What each tool does
Windsurf is built for: coding inside an existing project. You open your repo, describe a task in Cascade, and Windsurf plans and executes a sequence of edits across multiple files, runs tests, reads terminal output, and iterates. It's the most capable AI coding assistant for engineering work inside an existing codebase.
Archiet is built for: the moment before that. You have a product requirements document (or can describe what you want to build). You need a complete, production-ready codebase: backend, frontend, mobile, database migrations, auth, Docker, CI/CD, API spec, and architecture documentation. Archiet generates that in one run from your requirements.
The comparison
| Factor | Windsurf | Archiet |
|---|---|---|
| Working inside an existing codebase | Excellent. Cascade understands your project and can plan multi-step changes. | Not the use case — Archiet is for generating the initial codebase. |
| Generating a codebase from requirements | Can scaffold something, but structure varies per session and requires significant prompting. | Core use case. 12 supported stacks, deterministic pipeline, quality-scored output every time. |
| Multi-file coordinated edits | Best-in-class with Cascade. | Not applicable — Archiet generates all files from scratch in one run. |
| Architecture documentation | Inline comments, maybe. No structured ADRs. | Every material technical decision gets an ADR in docs/decisions/. |
| Compliance documentation | None — out of scope. | GDPR DPIA, HIPAA risk assessment, PCI scope statement generated from the actual data model. |
| Multi-tenant security defaults | Suggests what you ask for. | Built-in: organization-scoped queries, JWT in httpOnly cookies, route guards on every protected endpoint. |
| Supported stacks for greenfield | Whatever language you work in. | Flask, FastAPI, Django, NestJS, Laravel, Go, Java, Rails, .NET, Salesforce Apex, SAP CAP, Tauri+Rust. |
| Day-to-day coding | Strong — this is Windsurf's core job. | Not applicable. |
| Handoff documentation | None structured. | Traceability matrix, security posture doc, cost TCO, handoff README included in every ZIP. |
How the workflows fit together
The teams we see getting the most from both tools use them in sequence:
Day 0: Write the PRD. Use Archiet's Blueprint Wizard to structure it into entities, user stories, acceptance criteria. Generate the codebase. Download the ZIP, run docker-compose up, verify it boots.
Day 1+: Open the generated codebase in Windsurf. Use Cascade to add features, refactor, write tests, integrate new third-party services. Windsurf operates at full effectiveness because it has a complete, well-structured codebase to reason about — not a half-finished scaffold.
The combination is notably better than either tool alone. Windsurf operating inside an Archiet-generated codebase has more context to work with: the ADRs tell Cascade why decisions were made, the traceability matrix connects requirements to code, the OpenAPI spec tells it the intended API contract.
What to choose
Choose Windsurf if: you already have a codebase and want a smarter, more autonomous AI coding assistant for day-to-day engineering work.
Choose Archiet if: you don't have a codebase yet and need to generate a complete, production-ready application from requirements — with architecture documentation, compliance docs, and multi-tenant security defaults included.
Use both if: you're starting a new project (Archiet for the initial generation) and continuing to build on it (Windsurf for ongoing feature work).
What you get from Archiet
Generated ZIP always includes:
- Complete web application: Next.js frontend + your chosen backend + OpenAPI 3.1 spec
- React Native mobile app (Expo) with App Store compliance files
- Infrastructure: multi-stage Dockerfile, docker-compose, GitHub Actions CI/CD
docs/decisions/— ADRs for every material technical decisiondocs/traceability/— requirements → entities → routes → tests matrixdocs/compliance/— DPIA, HIPAA, PCI docs from your data model (when flagged)docs/security/posture.md— attack surface, auth controls, pre-launch checklist
CTA
If you're starting a new project and want a production-ready codebase to open in Windsurf on day one — try Archiet. Free plan, no credit card.
archiet.com