Windsurf Preview: Edit Your Site Without Leaving the Editor

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Windsurf Preview: Edit Your Site Without Leaving the Editor

Curso de Windsurf AI

Clase 10 de 21

Clase 10 / 21

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Switching between your code editor and the browser every time you make a change burns time you could spend building. Windsurf Preview solves this by running a local server and rendering your website inside the editor, with element selection and Cascade integration that speed up debugging and visual edits.

What is Windsurf Preview and why does it matter?

Windsurf Preview is an internal browser that lives inside the editor, so you don't need a second monitor or constant tab switching to see your changes.

What is Windsurf Preview? It's a built-in browser inside Windsurf that runs your local development server and lets you interact with your site without leaving the editor.

It isn't Chrome, Firefox, or any external tool. It's an emulator wired directly into Cascade, which means anything you click or inspect can become part of your AI context [01:55].

How do I open a preview of my website in Windsurf?

Start with a clean Cascade session on the right side of the editor. Then follow these steps:

Click the three dots icon at the top of Cascade.
Select Open Preview, which writes the command Open a browser preview of my website [00:32].
Confirm the terminal execution when Cascade asks for it.
Wait for the development server to spin up.
Choose between opening it in your system browser or in the Windsurf internal browser.

Once the server is ready, a new tab appears in your file navigator labeled Windsurf Preview. Inside it you can navigate your full site, homepage, about, projects, talks, and blog, just like you would in Chrome.

How does element selection work with Cascade?

At the bottom of the preview there's a small bar with two key actions: console errors and a send elements button. The send elements tool behaves like the element selector in Chrome DevTools, but with a twist.

What happens when I click send elements? The selected element is added to Cascade as @domElement context, so the AI knows exactly which component you're referring to without you describing it.

This removes the friction of explaining things like "the blue button on the homepage that says See more" [02:35]. You click, Cascade captures it, and you move on.

Making visual changes through prompts

Once an element is in context, you can request changes in plain language. In the demo, the instruction was simple: change the button background to black [02:55].

Cascade identifies the current color (blue), applies the change, shows the update live in the preview, and explains what it did before you accept. You never touch the code directly, you give instructions, Cascade edits the files, and you approve the diff.

Why is this faster than the traditional workflow?

The real gain is in the loop between spotting an issue and fixing it. You can:

Identify a bug visually inside the preview.
Select the exact DOM element with one click.
Describe the fix in natural language.
See the result rendered immediately.
Accept or reject the change without leaving the editor.

This is especially useful when you only have one screen, since the preview, the code, and the AI assistant share the same window.

Do I need to stop the server when I'm done? Yes. Ask Cascade to stop the development server, otherwise it will keep running on that port and block future sessions [03:55].

A practical tip before you close Windsurf

Get into the habit of telling Cascade something like "stop the dev server" at the end of your session. It's a small step that prevents port conflicts the next time you open a project.

Tell me in the comments how you used Windsurf Preview and which problem it helped you solve.

Resumen

What is Windsurf Preview and why does it matter?

Windsurf Preview is an internal browser that lives inside the editor, so you don't need a second monitor or constant tab switching to see your changes.

What is Windsurf Preview? It's a built-in browser inside Windsurf that runs your local development server and lets you interact with your site without leaving the editor.

It isn't Chrome, Firefox, or any external tool. It's an emulator wired directly into Cascade, which means anything you click or inspect can become part of your AI context [01:55].

How do I open a preview of my website in Windsurf?

Start with a clean Cascade session on the right side of the editor. Then follow these steps:

Click the three dots icon at the top of Cascade.
Select Open Preview, which writes the command Open a browser preview of my website [00:32].
Confirm the terminal execution when Cascade asks for it.
Wait for the development server to spin up.
Choose between opening it in your system browser or in the Windsurf internal browser.

How does element selection work with Cascade?

What happens when I click send elements? The selected element is added to Cascade as @domElement context, so the AI knows exactly which component you're referring to without you describing it.

This removes the friction of explaining things like "the blue button on the homepage that says See more" [02:35]. You click, Cascade captures it, and you move on.

Making visual changes through prompts

Once an element is in context, you can request changes in plain language. In the demo, the instruction was simple: change the button background to black [02:55].

Why is this faster than the traditional workflow?

The real gain is in the loop between spotting an issue and fixing it. You can:

Identify a bug visually inside the preview.
Select the exact DOM element with one click.
Describe the fix in natural language.
See the result rendered immediately.
Accept or reject the change without leaving the editor.

This is especially useful when you only have one screen, since the preview, the code, and the AI assistant share the same window.

Do I need to stop the server when I'm done? Yes. Ask Cascade to stop the development server, otherwise it will keep running on that port and block future sessions [03:55].

A practical tip before you close Windsurf

Get into the habit of telling Cascade something like "stop the dev server" at the end of your session. It's a small step that prevents port conflicts the next time you open a project.

Tell me in the comments how you used Windsurf Preview and which problem it helped you solve.

Fundamentos de Windsurf

Build a Next.js Portfolio With Voice and AI

Instalación y configuración de Windsurf en MacOS

Planning a Next.js Project With Cascade Chat

Ejecuta con Cascade en modo Code

Creación de páginas con Cascade

Windsurf Rules That Keep Cascade Consistent

Crea una página con un solo prompt escrito

Building a Blog Page with Voice Commands

Usa imágenes como referencia en Cascade

Building an About Page With One Prompt

Funcionalidades

Windsurf Preview: Edit Your Site Without Leaving the Editor

Deep Wiki: Auto-Document Any Codebase in Windsurf

Calidad del Código en Windsurf

Fixing Bugs and Refactoring Code in Windsurf

Unit Tests in Windsurf Using the @ Feature

Integraciones en Windsurf

Migrate Mock Data to Bun.js API with Cascade

Creación de workflows para automatizar commit y push a GitHub

Windsurf Features Worth Knowing Before You Start

Nuevas Funcionalidades

Conoce la nueva interfaz de Windsurf AI

Soporte multiagente en Windsurf AI

Nuevos modos de Agente en Cascade

Arena Mode

Conexión con MCPs desde Windsurf AI

Windsurf Preview: Edit Your Site Without Leaving the Editor

Progreso del curso

Fundamentos de Windsurf

Creación de páginas con Cascade

Funcionalidades

Calidad del Código en Windsurf

Integraciones en Windsurf

Nuevas Funcionalidades

Recursos

Recursos