Agent Skills for Windsurf
Windsurf's Cascade is strong at multi-file edits. Skills give it a repeatable definition of done — the layout rules, the export format, the checks to run before handing back a page. If you've ever accepted a beautiful first draft that broke on mobile, a skill is how you stop that from recurring.
Where Windsurf looks for skills
| Scope | Path | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Workspace | .devin/skills/<name>/SKILL.md | Current location |
| Workspace (legacy) | .windsurf/skills/<name>/SKILL.md | Still read as a fallback |
| Global | ~/.devin/skills/<name>/SKILL.md | Available in all workspaces |
Windsurf loads the Devin skills directory when it exists and only falls back to the legacy Windsurf directory when it doesn't. The two are not merged — if you move a skill, move it completely.
Install in 30 seconds
- Create
.devin/skills/<name>/. - Put
SKILL.mdand its assets inside. - Reload the workspace.
- Ask Cascade for the deliverable, then review the diff.
Skills that fit Cascade's editing style
| Skill | What it produces | Installs |
|---|---|---|
| Airy Flight Booking Landing | A multi-step booking flow | 52 |
| Quartz SaaS Landing | A SaaS page | 51 |
| Fluxon Automation Landing | An automation product page | 51 |
| Dark Balance Chart | A comparison chart | 53 |
| Portrait Tile Testimonials | A testimonial grid | 48 |
| Monochrome Studio Portrait | A studio-style portrait | 213 |
Common failure
Cascade edits the skill file itself when asked to "improve the page". Keep SKILL.md read-only in your mental model, and scope requests to the output directory.
FAQ
Which folder should I use? .devin/skills is current; .windsurf/skills is legacy but still read.
Can I share skills with Cursor users? Yes — put them in .agents/skills, which Cursor and Copilot also read.
Do skills change Cascade's model behaviour? They change what it knows about the task, not which model runs.