Heidelberg AI Curriculum

Local & self-hosted appsCognition (formerly Codeium; renamed Windsurf to Devin Desktop in 2026)

Overview

Verdict: pick Devin Desktop if you'd rather hand whole coding tasks to agents and watch them on a board than work beside one in the editor. Windsurf became Devin Desktop on 2 June 2026; Devin Local replaced Cascade. Pro is $20 a month and the next step is $200. Cursor is the closest rival.

Other good fits

Running several agents side by side, locally or in Devin's cloud, each in its own Git worktree that you merge when you're happy.
Keeping another agent you already use, such as OpenCode or Claude's agent, inside the same window.

Pros

Read pros

Devin Desktop is Cognition's AI code editor. Until 2 June 2026 it was called Windsurf; the rename came as an automatic update, and plans and extensions stayed the same. Its main agent is now Devin Local, which replaced Cascade. Existing Cascade conversations remain available, but new tabs start with Devin Local.

Pick it when you want to delegate, not pair. The Agent Command Center is a Kanban-style board that shows every local and cloud agent and what each is doing.
Pick it when you want parallel work you can undo. Devin Local can run a session in a separate Git worktree and spawn subagents. You click Merge only when you accept the result.
Pick it when you want control over commands. Permission rules set each action to Allow, Ask or Deny. Plan mode only reads the project and writes up an approach for your approval.
Pick it when you use other agents too. It supports the Agent Client Protocol, so OpenCode and Claude's agent can run inside it.

Cons

Read cons

Pick something else when you need a middle plan. Cursor has Pro+ at $60; Devin Desktop jumps from $20 to $200.
Pick something else when you want to own the model choice and the bill. OpenCode is free software and works with any provider or a local model.
Pick something else when your team lives on GitHub and wants a lighter assistant. GitHub Copilot sits inside the editor you already use.
The rename is recent. Some docs and tutorials still say Windsurf or Cascade, and Linux packages moved from windsurf to devin-desktop. Devin Local doesn't support Cascade's memories and workflows yet; a migration wizard turns them into skills.

Avoid if

You want to choose and pay for the model yourself. OpenCode is free and works with your own provider or a local model.

Workflow

Open a version-controlled project -> give the agent one limited request -> inspect its plan, changed files, terminal commands, and diff -> run the project's own checks before accepting or committing. Restricted Mode disables local agents for an open workspace.

Cost

Read cost

Prices checked 23 September 2026 (devin.ai/pricing, USD):

Plan	Price	What changes
Free	$0	Light agent quota, limited models, unlimited Tab completions
Pro	$20/month	Larger quotas, frontier models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others, Devin Cloud agents
Max	$200/month	Much higher quotas
Teams	$80/month + $40 per full seat	Shared billing, admin analytics, flexible seats
Enterprise	On request	SSO, admin controls, dedicated or VPC deployment

Each paid plan has a usage allowance that refreshes daily and weekly. Beyond it, extra usage is billed at API prices, so a busy week can cost more than the plan. Self-serve plans moved to this model in March 2026; prompt credits now apply only to legacy Enterprise contracts. Cognition's own SWE-2 model is free in Devin Desktop and the CLI until 10 October 2026. Annual discounts aren't shown on the pricing page.

Running effort: install the app (macOS, Windows or Linux), sign in with a Devin account, and set permission rules once per project.

Restrictions

Devin Desktop requires a Devin account. Current documentation lists downloads for macOS, Windows, and Linux; Linux package instructions have specific distribution and library requirements. MCP servers extend the agent's capabilities, so their trust and permission scope need separate review.

First project

Documentation-based suggestion — not run here.

Read first project

Company: a small repository holds the script that builds your monthly customer list. Lab: it holds the notebook export that cleans instrument data.

Commit the project to Git. Open it in Devin Desktop and start a Devin Local session in plan mode.
Ask: "Add a check that stops with a clear message if the input file has duplicate IDs. Show me the plan first."
Approve the plan and let it run in a worktree. Leave the permission for shell commands on Ask.
Review the diff, run the script on a clean file and on a file with a duplicate, then merge.

You're done when the clean file behaves as before, the duplicate gives a readable message, and the change sits in one commit. Compare editors in T08-L02.

Links & evidence

Documentation-based · not hands-on · Sep 23, 2026

Based on Cognition's pricing page, the rename announcement, the Devin Desktop FAQ, getting-started, usage and Devin Local docs, and Cursor's pricing page, all checked 23 September 2026. We did not run Devin Desktop for this review; the curriculum team uses OpenCode Desktop day to day. The catalogue ID stays windsurf for the product now called Devin Desktop.

Windsurf is now Devin Desktop · Sep 23, 2026 — Rename on 2 June 2026; Devin Local succeeds Cascade; Agent Command Center; Agent Client Protocol with OpenCode and Claude's agent.
Devin pricing · Sep 23, 2026 — Free $0, Pro $20, Max $200, Teams $80 + $40 per full seat; daily/weekly allowance; extra usage at API pricing; SWE-2 free until 10 Oct 2026.
Devin Desktop plans and usage · Sep 23, 2026 — Usage-based model for self-serve plans since March 2026; prompt credits only on legacy Enterprise.
Devin Local agent · Sep 23, 2026 — Allow/Ask/Deny permissions, plan mode, subagents, worktrees with Merge; Cascade is legacy with a migration wizard.
Welcome to Devin Desktop · Sep 23, 2026 — Devin account required; macOS, Windows and Linux; Linux package renamed to devin-desktop.
Cursor pricing · Sep 23, 2026 — Comparison: Cursor Pro+ $60 middle plan and Teams $40 per user.

Further review notes & alternatives

Alternatives and trade-offs

	Devin Desktop	Cursor
Made by	Cognition	Cursor, part of SpaceX since August 2026
Idea	Editor plus a board for local and cloud agents	Editor where the agent works alongside you
Runs other agents	Yes (OpenCode, Claude's agent)	No
Middle plan	None: $20, then $200	Pro+ $60
Team price	$80/month + $40 per full seat	$40 per user

Cursor wins when you work in the editor yourself and want a sensible middle plan.
OpenCode wins for beginners in this curriculum: it's what the Write code track teaches, and you choose the model.
Claude Code wins when your organisation already pays for Claude.

Learn more

Catalogue facts

Use Cascade to plan and apply multi-file changes inside a VS Code-based editor. Run terminal commands, install dependencies, and iterate on runnable code. Import repositories or turn analysis tasks into working Python projects.

Cognition (formerly Codeium; renamed Windsurf to Devin Desktop in 2026) · free-tier · cloud

code generation
multi-file refactor
dependency installation
terminal automation
project planning
snapshot revert
git integration
database connectivity
write-code
build-app
automate
data-analytics

View sourced image

Windsurf Cascade voice-input panel with prompt composer and recording controls. — Still frame from the official Cascade voice-input demonstration. Current Devin Desktop documentation retains this Windsurf-era interface example.

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Decision matrix

Alternatives and trade-offs

Learn more