Windsurf is an AI coding assistant and agentic IDE that developers use to write, refactor, and debug code with help from large language models. It powers autocomplete, chat, and multi-step “agent” workflows that read your repository and make edits on your behalf. Because it leans on cloud-hosted models and a constant connection to Windsurf’s backend, an outage tends to stop real work cold: completions hang, the agent stalls mid-task, and chat stops responding. Check the live verdict and recent user reports at the top of this page first, then use this guide to pin down whether the problem is Windsurf, your model provider, or your own setup.
Common reasons Windsurf stops working
- Backend or API outage: Windsurf’s servers or inference endpoints go down, so completions and agent runs fail even though the editor still opens.
- Model provider problems: Windsurf routes requests to upstream model APIs. When a provider has an incident, you see timeouts, truncated responses, or “model unavailable” errors that are not Windsurf’s fault directly.
- Authentication and session expiry: A stale login or expired token silently blocks requests, often showing up as a spinning cursor or a quiet failure to respond.
- Rate limits and quota: Hitting plan limits or per-model caps throttles or pauses requests until usage resets.
- Local network and proxy issues: Corporate firewalls, VPNs, or proxies can block the endpoints Windsurf needs, which looks identical to a server outage.
- Extension or version bugs: A broken update, a corrupted index of your codebase, or a conflicting extension can break features without any outage at all.
How to fix Windsurf when it is not working
- Check the status first. Read the live verdict and reports at the top of this page so you know whether this is a wide outage or something local to you.
- Reload and restart. Reload the window, then fully quit and reopen the app. This clears most stuck sessions and hung agent runs.
- Re-authenticate. Sign out and sign back in to refresh an expired token, which resolves many silent failures.
- Switch the model. If one model is timing out, select a different available model to confirm whether the issue is provider-specific.
- Test your network. Disable VPN or proxy temporarily, or try another network, to rule out a firewall blocking Windsurf’s endpoints.
- Update or reinstall. Install the latest version, and if a feature stays broken, reinstall the editor or re-index your project.
- Check quota. Confirm you have not hit a plan or usage limit, and wait for the reset if you have.
Is Windsurf down, or is it just you?
If reloading, re-authenticating, and switching networks all fail, and the verdict above shows other users reporting the same symptoms, the problem is almost certainly on Windsurf’s side or with an upstream model provider. If you are the only one affected, focus on your login, your network, your version, and your quota. A useful tell: if the editor opens normally but every AI request fails, the local install is fine and the issue is connectivity or the backend. If the app itself will not launch or update, that points to something local. When the cause is clearly on Windsurf’s end, the fastest move is to wait it out and switch to a backup, rather than burning time on reinstalls.
How we check Windsurf
We combine two independent signals so you are not relying on a single source. First, we read Windsurf’s official status page to capture incidents the company has acknowledged. Second, we run our own independent reachability check from the outside, hitting Windsurf’s public endpoints to confirm whether they actually respond. When both signals agree, the verdict is high-confidence. When they disagree, for example the status page looks green but our external check is failing, we surface that too, because real outages often show up in independent monitoring before they are officially posted. Full details are in our methodology.
Alternatives to Windsurf during an outage
If Windsurf is down and you need to keep shipping, a few peer tools can stand in. Cursor is a close alternative as an AI-native editor. GitHub Copilot works inside editors you may already have open. Lovable is a strong option for app and UI building. Before you switch, confirm the backup is actually healthy on its own status page, since model providers are often shared and an outage can affect more than one tool at once. For a calmer, step-by-step plan, read our guide on what to do when an AI tool is down.
What goes wrong in Windsurf
Windsurf is a desktop code editor, formerly known as Codeium, whose AI features all route through a remote model backend. The Cascade agent and the inline autocomplete both need that backend reachable, so when it is degraded you can still edit and navigate files locally while Cascade stalls, returns errors, or stops streaming partway through a response. Sign-in is a separate dependency, and a failed session can lock you out of AI features even when the models themselves are fine.
Windsurf also meters usage with prompt credits, which is a billing limit rather than an outage. Running out of credits blocks Cascade actions even though the editor and your account load normally, so it is worth checking your remaining balance before assuming a service problem.
- Cascade hangs, errors, or stops mid response
- Autocomplete suggestions stop appearing
- Sign-in failures that disable AI while editing still works
- Prompt credits exhausted, blocking further agent runs