01 · ABOUT

What Windsurf does

Windsurf is a desktop IDE for Mac, Windows, and Linux whose built-in Cascade agent acts as an MCP client, connecting to servers over stdio, Streamable HTTP, and SSE listed in ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json. The vendor has rebranded the editor to Devin Desktop, and its Linux packages now install devin-desktop with windsurf kept as a transitional package.

Why teams reach for it: Teams that want an editor whose agent installs MCP servers from a marketplace admins can allowlist or replace with their own registry.

Desktop appNot applicableMCP Client
02 · TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

How Windsurf compares

Fields the vendor doesn't document are left blank here rather than guessed — a blank means nothing verified, not a "no."

Platform
Desktop app
Transports
stdio, SSE, Streamable HTTP
Remote Server Support
Yes
Oauth Support
Yes
Tools
Yes
Resources
Yes
Prompts
Yes
Config Scope
user or global
One Click Install
Both
03 · NEW TO MCP?
Which host will connect to the server?

A client, or agent host, is the application — like Claude or Cursor — that actually connects to and uses an MCP server.