, not just the open file.
- 3Cascade plans the change, writes the script, explains its parsing logic, and — if Python is installed — runs it for you. Review its proposed edits before you accept them.
You'll see. A working Python script that Cascade wrote, explained, and ran — producing a clean CSV from your data file, all from one plain-English task.
Cost. The Free plan ($0/month) includes unlimited Tab completions, unlimited inline edits, and a light agent quota — enough to follow this course, though heavy agent use exhausts it in ~2–3 real coding days.
Takeaway. Windsurf's Cascade agent takes a whole task, not a single line: describe the outcome and it writes, explains, and runs real code across your project.