Windsurf Multi-Environment Setup
Overview
Configure Windsurf consistently across team members, projects, and deployment contexts. Windsurf is an IDE, not a cloud API -- "multi-environment setup" means standardizing AI behavior, workspace configuration, and Cascade context across your team.
Prerequisites
- Windsurf IDE installed on developer machines
- Shared git repository
- Team agreement on coding standards per service
Tool Use
- Use
Readto inspect only the repository files and configuration needed for the request. - Use
Writeonly for a new artifact the user requested; never write credentials or unreviewed production configuration. - Use
Editfor bounded, reviewable changes and preserve unrelated user work.
Instructions
Step 1: Per-Project Cascade Rules
<!-- .devin/rules/project.md - committed to each service repo -->
# Project: PaymentService
## Stack
- Language: TypeScript (strict)
- Framework: Fastify v4
- Database: PostgreSQL with Drizzle
- Testing: Vitest
- Queue: BullMQ for async jobs
## Architecture Rules
- All handlers in src/routes/ — never business logic
- Business logic in src/services/ only
- Database queries in src/repositories/ only
- Use Result<T, E> pattern for errors, never throw in services
- PCI-sensitive data only in src/pci/ (encrypted at rest)
## Naming Conventions
- Route handlers: GET/POST/PUT/DELETE prefix
- Service methods: verb + noun (createPayment, findOrder)
- Repository methods: DB operations (findById, upsert)
Step 2: Team IDE Settings Template
// .windsurf/settings.json - committed to repo
{
"codeium.indexing.excludePatterns": [
"node_modules/**", "dist/**", ".next/**",
"coverage/**", "*.min.js", "**/*.map", "**/*.lock"
],
"codeium.autocomplete.enable": true,
"editor.formatOnSave": true,
"editor.defaultFormatter": "biomejs.biome",
"typescript.tsdk": "node_modules/typescript/lib"
}
Step 3: Monorepo Multi-Service Setup
monorepo/
services/
auth/
.devin/rules/project.md # Auth context: JWT, OAuth, session management
.codeiumignore # Exclude auth secrets directory
payments/
.devin/rules/project.md # Payments context: Stripe, PCI compliance
.codeiumignore # Exclude PCI data directories
notifications/
.devin/rules/project.md # Notifications: queues, email templates
.codeiumignore
.windsurf/
settings.json # Shared IDE settings
rules/
shared-patterns.md # trigger: always_on
workflows/
deploy-service.md # /deploy-service workflow
Key practice: Each developer opens their service directory as the workspace, NOT the monorepo root. This gives Cascade focused context and fast indexing.
Step 4: Environment-Specific Workflow Rules
<!-- .devin/rules/deployment-context.md -->
---
trigger: glob
globs: deploy/**, scripts/deploy-*, .github/workflows/deploy-*
---
## Deployment Rules
- Target: AWS ECS on us-east-1
- Container registry: 123456789.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
- Secrets: AWS Secrets Manager (prefix: myapp/{environment}/)
- Never hardcode environment-specific values
- All environment config via ENV vars, not config files
- Staging deploys from develop branch, production from main
Step 5: Onboarding Script
#!/bin/bash
# scripts/setup-windsurf.sh
set -euo pipefail
echo "Setting up Windsurf for this project..."
# Verify Windsurf installation
windsurf --version || { echo "Install Windsurf: https://windsurf.com/download"; exit 1; }
# Install recommended extensions
windsurf --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode
windsurf --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
# Disable conflicting extensions
windsurf --disable-extension github.copilot 2>/dev/null || true
windsurf --disable-extension tabnine.tabnine-vscode 2>/dev/null || true
# Verify configuration
[ -f ".devin/rules/project.md" ] || echo "WARNING: .devin/rules/project.md not found"
[ -f ".codeiumignore" ] || echo "WARNING: .codeiumignore not found"
echo ""
echo "Setup complete."
echo "IMPORTANT: Open your service directory (not monorepo root) for best Cascade performance."
echo "Example: windsurf services/payments/"
Step 6: Per-Environment MCP Configuration
// ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
// Developers can configure environment-specific MCP servers
{
"mcpServers": {
"staging-db": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
"env": {
"DATABASE_URL": "${STAGING_DATABASE_URL}"
}
},
"github": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
}
}
}
}
Output
Return an environment matrix showing shared versus local settings, repository Rules and AGENTS.md, excluded paths, identity ownership, test commands, and drift checks. Keep production credentials and environment endpoints outside version-controlled examples.
Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Cascade lacks project context | .devin/rules/project.md missing or empty | Add stack + patterns to rules file |
| Slow indexing | Monorepo root open with no ignore rules | Open service subdirectory |
| Inconsistent team suggestions | No shared settings | Commit .windsurf/settings.json |
| Cascade touches wrong files | Too broad workspace scope | Open specific service directory |
| New dev has no AI context | Skipped onboarding | Run setup-windsurf.sh script |
Examples
Quick Health Check
ls -la .devin/rules/project.md .codeiumignore .windsurf/settings.json 2>/dev/null
Per-Environment Cascade Workflows
<!-- .windsurf/workflows/deploy-staging.md -->
---
name: deploy-staging
---
1. Run `npm test` — abort if failures
2. Run `npm run build`
3. Run `aws ecs update-service --cluster staging --service payments --force-new-deployment`
4. Wait 60 seconds, then check: `curl -sf https://staging-api.example.com/health | jq .`
Resources
- Focused first-party references
- Windsurf Rules Documentation
- Windsurf Admin Guide
- Context Awareness
Related Skill
Continue with windsurf-reference-architecture to connect environment-specific controls to the repository-wide configuration, ownership, validation, and governance model.