Zed
GPL-3.0-or-later editor with edit prediction, an agent panel, and external agents such as Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode over the Agent Client Protocol.
Know firstNot VS Code, so its extensions do not carry over.
Coding assistants and agents5 projects, checked September 17, 2026
Open-source alternatives to Windsurf
The open-source alternatives to Windsurf, which Cognition has renamed Devin Desktop, are Zed, Kilo Code, Cline, Tabby and twinny. Zed replaces the editor with edit prediction, an agent panel and the ability to host other agents. Kilo Code and Cline add an agent to VS Code or JetBrains, with Kilo Code adding autocomplete. Tabby and twinny provide completion from a model you run. A developer switches when they want an open licence, their own model, or an editor that is not tied to one agent vendor.
- An open editor that hosts other agents
- Zed
- Autocomplete plus agent in VS Code or JetBrains
- Kilo Code
- An agent with reviewable diffs
- Cline
4 of 5 carry an OSI licence. 5 of 5 run on your own machines. Figures read from GitHub on September 17, 2026.
Pick by need
One project per need, with the reason from its own README and the one thing to know before you choose it.
Kilo Code
MIT, with ghost-text completion, five agent modes, an MCP marketplace and 500+ models with no key to start.
Know firstNo local models described in the README.
Cline
Apache-2.0, any provider including Ollama and LM Studio, approval on every edit and command, MCP, plus a CLI and a desktop app.
Know firstNo autocomplete; JetBrains plugin not open source.
Tabby
Self-hosted completion and chat server for VS Code, JetBrains and Vim.
Know firstEnterprise directory under a paid licence; source available as a whole.
twinny
MIT, fill-in-the-middle completion from a local Ollama-compatible endpoint, offline.
Know firstVS Code only, no agent.
What to take away
- Windsurf is now Devin Desktop; windsurf.com redirects to devin.ai/desktop, by the vendor's own page.
- Zed is the nearest open editor to Windsurf's shape, and the only one here that hosts external agents.
- Kilo Code is the nearest match for autocomplete plus agent without leaving VS Code or JetBrains.
- Four of the five document local models.
The projects, side by side
The facts that decide most choices. Each project's page carries the full panel.
| Project | Best for | Openness | Licence | Runs as | Own machines | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zed | An open editor that hosts other agents | OSI | See LICENSE | Desktop app | Yes | 90,442 |
| Kilo Code | Autocomplete plus agent in VS Code or JetBrains | OSI | MIT | VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, Web (Cloud Agent) | Yes | 27,344 |
| Cline | An agent with reviewable diffs | OSI | Apache-2.0 | VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, Desktop app, Node.js SDK | Yes | 68,575 |
| Tabby | Team completion on your own GPU | Source available | See LICENSE | Docker (server), Built from source with Rust, VS Code, JetBrains and Vim plugins | Yes | 33,884 |
| twinny | Free local completion in VS Code | OSI | MIT | VS Code extension | Yes | 3,648 |
Licence and star figures read from GitHub on September 17, 2026. Stars are shown as a dated fact and were not used to rank this page.
Each project, in turn
A high-performance code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, GPL-3.0-or-later with Apache-2.0 components, with an agent panel, external agents over ACP, edit prediction, MCP tools, sandboxing, and local models through Ollama or llama.cpp.
GPL-3.0-or-later editor with edit prediction, an agent panel, and external agents such as Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode over the Agent Client Protocol.
Know firstNot VS Code, so its extensions do not carry over.
- Licence
- See the LICENSE file
- Runs as
- Desktop app
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Windows
- Hosted option
- Sold by the maintainers
- Last release
- v1.20.2, Sep 17, 2026
An MIT coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the CLI with inline autocomplete, Code, Plan, Ask, Debug and Review modes, an MCP marketplace, access to 500+ models with no API key to start, and a hosted cloud agent.
MIT, with ghost-text completion, five agent modes, an MCP marketplace and 500+ models with no key to start.
Know firstNo local models described in the README.
- Licence
- MIT
- Runs as
- VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, Web (Cloud Agent)
- Platforms
- VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, CLI binaries for Windows x64, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Linux x64 and ARM
- Hosted option
- Sold by the maintainers
- Last release
- v7.7.3, Sep 17, 2026
An Apache-2.0 coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and a desktop app that edits files as reviewable diffs, runs commands with your approval, works with any model provider including Ollama, and connects tools through MCP.
Apache-2.0, any provider including Ollama and LM Studio, approval on every edit and command, MCP, plus a CLI and a desktop app.
Know firstNo autocomplete; JetBrains plugin not open source.
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Runs as
- VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, Desktop app, Node.js SDK
- Platforms
- VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, Desktop app for macOS and Windows, CLI anywhere Node.js runs
- Hosted option
- None from the maintainers
- Last release
- desktop-v0.0.32, Sep 18, 2026
A self-hosted coding assistant server with an Apache-2.0 core and a proprietary ee directory for the web server and team features, serving code completion and chat to VS Code, JetBrains and Vim from models on your own GPU.
