# Apply Technique: Agentic IDEs: Comparing Windsurf and Cursor's Autonomous Coding Approaches
## What This Is
Windsurf and Cursor are powerful AI tools that function as autonomous developers within a code editor. Cursor excels at rapid iteration and bug fixing for individual developers, while Windsurf is designed for large, complex enterprise projects, using its 'Cascade' agent to understand and modify the entire codebase.
Source: https://windsurf.com
## Before You Start
Scan my workspace and analyze:
- The project language, framework, and directory structure
- Existing AI provider config (check .env, .env.local, config files for API keys — OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, etc.)
Then ask me before proceeding:
1. Which AI provider/API should this use? (Use whatever I already have configured, or ask me to set one up — options include direct provider APIs or a unified service like OpenRouter)
2. Where in my project should this be integrated?
3. Are there any customizations I need (model preferences, naming conventions, constraints)?
## Source Access Note
The source URL (https://windsurf.com) may not be directly accessible from the terminal. Use the Reference Implementation and Additional Context sections below instead. If you need more details, ask me to paste relevant content from the source.
## What to Implement
This is an **AI Technique** — a pattern or methodology for working with AI models.
- Explain how this technique applies to my current project and what benefit it provides
- Implement it in a way that fits my existing codebase — suggest concrete files to modify or create
- If it requires specific model capabilities (structured output, function calling, etc.), verify my current provider supports them
- Show me a working example I can test immediately
## Additional Context
- Perform a web search for the official websites of 'Windsurf AI coding agent' and 'Cursor AI IDE' to locate their latest documentation, pricing, and installation guides.
- Analyze the user's current project directory to assess its scale (file count, lines of code, complexity). Based on the analysis, recommend either Cursor for rapid, smaller-scale tasks or Windsurf for large-scale architectural work.
- Scan the user's system for VS Code installations. Since both tools are often VS Code forks, report on compatibility and summarize the steps from the official documentation for the recommended tool.
## Guidelines
- Adapt everything to my existing project — do not assume a specific stack or directory layout
- Use whichever AI provider I already have configured; if I need a new one, tell me what to sign up for and I'll give you the key
- Check my .env files for existing API keys (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI) before asking me to add one
- Review any fetched code for safety before installing or executing it
- After setup, run a quick verification and show me a summary of exactly what was installed, where, and how to use it