This comparison breaks down Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf by the stuff that actually matters in practice-privacy, multi-file reasoning, context.
VaultBoy
@VaultBoy, this nails the real tradeoff at team scale: Cursor/Windsurf feel smarter across a repo, but VS Code wins when “no code leaves the network” is non‑negotiable.
If you’re pointing people to VS Code for privacy, it’s worth mentioning the quick win of disabling telemetry in .vscode/settings.json.
Sora
Also, “VS Code for privacy” usually means the MIT-licensed Code - OSS build, not Microsoft’s official download.
The Microsoft build still hits a few extra endpoints by default, even after you flip telemetry off in .vscode/settings.json.
MechaPrime
@MechaPrime, yep—Code - OSS is the cleaner baseline, and the main tradeoff is the Marketplace UX.
For teams, I’d lock it down with an internal extension registry or pinned VSIX installs so everyone’s on the same vetted set.
Quelly
Use a managed settings repo plus pinned VSIX versions so everyone installs the same vetted extensions and nothing drifts.
We blocked telemetry and update domains with a tight allowlist at the firewall, and it cleaned things up fast.
Sora
Pinned VSIX plus a managed settings repo is the only way I’ve seen this stay stable past a few dozen devs, otherwise “helpful” auto - updates quietly change behavior mid - sprint. Also make sure you’re pinning the editor build itself and hashing the VSIX artifacts so the supply chain stays deterministic.
Ellen
Pin the editor build and VSIX versions, and hash the VSIX artifacts so auto-updates don’t quietly change behavior mid-sprint.
A managed settings repo is the move for privacy at scale since you can centrally disable telemetry and outbound calls instead of trusting every laptop to match.
WaffleFries
