Verdict: choose Augment Code when codebase retrieval across large repositories is the first requirement and developers want to remain in VS Code or JetBrains. Choose Devin Desktop, the current name for Windsurf, when you want a full IDE organized around local and cloud agent fleets, shared Spaces, worktrees, and a board for review. Augment has the stronger independent context product. Devin Desktop has the stronger all-agents-in-one-editor product.
- Windsurf is now Devin Desktop; existing plans, extensions, settings, and work carry through the update.
- Augment fits inside VS Code and JetBrains; Devin Desktop is a complete editor with an agent command center.
- Augment leads with retrieval through its Context Engine, MCP, SDK, and cross-source connectors.
- Devin Desktop leads with agent fleet UX: local and cloud agents, Spaces, a board, shared worktrees, and an IDE in one surface.
- Both can run background work, so the deciding issue is ownership of context, editor, execution, and review.
- Migration is asymmetric: editor settings can move; vendor indexes, histories, usage records, and cloud workflows cannot.
Verdict first
Augment Code is the stronger pick for a company that has standardized on VS Code or JetBrains and wants a persistent context layer across a large code estate. Developers keep the IDE they already know, while Augment's Agent, Auggie CLI, Context Engine MCP, and Cosmos use the same retrieval thesis. The value appears when code search and dependency discovery consume more time than writing the final patch.
Devin Desktop is the stronger pick when the editor should become the operating surface for many agents. Cognition describes it as a command center for local and cloud agents, with a board, list view, shared Spaces, git worktrees, a full IDE, fast context, diff review, and cloud handoff. It also exposes several agent runtimes through Agent Client Protocol, including Devin, Codex, Claude Agent, OpenCode, and Cascade on the current product page.
Current product pages checked August 10, 2026. Windsurf remains the name of the prior product and JetBrains plugin.
| Criterion | Augment Code | Windsurf / Devin Desktop | Call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current product identity | Augment Code, Auggie, Context Engine, Cosmos | Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf | Know what you are buying |
| Editor model | Extension inside VS Code or JetBrains | Full IDE descended from Windsurf | Preference |
| Primary claim | Semantic context across complex codebases | Command center for local and cloud agents | Different centers |
| Local agents | IDE Agent and Auggie CLI | Several agents through ACP | Devin Desktop for fleet view |
| Cloud work | Cosmos and cloud sessions | Devin Cloud and handoff from local work | Depends |
| Context portability | MCP, SDK, and connectors | Fast Context and shared Spaces inside Cognition | Augment |
| JetBrains | First-class Augment extension | Windsurf for JetBrains continues separately | Augment for current command surface |
| Entry for one developer | Current public offer is team-oriented | Free, then $20/mo Pro | Devin Desktop |
| Team administration | $100 Business up to 50 seats; Enterprise controls | Teams and Enterprise with Cognition admin | Compare contracts |
What the Windsurf rename changed
Cognition's current product page answers the naming question directly: Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf. The standard over-the-air update carries plans, pricing, extensions, settings, and in-progress work forward. The IDE remains available, including autocomplete and debugging tools. The product emphasis moved toward an Agent Command Center that manages several local and cloud agents.
That shift makes old comparisons misleading. Cascade against Augment Agent was a close editor-agent comparison. Devin Desktop against Augment Code now includes two broader systems. Cognition combines the editor, Devin Cloud, local agents, Spaces, worktrees, agent boards, context, and review. Augment combines IDE and CLI agents with Context Engine, Context Services, Slack, code review, remote execution, and Cosmos workflows across the software delivery process.
The migration path also differs by client. Windsurf users on the desktop line receive Devin Desktop as the successor. Windsurf for JetBrains continues to be available according to Cognition's page, while the new command-center experience is presented through Devin Desktop. A JetBrains organization should test the exact plugin feature set it will deploy instead of assuming complete parity with the desktop product.
| Search-era term | Current interpretation |
|---|---|
| Windsurf editor | Devin Desktop, with the IDE foundation retained |
| Cascade | One agent option within the wider Cognition agent surface |
| Windsurf cloud agent | Devin Cloud and cloud handoff in the current product family |
| Windsurf plan | Existing pricing carries over; new buyers use current Devin plans |
| Windsurf for JetBrains | A continuing JetBrains plugin, separate from the full desktop command center |
Context Engine against Fast Context and Spaces
Augment's strongest argument remains retrieval. The Context Engine maintains a live semantic index, ranks relevant code, and can include commit history, documentation, tickets, and other connected sources. Context Services expose retrieval through MCP, TypeScript and Python SDKs, and open-source connectors. A team can keep using that layer if it changes the agent that writes code.
