# Ole is taking you through this one.
# Free, and it runs right here. No signup.
$ learn Windsurf
Learn Windsurf in 5 minutes.
Windsurf is an AI editor built around Cascade, an agent that tracks what you're doing and can change many files in one go. Five minutes here drills the Write versus Chat decision, steering Cascade with context, and knowing when to take over.
# 5 minutes, no install
# interactive, not a video
# Lesson not loading? Open it in a new tab. It is the same free lesson either way.
Cascade: Write mode or Chat mode?
Cascade will happily edit your files or merely talk about them, and confusing the two is how people end up with changes they never wanted. The toggle is small; the difference is not.
Cascade edits for you
In Write mode, Cascade changes files, runs commands, and fixes its own errors until the task is done. Use it when you've settled on what should happen and want it carried out across the codebase.
Talk before touching
Chat mode answers questions and sketches plans without modifying anything. It's the right gear for unfamiliar code, or when you want to argue with the approach before any file changes.
Fast completion
Windsurf's autocomplete predicts your next edit and can jump you to related spots that need the same change. For edits you already know how to make, it beats invoking the agent.
What you will do in the lesson
You answer and try things. Nobody demonstrates at you for five minutes.
- Choose the mode before the prompt. You get scenarios and decide: Chat, Write, or just type it yourself. Wrong picks cost you time in ways the lesson makes visible.
- Give Cascade a bounded goal. You'll compare what happens when you ask for a vague improvement versus a task with clear edges, and see why the second one lands.
- Feed it the right context. Pointing Cascade at the specific files and docs that matter beats hoping it guesses. You'll practice doing that with @-mentions.
- Watch a multi-file edit critically. Cascade shows its work as it goes. You'll practice reading along instead of waiting for the finish, which is where mistakes get caught cheap.
- Take the keyboard back. Some fixes take you ten seconds and the agent ten minutes. You'll train the instinct for spotting which is which.
Before you start
What actually is Cascade?
Cascade is the agent panel at the heart of Windsurf. It keeps up with your recent edits and terminal activity, so you can say 'continue what I was doing' and it knows. That awareness is the main thing separating it from a chat box bolted onto an editor.
Do I have to install Windsurf before starting?
No. The whole lesson runs inside this page, no download and no signup. If you like how the agent workflow feels, Windsurf has a free tier you can install afterwards.
Will Cascade change files without telling me?
In Write mode it edits directly, but every change is shown as a diff you can review and revert. Chat mode never touches files at all. The lesson trains you to pick the mode deliberately rather than discovering the difference by accident.
How is this different from Cursor?
Both are AI-first editors and the skills mostly transfer. Windsurf leans harder on Cascade's awareness of your ongoing work, while Cursor exposes more separate tools you invoke explicitly. Try a real task in each; the feel is different enough that most people develop a preference fast.
Other tools people learn next
Same format, same five minutes, still free.
Learners from these organizations are already learning on 
