Windsurf to Google Antigravity Migration: Everything You Need to Know

March 2026 • 11 min read

When Google closed its $2.4 billion acquisition of Codeium -- the company behind Windsurf -- the AI coding tool landscape shifted overnight. Windsurf, the IDE that pioneered the Cascade agent workflow, has been absorbed into Google's new product: Antigravity. If you were a Windsurf user, you need to migrate. If you are evaluating your options, you need to understand what changed and what alternatives exist.

This guide covers the full migration path from Windsurf to Antigravity, what features survived the transition, what is new, and why some developers are choosing a different direction entirely.

The Backstory: Google's $2.4B Acquisition

Codeium launched Windsurf in late 2024 as an AI-native IDE built on top of VS Code. Its standout feature was Cascade -- an agentic workflow that could autonomously edit files, run commands, and iterate on code. Windsurf grew rapidly, attracting developers who wanted something more autonomous than Copilot but less radical than switching to a terminal-only workflow.

Google acquired Codeium for $2.4 billion, bringing the Windsurf team and technology into Google's developer tools division. The result is Antigravity -- a new AI coding IDE that combines Windsurf's agentic architecture with Google's Gemini models, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise capabilities.

Windsurf as a standalone product is being sunset. If you are still using it, the clock is ticking on your migration.

What Changed: Cascade to Antigravity's Agent System

Windsurf's Cascade was the original multi-step agent for IDE-based coding. You described a task, and Cascade would plan, execute, and iterate across files. Antigravity preserves this core workflow but rebuilds it on top of Google's infrastructure.

The key differences:

• Gemini models by default -- Windsurf offered multiple model backends. Antigravity defaults to Gemini 3 Pro and Flash, with Google-optimized routing between them. You lose the ability to use Claude or GPT models directly in the agent.
• Google Search grounding -- Antigravity's agent can ground its responses in live Google Search results. When it encounters an unfamiliar API or framework, it searches the web for current documentation rather than relying solely on training data.
• Vertex AI integration -- Enterprise features like data residency, audit logging, and custom model fine-tuning are built in through Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform.
• Firebase and GCP tooling -- Native deployment to Firebase, Cloud Run, and other Google Cloud services is integrated directly into the agent workflow.

Migration Steps

If you are moving from Windsurf to Antigravity, here is the step-by-step process:

1. Export your Windsurf settings -- Open Windsurf, go to Settings, and export your configuration as JSON. This captures keybindings, editor preferences, and theme settings.
2. Install Antigravity -- Download from the Google developer tools site. Antigravity uses a separate installation from VS Code and Windsurf.
3. Import settings -- Antigravity has a migration wizard that accepts Windsurf configuration exports. Most editor settings transfer directly. Keybindings may need minor adjustments for new Antigravity-specific commands.
4. Migrate extensions -- Antigravity supports VS Code extensions. Most Windsurf-compatible extensions work without changes. Check for any Windsurf-specific extensions that need Antigravity equivalents.
5. Reconnect your projects -- Open each project in Antigravity. The agent will index your codebase on first open, building the context engine that powers its understanding of your code.
6. Update workflow instructions -- If you used Windsurf's rules files for project-level agent instructions, migrate them to Antigravity's equivalent configuration format.
7. Set up Google Cloud -- If you want the full Antigravity experience (cloud deployment, search grounding, enterprise features), connect your Google Cloud account during setup.

New Features in Antigravity Not in Windsurf

The Google acquisition did not just rebrand Windsurf. It added capabilities that were not possible without Google's infrastructure:

• Search-grounded coding -- The agent queries Google Search in real-time to find current documentation, API references, and solutions. This is particularly useful for newer frameworks and libraries that were released after the model's training cutoff.
• Gemini 3 Pro context -- Gemini 3 Pro's 2M token context window gives Antigravity the ability to process larger codebases than Windsurf could handle.
• Cloud deployment pipelines -- One-click deployment to Firebase Hosting, Cloud Run, and App Engine, directly from the agent workflow.
• Collaborative sessions -- Multiple developers can connect to the same Antigravity agent session through Google Workspace integration, enabling real-time collaborative AI-assisted development.

What You Lose in the Migration

The transition is not without trade-offs:

• Model flexibility -- Windsurf let you pick your model backend. Antigravity is Gemini-first. If you preferred Claude or GPT models for certain tasks, you lose that option inside the IDE.
• Independence from Google -- Windsurf was an independent tool. Antigravity is a Google product, with all that implies for data handling, privacy, and vendor lock-in.
• Lightweight installation -- Windsurf was lean. Antigravity includes Google Cloud SDK components and telemetry that increase the installation footprint.
• Community plugins -- Some Windsurf-specific community extensions have not been updated for Antigravity compatibility.

The Terminal-Native Alternative

The Windsurf-to-Antigravity migration assumes you want to stay in an IDE-based agent workflow. But this is also a natural moment to consider whether an IDE-embedded agent is the right approach at all.

Claude Code takes a fundamentally different approach: the agent lives in the terminal, not in an IDE. This means it works with any editor, any project, any workflow. You are not locked into a specific IDE, a specific model provider, or a specific cloud platform.

Pair Claude Code with Beam for workspace organization, and you get the same structured development experience that an IDE provides, but built on a foundation of terminal tools that you control. One Beam workspace per project, Claude Code in the first tab, your editor in the second, dev server in the third.

Making the Decision

Three paths forward for Windsurf users:

1. Migrate to Antigravity -- If you are invested in the Google ecosystem, want search grounding, and prefer IDE-embedded agents. The migration path is straightforward and preserves most of your workflow.
2. Switch to Cursor -- If you want an IDE agent but prefer independence from Google. Cursor remains independently operated with multi-model support.
3. Go terminal-native with Claude Code -- If you want maximum flexibility, the best coding model, and freedom from IDE lock-in. The learning curve is steeper, but the ceiling is higher.