The Best AI Coding IDEs in 2026: VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, and More

// Start typing a function
function calculateTotal(items) {
  // Copilot suggests:
  return items.reduce((total, item) => total + item.price, 0);
}

User: "How do I add authentication to this Express route?"

Copilot:
Here's how to add JWT authentication:

import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';

export function authenticateToken(req, res, next) {
  const token = req.headers['authorization']?.split(' ')[1];
  
  if (!token) return res.sendStatus(401);
  
  jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET, (err, user) => {
    if (err) return res.sendStatus(403);
    req.user = user;
    next();
  });
}

User: "Refactor the authentication to use JWT instead of sessions"

Cursor Composer:
I'll update the authentication system across multiple files:

Files to modify:
- src/auth/session.js → src/auth/jwt.js
- src/middleware/auth.js
- src/routes/users.js
- src/config/auth.js

Changes:
1. Create new JWT authentication module
2. Update middleware to verify JWT tokens
3. Replace session-based auth in routes
4. Update configuration

Proceed with these changes?

User: "Where is the user validation logic?"

Cursor (with indexing):
Found in 3 locations:

1. src/validators/userValidator.js (lines 15-45)
2. src/middleware/validateUser.js (lines 8-22)
3. src/models/User.js (pre-save hook, lines 30-40)

User: "@codebase How does password hashing work here?"

Cursor:
Password hashing is implemented in src/auth/password.js:

import bcrypt from 'bcrypt';

export async function hashPassword(password) {
  const salt = await bcrypt.genSalt(12);
  return bcrypt.hash(password, salt);
}

export async function verifyPassword(password, hash) {
  return bcrypt.compare(password, hash);
}

# macOS
brew install --cask cursor

# Windows
winget install Cursor.Cursor

# Linux
# Download .deb or .rpm from cursor.com

# Or download directly from https://cursor.com

// settings.json
{
  "cursor.ai.enabled": true,
  "cursor.tab.enabled": true,
  "cursor.composer.autoApprove": false,
  "cursor.indexing.enabled": true,
  "cursor.privacyMode": true
}

User: "Fix the failing tests in the auth module"

Windsurf Flow:
I'll investigate and fix the failing tests.

Step 1: Running tests...
❌ 3 tests failed in src/auth/__tests__/auth.test.js

Step 2: Analyzing failures...
- Test 1: Token expiration not handled
- Test 2: Invalid token format crashes
- Test 3: Missing error messages

Step 3: Examining code...
Found issues in src/auth/token.js

Step 4: Applying fixes...
✓ Added expiration validation
✓ Added error handling for invalid tokens
✓ Added descriptive error messages

Step 5: Re-running tests...
✓ All 3 tests now passing!

Changes committed to git branch: flow/fix-auth-tests

Terminal shows: Error: Cannot find module 'express'

Windsurf:
I see the error. The express package isn't installed.

Would you like me to:
1. Run npm install express
2. Check if you meant to import a different package
3. Look at your package.json for issues

User: "Add user profile pictures to our app"

Windsurf Cascade:
I'll implement profile pictures across the stack:

Backend:
✓ Add avatar_url field to users table
✓ Create upload endpoint
✓ Configure S3 storage

Frontend:
✓ Add file upload component
✓ Display avatars in user cards
✓ Add profile picture editor

Tests:
✓ Upload functionality tests
✓ Avatar display tests

Preview changes in 8 files. Apply?

# macOS
brew install --cask windsurf

# Windows
winget install Codeium.Windsurf

# Linux
# Download from codeium.com/windsurf

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Agent Manager (Mission Control)                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Inbox                                                  │
│  ├─ Task: "Add user authentication" - In Progress       │
│  ├─ Task: "Fix failing tests" - Waiting for Review      │ 
│  └─ Task: "Create API endpoints" - Completed            │
│                                                         │                                                   
│  Workspaces                                             │
│  ├─ my-web-app (VS Code)                                │
│  └─ mobile-app (Flutter)                                │
│                                                         │                                                      
│  Playground                                             │
│  └─ Quick agent interactions                            │
│                                                         │                                                   
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

User: "Build a Flask API with user authentication"

Antigravity Agent:
I'll create a complete Flask API with JWT authentication.

