Explain My BuildHow to document an app you built with Windsurf
Last updated: July 26, 2026
To document an app built with Windsurf, point Explain My Build at your repo or local folder. Windsurf is an AI IDE, so you already have real code. It reads what Windsurf's Cascade agent built and writes an end-user guide, a founder runbook and a code-verified fix-list, each claim cited to a real file.
What is Windsurf, and what do you already have?
Windsurf is an AI-native IDE originally launched by Codeium and now owned by Cognition AI, built on the VS Code foundation. Like Cursor, it gives you real code on your own machine. Windsurf-specific facts:
- Cascade is its signature agent. Cascade reads your whole codebase, plans multi-step changes, and executes them across files while staying aware of your edits and terminal activity. That means features can span many files you never opened.
- You own a real repo or folder. There's no browser export step; the code is on disk, ready to read.
- It's a general IDE. Windsurf doesn't lock you to one stack — your app could be almost any web framework — so documentation has to read whatever's actually there rather than assume.
Explain My Build reads that code and explains it plainly, whatever Cascade built.
How do I document what Cascade built across files?
Point Explain My Build at the folder and it reads the real source Cascade produced. Because Cascade plans and executes changes across multiple files, whole features can live in places you've never looked — and reading the code catches all of them, not just the flows you remember.
A screen recording of your app would only capture the screens you personally click through. If Cascade added a background job, an API route or an admin view you never visit, a code read documents it; a recording can't. That's the core reason to document from code.
An honest note
Your Windsurf code is already local, so you can run Explain My Build on the folder entirely in your browser or via the CLI — the code never leaves your machine. It reads code; it is not a live penetration test, and you review the end-user guide before publishing.
What three artifacts do you get for a Windsurf app?
From one read of your Windsurf project you get:
- End-user guide — plain-English help for your users, with share link and access code, in-app Help widget and portable export. $19/month ($12/month founding for the first 100).
- Founder runbook — how the app is structured and how to run and extend it, valuable when Cascade spread logic across files. Free.
- Code-verified fix-list — ranked, cited issues you can hand back to Cascade to fix inside Windsurf. Free.
If you're unsure your app is safe to ship, the fix-list surfaces code-visible issues like an exposed API key or a missing access check.
Frequently asked questions
How do I document an app I built with Windsurf?
Point Explain My Build at your existing repo or local folder — Windsurf already gave you real code. It reads the source Cascade produced (including multi-file features) and writes an end-user guide, a founder runbook and a code-verified fix-list. You review the guide before publishing.
Cascade built features across files I've never opened — can I document them?
Yes. Reading the code covers every feature Cascade generated, wherever it lives in your project, including ones you never traced by hand. You don't need to understand the code first — the tool explains it and cites where each claim comes from.
Can I document my Windsurf app without uploading my code anywhere?
Yes. Because your code is already local, you can run Explain My Build on the folder entirely in your browser or via the CLI, so it never leaves your machine.
Turn your app into a guide your users can follow.
Paste a public GitHub link and get your founder runbook + fix-list free in about a minute — no sign-up. Private code runs entirely in your browser.