Self-hosted completion and chat server for VS Code, JetBrains and Vim.
Know firstEnterprise directory under a paid licence; source available as a whole.
- Licence
- See the LICENSE file
- Weights
- None bundled; models such as StarCoder, CodeLlama, CodeGemma and Qwen are downloaded separately under their own licences
- Runs as
- Docker (server), Built from source with Rust, VS Code, JetBrains and Vim plugins
- Platforms
- Docker with NVIDIA CUDA, macOS with Apple Metal, Ubuntu and Debian from source
- Hosted option
- Sold by the maintainers
- Last release
- v0.32.0, Jan 25, 2026
An MIT VS Code extension for fill-in-the-middle code completion and sidebar chat that defaults to a local Ollama-compatible endpoint and works offline, with nine providers and no paid tier.
MIT, fill-in-the-middle completion from a local Ollama-compatible endpoint, offline.
Know firstVS Code only, no agent.
- Licence
- MIT
- Runs as
- VS Code extension
- Platforms
- Visual Studio Code
- Hosted option
- None from the maintainers
- Last release
- v4.0.3, Sep 8, 2026
How to choose
The questions that settle it, in the order they usually come up.
Do you want an editor or an extension?
An editor: Zed. An extension for VS Code or JetBrains: Kilo Code, Cline or twinny. A server behind plugins: Tabby.
Do you need the editor to host other agents, as Devin Desktop does?
Zed runs Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Copilot and Cursor over ACP. None of the others hosts agents.
Must models run locally?
Zed, Cline, twinny and Tabby document it. Kilo Code's README does not.
Where Windsurf is still the better choice
Windsurf, in the vendor's own words, is now Devin Desktop: windsurf.com redirects to devin.ai/desktop, where Cognition says "Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf", a full IDE with autocomplete and debugging that manages local and cloud agents from one surface, by its own description. devin.ai. The cases below are where that still wins.
- You want one surface that manages a fleet of local and cloud agents, which is what the renamed product is built around. Zed hosts external agents, but not as a fleet.
- You want Cognition's own agent, Devin, inside the editor as a service.
- You want an editor tuned out of the box, with nothing to configure.
- You want the VS Code extension ecosystem and a Windsurf-style editor at once; Zed is a different editor and the others are extensions.
How this page was checked
Numbers from GitHub, dated
Stars, licence, last commit and last release are read from the GitHub API by a script every week and carry the date they were read. Nobody types them.
Claims from the README
What each project does is written from its own README and LICENSE, read in full on the date shown, and phrased as the project's claim. The sources are listed at the end.
What is never said
That a project is faster, better or cheaper than Windsurf. A price for anyone. A user count. A roadmap. If a fact is not on this page, it was not in the source.
- OSI Open source (OSI licence)
- The code, and the weights where the project is a model, carry a licence on the OSI approved list.
- Source available Source available
- The code is public, and the licence limits what you may do with it. Read the LICENSE file before commercial use.
- Open weights Open weights
- The model weights can be downloaded and run. The training data or code is closed, or the weights carry a restriction the code does not.
Questions people ask
What happened to Windsurf?
windsurf.com now redirects to devin.ai/desktop, where Cognition states that Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf and that it is building on the Windsurf IDE foundation to make a command centre for managing agents. That is the vendor's own description, read on 2026-09-17.
What is the best open-source alternative to Windsurf?
Zed (GPL-3.0-or-later) if you want a native editor with edit prediction, an agent panel, MCP and local models. Kilo Code (MIT) if you want to stay in VS Code or JetBrains with autocomplete and agent modes. Cline (Apache-2.0) for an agent with reviewable diffs and any provider.
Which of these run local models?
Zed through llama.cpp, LM Studio or Ollama; Cline through Ollama or LM Studio; twinny through a local Ollama-compatible endpoint by default; Tabby through its own self-hosted server. Kilo Code's README does not describe local models.
Can an open-source editor run other agents like Windsurf does?
Zed can. Its documentation describes running external agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Copilot and Cursor inside the editor over the Agent Client Protocol, and terminal threads for any agent CLI. The other four here are either extensions or completion servers rather than agent hosts.
Are these free?
The software is, under each licence, with one exception: Tabby's enterprise directory needs a paid seat licence for production use. Model access is the cost, through your own keys, a subscription the tool supports, Kilo Code's pass-through pricing, or a local model at no fee. Zed's Zeta prediction model has a free monthly allowance.
Sources
- devin.ai/desktop, where windsurf.com now redirects, the vendor's own description, read September 17, 2026
- Zed README and AI documentation, read September 17, 2026
- Kilo Code README, read September 17, 2026
- Cline README, read September 17, 2026
- Tabby README and ee/LICENSE, read September 17, 2026
- twinny README, read September 17, 2026
Running one of these inside your own environment, with your own data and your own security rules, is the kind of work Reveneau does. Read how a forward deployed engagement works.