Compare the current Devin Desktop product with other editors and local command tools.
Windsurf is now called Devin Desktop. The current product combines an editor with local and cloud coding agents. Compare its current features with Cursor or Zed using a project you already work on. Solo runs installed CLI agents, dev servers, and queue workers in a separate desktop app. Use it alongside your preferred editor to inspect command output and configure command restarts.
Start with the capability you want to replace. Each option overlaps with Devin Desktop in a different way.
Recommended option
Cursor combines an editor with coding agents, CLI access, cloud agents, and MCP integrations. Try a task that uses your existing extensions and project checks.
Best for
Coding agents integrated with an editor and cloud tasks.
Recommended option
Zed is an open source editor with collaboration and agent support. Its Agent Client Protocol integrations let you use supported external agents in the editor.
Best for
An editor with collaboration and external agents.
Recommended option
Run installed CLI agents beside dev servers and queue workers. Solo shows each process's output, CPU, and memory use. Commands can restart after exit or watched-file changes. Agents launch separately.
Best for
Local commands and agents that you want to manage outside the editor.
Use the same repository, task, and verification command.
Compare Cursor or Zed if you want a different editor. If you want to keep your editor and manage local services and CLI agents separately, try one project in Solo.
Compare the products and workflows closest to Devin Desktop, including where Solo fits.
Start with one project and a small task. These guides walk through the setup and what to check when the work finishes.
Set up both tools in one project, give one agent implementation work, and ask the other to review the diff.
Read the guide →Give a lead agent a plan, shared todos, and a scratchpad so workers have clear assignments and a useful handoff.
Read the guide →Put a Laravel server, Vite, and a queue worker in solo.yml, then manage their output and restart behavior in Solo.
Read the guide →Solo is a lightweight desktop terminal workspace for local agents, project commands, interactive terminals, and long-running services. It sits beside your editor, keeps your stack visible, and gives Claude Code, Codex, and the rest of your tools one shared local control surface.
Solo is built by Aaron Francis, creator of faster.dev and Database School, and VP of Marketing at Laravel. He built Solo after running Claude Code alongside his own dev stack and getting tired of juggling nine terminal tabs just to keep local agents, services, and project commands visible.
He is also a dad to two sets of twins, which tends to create a strong preference for software that reduces chaos instead of adding more of it. That is why Solo keeps showing up in these comparisons as the local workspace around your tools, not another editor or orchestrator trying to absorb the whole workflow.
Free for four projects on macOS and Windows.
Start with a terminal and add the programmable meta-harness when you need to coordinate agents with your local development stack.
“I can't live without it.”
