
GitKraken
SourceTree
SmartGit
Fork
Tower
TortoiseGit
GitHub
GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.

Cursor
Claude Code
GitHub Copilot
replit
Google Antigravity
Lovable
VS Code
Tomorrow's editor, today. Windsurf Editor is the first AI agent-powered IDE that keeps developers in the flow. Available today on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, GitHub Desktop should be more popular than Windsurf Editor. It has been mentioned 136 times since March 2021.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | desktop.github.com | windsurf.com |
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What each product offers, as listed by its team.


Possible disadvantages
Possible disadvantages
Walkthroughs and reviews on video.
How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


Share your experience with using GitHub Desktop and Windsurf Editor. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.


Creating branches and switching to existing ones isn’t a hassle, so is merging code with the master branch. Furthermore, you can track your changes with GitHub Desktop. Check out our detailed guide on how to use...
GitHub Desktop is the global standard for working with Git-related tasks in a graphical user interface (GUI). It is an open-source tool and hence completely free to use for all sorts of projects. It is available for...
GitHub Desktop is, perhaps, the most famous solution for working with Git in a visual interface. It is familiar to all developers keeping their repositories on GitHub (Git repository hosting service used for...
Now, don't get me wrong, both Windsurf and Copilot are solid tools. Copilot is great for quick suggestions across different IDEs, and Windsurf impresses with its polished UI and intuitive workflow. Windsurf's Cascade...
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


Optional: You can also download GitHub Desktop (https://desktop.github.com) if you prefer a GUI version, but this guide focuses on Git Bash to understand the basics. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
Download the latest version from the GitHub Desktop website. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
I’m not going to dive into Git commands here — you can find plenty of tutorials online. If you’re not a fan of using the plain terminal CLI, you can also manage repositories with tools like GitHub Desktop or SourceTree, which provide a... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
So the main change here from 2025 is that I've completely stopped using Continue.dev, Cursor and Windsurf. Ultimately, with the improvements that JetBrains have been making to their IDEs, and with the addition of Junie and fantastic... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
Windsurf is an AI-native IDE that uses a Cascade system to maintain context across your codebase and provide live generative assistance. It offers generative autocomplete, live previews of code changes, automatic linter fixes, deep code... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
If you're using an IDE like Cursor or Windsurf, you can add a rule to use the DETAILS.md file as the context for the agent. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
When comparing GitHub Desktop and Windsurf Editor, you can also consider the following products.

The intuitive, fast, and beautiful cross-platform Git client.
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The AI-first Code Editor. Build software faster in an editor designed for pair-programming with AI.
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Mac and Windows client for Mercurial and Git.
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Transform hours of debugging into seconds with a single command. Experience coding at thought-speed with Claude's AI that understands your entire codebase—no more context switching, just breakthrough results.
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SmartGit is a front-end for the distributed version control system Git and runs on Windows, Mac OS...
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Your AI pair programmer. With GitHub Copilot, get suggestions for whole lines or entire functions right inside your editor.
Compare GitHub Copilot to GitHub Desktop or Windsurf Editor: