Devin Cloud vs Devin Desktop: which do you actually need?
Cognition now ships two Devis: an autonomous cloud agent that takes tickets, and an AI editor you code in. They solve different problems, and picking wrong costs either control or hours. Here is how to tell which one your work needs.
Since Cognition folded Windsurf into its lineup, "Devin" means two different products. Devin Cloud is the autonomous agent: hand it a ticket, it works in its own sandbox and comes back with a pull request. Devin Desktop (the editor you knew as Windsurf) is where you write code with an agent alongside. People conflate them constantly, and the conflation leads to buying the wrong one.
The one question that decides it
Who is driving during the work?
If a person is driving, editing, reviewing inline, shipping from their own machine: you want an editor. Devin Desktop is that, with Devin Local replacing Cascade as its agent.
If nobody is driving, if the work should happen while you do something else: you want an autonomous agent. Devin Cloud is that. You hand over a ticket and get a result to review.
The mistake is buying the agent when you wanted an editor, or paying for an editor and expecting it to run unattended. Devin Desktop does not run pipelines. Devin Cloud does not autocomplete in your editor.
Where each one is strong
Devin Cloud: ticket-sized, well-specified work. Bug fixes from your issue tracker, small features with clear acceptance criteria, chores. It works in sessions, so long-running state has to be rebuilt each time.
Devin Desktop: everything where you want your hands on the wheel. Refactors you want to steer, code you are still deciding on, anything where the thinking is the work.
Where both stop
Neither runs a pipeline. Neither keeps a machine alive between tasks with your databases and running apps on it. Neither coordinates several agents on one board, and neither covers work outside the repo.
That gap is why we built JackHamr differently: each agent gets its own persistent cloud machine, the work runs as a staged process (spec, plan, build, QA, review) with approval gates for the human, and boards fan tasks out to however many agents the work needs. It is not an editor and it is not a ticket-taker. It is the layer that runs when the editing is done or when the work should not wait for you.
If you are comparing
We wrote two honest comparisons with row-by-row tables: [JackHamr vs Devin](/compare/devin) for the autonomous agent, and [JackHamr vs Windsurf (Devin Desktop)](/compare/windsurf) for the editor. And if you are deciding between the two Devis themselves, start with the driving question above. It resolves most cases in ten seconds.
More releases
Your first JackHamr agent: from signup to a working agent in about two minutes
A step-by-step first run: create the agent, give it a job, approve its plan, and watch it work on its own cloud machine. No installs, nothing to configure upfront.
2 min read
Focus: be the manager your agents need, without watching their screens
Focus turns managing AI agents into something like managing people: decisions arrive as cards, you answer in a tap, and the rest of the app dims so one thing gets your attention at a time.
3 min read
Windsurf is now Devin Desktop: what changed, and what to use instead
Cognition acquired Windsurf, renamed the editor Devin Desktop, and replaced Cascade with Devin Local. What that means if you were a Windsurf user, and when an AI agent team is the better shape.
2 min read