Windsurf, now Devin Desktop, is a strong AI editor for one developer on their own machine. Coshell is a different thing: the shared live session in the cloud that your whole team and one agent work in together.
Windsurf gives each developer their own AI editor on their own machine.Coshell puts the whole team in one shared live session with one agent.
The difference is not a better editor. It is the layer between the people: one shared live session, one shared agent, in the cloud. Every line below is running in production today.
Windsurf runs on each developer's machine, with each person prompting their own agent. Coshell puts several people in one shared live session in the cloud, prompting one agent on one running filesystem and terminal, and watching the same work land together.
Windsurf is priced per seat once you have a team. Coshell is free to self-host, no seats: run a drive on your own machine, up to five teammates in your org, unmetered, and no per-seat charge.
Coshell runs 70+ models on your own provider keys, scoped per drive, on every plan. Usage is billed by your provider, not marked up by us. Admins choose the allowed set per drive.
Windsurf is a desktop app you install per machine. Coshell runs in any browser and from the CLI, with an integrated localhost browser preview in the session, so a teammate joins from any device with nothing to set up.
| Windsurfeditor · on your machine | Coshellhosted · multiplayer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A local AI code editor (VS Code fork), now Devin Desktop | A shared cloud session where a team works with one agent |
| Collaboration | Single-player per developer; team admin and multi-agent views | Real multiplayer: many people in one live shared session |
| AI agent model | Each developer drives their own Cascade agent | One shared agent the whole team prompts together |
| Pricing basis | Per seat for teams | Free to self-host, no seats |
| Team size | Priced per seat | Up to 5 teammates per drive |
| Models | Provider models; bring-your-own-key is limited | Bring your own keys, 70+ models |
| Where you work | A desktop app on your machine | Any browser, or the CLI, nothing to install |
| Where code lives | Local machine, your normal git | Shared cloud drive; pushes to your real git |
| Best for | One developer in a best-in-class local editor | A team working with one agent in one live session |
Windsurf is a best-in-class local editor. Coshell is the shared session a team works in.
Most engineers keep a local editor for solo work and join a shared Coshell drive when the work is shared. Coshell runs your own repo on your own model keys, pushes to your real git, and is priced free to self-host, no seats, so the whole team can be in one session without a per-head bill.
Coshell is built on OpenCode, the open agent engine, and adds the shared session your whole team works in together.
Yes. Cognition, the maker of Devin, acquired Windsurf in late 2025 and rebranded the editor to Devin Desktop in 2026. It is the same single-player AI IDE most people still search for as Windsurf. Devin itself, the autonomous async agent, is a separate product. Coshell compares to the editor here, and to the autonomous agent on the Coshell vs Devin page.
Not in the sense Coshell means. Windsurf is single-player per developer: each person runs their own local editor and their own agent. It adds team-account features like central billing and admin, and views for coordinating multiple AI agent sessions, but several humans do not share one live coding session. Coshell is built around exactly that: many people in one shared live session prompting one agent at once.
Yes. Many engineers keep a local editor like Windsurf for solo work and drop into a shared Coshell drive when the work is shared: pairing, debugging together, onboarding, live review. Coshell is the shared session your team works in, not another editor to switch to.
Yes. Coshell runs 70+ models on your own keys, scoped per drive, and a drive pushes to your real git repositories as ordinary git. Self-host it on your own machine and your code never leaves it, free; theEnterprise tier adds org-wide on-prem and SSO.
Keep your local editor for solo work. When the work is shared, open a drive and put the whole team in one live session with one agent.