Vibe Coding with Windsurf

This guide outlines best practices and workflows for effectively using Windsurf to manage and develop your codebase.

1. Visual Component Mapping with Mermaid

Create Mermaid diagrams to visualize relationships between core components. This helps in:

• Understanding system architecture
• Identifying dependencies
• Planning new features
• Onboarding new team members

2. Comprehensive Documentation Strategy

Maintain detailed markdown documentation that covers:

• Core component descriptions
• Independent component functionality
• Component interactions
• Use cases and examples
• Step-by-step tutorials

Best Practice: Build on existing documentation and continuously update as the codebase evolves.

3. Focused Conversations

Keep chats focused and organized:

• Break discussions into specific topics
• Save conversation summaries in the Chatlog folder
• Cross-reference related conversations
• Maintain shorter context lengths for better responses

4. Strategic Model Usage

Leverage different AI models based on the task:

• Reasoning Models: Architecture understanding, planning
• Instruction Models: Code implementation, task execution

5. Memory Management

Track important discoveries and milestones:

• Update agent memory with new insights
• Revise documentation to reflect new understanding
• Adjust previous assumptions when necessary
• Access memories through 'Additional Options' in Cascade

6. Checkpoint System

Implement a robust checkpoint system:

• Save working versions in the Checkpoints folder
• Include timestamps in filenames
• Document changes between checkpoints
• Maintain version history for rollback capability

Best Practices Summary

1. Visual Documentation: Use Mermaid diagrams for system visualization
2. Detailed Documentation: Maintain comprehensive markdown files
3. Focused Development: Break work into manageable chunks
4. Strategic AI Usage: Use appropriate models for specific tasks
5. Memory Management: Record and update important insights
6. Version Control: Save and track progress through checkpoints

Remember to regularly update this documentation as your workflow evolves and new best practices emerge.