Devin Desktop presents Fast Context as the way agents find exact files and lines quickly. Spaces share context and git worktrees across agents, so a group of local and cloud sessions can operate around the same task. Cognition also owns DeepWiki and Ask Devin in the wider product family. The current page shows context as part of a complete agent workspace rather than a separately sold retrieval platform.
The fair evaluation uses two scores. Retrieval recall asks whether the system surfaced the correct evidence. Fleet continuity asks whether several agents, branches, reviews, and handoffs stayed understandable to a human operator. Augment should win the first to justify its positioning. Devin Desktop should win the second to justify changing the editor. A buyer should reject any pilot that scores only response eloquence.
| Test | What good looks like | Failure to record |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-service question | Cites every required implementation and contract | Missed caller, duplicate name, stale path |
| Recent branch change | Uses the branch state the developer is editing | Index lag or context from main |
| Permission boundary | Excludes repositories the user cannot read | Unauthorized snippet or unexplained omission |
| Three-agent feature | Each branch and dependency remains traceable | Conflicting edits or lost task ownership |
| Cloud handoff | Environment, plan, and evidence survive the move | Repeated setup or missing context |
| Review | Reviewer can connect each change to requirement and test | Large diff with no trustworthy narrative |
The editor decision
Augment asks for an extension. That matters in organizations where IDE setup encodes years of shortcuts, debuggers, language plugins, licenses, remote-development settings, and accessibility preferences. VS Code and JetBrains users can add Augment without replacing that base. Auggie CLI covers terminal users, though it does not turn Vim, Xcode, or Visual Studio into a first-class Augment completion surface.
Devin Desktop asks the developer to use Cognition's editor for the full experience. The return is tighter integration between code, agent sessions, Spaces, a board, diff review, local execution, and cloud handoff. The cost is editor adoption. VS Code lineage helps with extensions and familiar mechanics, yet company-specific forks can diverge in release cadence, settings, policy, and extension behavior. Test the actual languages and remote setups your team uses.
Neither choice must cover the entire company. Platform teams often need a supported default plus exceptions. Augment can serve VS Code and JetBrains-heavy groups while other editors use separate agents. Devin Desktop can go to engineers who run many parallel agents while colleagues keep their current IDE. Tool uniformity is valuable only when it reduces support and collaboration cost. Forced uniformity can increase both.
Local, remote, and cloud agents
Augment supports local work through its IDE agent and Auggie CLI, and cloud or remote work through its agent platform. Cosmos expands the scope to triggered and scheduled workflows across triage, specification, implementation, review, testing, deployment, and feedback. Augment says agents can run in its cloud sandboxes, on self-hosted virtual machines, or on a laptop. Shared memory and filesystem concepts are designed for team-level continuity.
Devin Desktop manages local and cloud agents from the editor. A developer can run a local agent in a Space, share git worktrees and context, then hand a plan to Devin Cloud. The same product includes a full IDE for reading, tracing, debugging, and adjusting the returned work. Cognition also sells Devin as a web, Slack, Teams, API, and terminal agent with its own managed environment.
The execution decision should focus on environment fidelity and review. A managed sandbox is useful for clean, repeatable tasks and work that must continue after the laptop closes. A local agent is useful when the VPN, proprietary compiler, device, credentials, database, or debugging state already lives on the developer machine. Both vendors cover more than one environment, so test the hard setup rather than the empty demo repository.
| Task shape | Stronger first trial |
|---|---|
| Large codebase question before any edit | Augment Code |
| Several local agents visible in one editor board | Devin Desktop |
| JetBrains workflow with deep retrieval | Augment Code |
| Local plan handed to a managed cloud developer | Devin Desktop |
| Context service supplied to several third-party agents | Augment Code |
| Full IDE takeover of a cloud agent session | Devin / Devin Desktop |
| Organization-wide triggered software workflows | Evaluate Cosmos and Devin |
When to pick each
| Choose Augment Code when | Choose Devin Desktop when |
|---|---|
| Cross-repo semantic retrieval is the main buying reason | The multi-agent board is the main working surface |
| VS Code or JetBrains must remain the standard IDE | A VS Code-derived full IDE is acceptable |
| The context layer should serve other MCP-compatible agents | Local and cloud agents should share Spaces and worktrees |
| Slack codebase questions need an official product path | Engineers need to take over agent work inside a full IDE |
| A team wants Context Engine SDKs and connectors | Individual pricing and a free starting plan matter |
| Enterprise retrieval and codebase policy dominate | Cognition is already the chosen cloud-agent vendor |
For a small VS Code project, Devin Desktop has the easier individual purchase and a richer editor package. Augment's retrieval advantage has less room to show when every relevant file fits in a developer's head. For a ten-year monorepo split across JetBrains teams, Augment has a direct testable claim. The codebase should determine how much value the index can create.