Step 1: Planning...
✓ Created task plan with 5 milestones

Step 2: Setting up project...
✓ Initialized Flask application
✓ Created virtual environment
✓ Installed dependencies (Flask, JWT, bcrypt)

Step 3: Implementing authentication...
✓ Created user model with password hashing
✓ Built JWT token generation/verification
✓ Added login/register endpoints

Step 4: Writing tests...
✓ Generated unit tests with mock implementations
✓ All 12 tests passing

Step 5: Creating artifacts...
✓ Code diffs ready for review
✓ Test results logged
✓ Screenshot of API response

Ready for your review!

User: "Test the login flow on our staging site"

Browser Agent:
I'll navigate to staging.example.com and test the login flow.

1. Navigating to login page... ✓
2. Entering test credentials... ✓
3. Submitting form... ✓
4. Checking redirect to dashboard... ✓
5. Verifying session token... ✓

📹 Recording saved: login-test-20260322.mp4

1. Download from https://antigravity.google/download
2. Run installer for your OS (Mac, Windows, Linux)
3. Choose setup: Fresh start or import from VS Code/Cursor
4. Select editor theme
5. Configure agent autonomy level
6. Sign in with personal Gmail (creates new Chrome profile)
7. Accept Terms of Use and start coding

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Kiro IDE Architecture                │
│                                                         │
│   ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│   │          Agent Manager                          │   │
│   │       (Core of the IDE)                         │   │
│   └─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘   │
│                         │                               │
│         ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐               │
│         │               │               │               │
│         ▼               ▼               ▼               │
│   ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐   ┌──────────┐
│   │  Code    │   │  Spec    │   │  Debug   │   │  Test    │
│   │  Agent   │   │  Agent   │   │  Agent   │   │  Agent   │
│   └──────────┘   └──────────┘   └──────────┘   └──────────┘
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

User: /spec "Build a task management API"

Kiro:
I'll create a specification for the task management API.

## Specification

### Resources
- Tasks: CRUD operations
- Users: Authentication required
- Projects: Group tasks

### Endpoints
- POST /tasks - Create task
- GET /tasks - List tasks
- GET /tasks/:id - Get task
- PUT /tasks/:id - Update task
- DELETE /tasks/:id - Delete task

### Data Model
{
  "Task": {
    "id": "uuid",
    "title": "string",
    "description": "string",
    "status": "pending|in_progress|done",
    "projectId": "uuid",
    "assigneeId": "uuid"
  }
}

Proceed with implementation?

User: kiro agent-manager start "Build full-stack feature"

Kiro:
Launching parallel agents:

Agent 1 (Backend): Creating API endpoints
Agent 2 (Frontend): Building UI components
Agent 3 (Database): Setting up schema
Agent 4 (Tests): Writing test suite

All agents working in isolated worktrees...

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Kiro IDE Architecture                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐                                        │
│  │   Agent     │ ← Core of the IDE                      │
│  │  Manager    │                                        │
│  └──────┬──────┘                                        │
│         │                                               │
│    ┌────┴────┬────────────┬────────────┐                │
│    ▼         ▼            ▼            ▼                │
│  Code     Spec          Debug        Test               │
│  Agent    Agent         Agent        Agent              │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

User: /skill docker-expert
Skill loaded: Docker Expert v1.2.0

User: Create a Dockerfile for our Node.js app

Docker Expert:
I'll create an optimized multi-stage Dockerfile...

# macOS
brew install --cask kiro

# Windows
winget install Kiro.Kiro

# Linux
curl -fsSL https://kiro.dev/install.sh | sh

# Or download from https://kiro.dev