For a team already using Windsurf, inertia is legitimate. Devin Desktop arrives through the existing update path and preserves settings and extensions. Switching should require a measured deficit, such as retrieval failures, enterprise policy gaps, or a strong requirement to keep JetBrains as the primary surface. A new logo alone creates no migration requirement.
Migration notes
Move repository behavior before moving people. Collect Windsurf rules, workspace settings, MCP definitions, extension requirements, run commands, cloud environment setup, and review conventions. In Augment, map durable guidance to workspace rules or .augment-guidelines, then rebuild MCP and automation with explicit credentials. In the other direction, map Augment guidance into the instruction formats supported by each Devin Desktop agent.
Freeze the source configuration
Export editor settings and list extensions, rules, models, repositories, secrets, and automations. Record plan and usage data for the final month.
Choose three representative repositories
Use a small service, the largest monorepo, and a repository with difficult local setup. One clean TypeScript app is insufficient.
Rebuild permissions deliberately
Grant repository, issue, pull-request, Slack, and tool access from zero. Avoid copying a broad token simply because it worked in the old client.
Run retrieval and execution tests
Grade known-answer architecture questions, implementation tasks, cloud handoff, branch isolation, tests, and reviewer time.
Keep a rollback window
Leave the old editor or extension installed for one release cycle. Vendor histories and indexes do not transfer, so preserve any required audit export.
A partial migration is often the correct result. Keep Devin Desktop for the agent board and add Augment Context Engine MCP to a supported agent, or keep Augment in JetBrains while a subgroup uses Devin Desktop for cloud-heavy work. The goal is a smaller operating burden per accepted change. Tool consolidation is a means, not the score.
Where Continuum fits
Continuum overlaps with Devin Desktop at the workbench layer and with neither product at the semantic-index layer. It runs supported official agents in separate git worktrees and keeps chat, plan, diff, pull request, terminal, and artifacts attached to one session. It has no inline completion, no full text editor, and no proprietary cross-repo Context Engine. Those omissions make it a companion to an editor or retrieval service.
The useful stack is explicit. Keep Augment if its Context Engine wins retrieval tests. Use Continuum when Claude Code, Codex, Cursor agent, Gemini, Grok, or OpenCode need isolated branches, one review queue, mobile approval, and visible usage. Choose Devin Desktop when the agent board and full IDE should come from one vendor. Each purchase should own a different layer.
Questions people ask
Yes. Cognition states that Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf. Existing plans, pricing, extensions, settings, and in-progress work carry through the update. Windsurf for JetBrains continues as a separate download.
Augment is stronger when persistent semantic retrieval across a large monorepo or many repositories is the main requirement. Devin Desktop is stronger when you want a full IDE and command center for several local and cloud agents.
Augment provides a first-class JetBrains extension for its Agent and Context Engine. Cognition says Windsurf for JetBrains continues, while the new Devin Desktop agent command center is presented as a separate desktop editor. Test the exact JetBrains features your team needs.
Yes. Augment has offered remote and cloud execution, and its current Cosmos platform runs agents across cloud sandboxes, self-hosted virtual machines, and laptops according to its product announcement.
Yes. Cognition advertises Fast Context for finding relevant files and lines, and Spaces for sharing context and git worktrees across local and cloud agents. Augment exposes its Context Engine as a wider retrieval product through MCP, SDKs, and connectors.
Devin Desktop has the clearer individual ladder: Free, Pro at $20 a month, and Max at $200 as of August 2026. Augment currently advertises a $100 monthly Business plan for up to 50 seats and a custom Enterprise plan.
Editor settings and ordinary repository files can be preserved, though vendor-specific rules, agent history, indexes, Spaces, cloud environments, and usage records do not transfer automatically. Recreate each integration and test its permissions.
Yes. Augment documents Context Engine MCP for compatible agents, plus TypeScript and Python SDKs and context connectors. This makes a mixed setup possible when you prefer another agent or workbench.
Sources
Every figure above was read from these pages on August 2026. Vendors reprice without notice; if you find a stale number, tell us.