How to Use Codeium (now Windsurf)

Getting started with Codeium

In this guide, you'll learn how to set up Codeium for code completion and chat support in your preferred IDE. By the end, you'll be ready to enhance your coding efficiency with context-aware suggestions.

Step 1: Sign up and set up

1. Go to Codeium's website.
2. Click on the Sign Up button in the top right corner.
3. Enter your email address and create a password, or use a third-party login option like GitHub or Google.
4. Confirm your email by clicking the link sent to your inbox.
5. Once logged in, download the appropriate extension for your IDE from the Downloads section on the website. Supported IDEs include Visual Studio Code, JetBrains, and more.

Step 2: Your first code completion

1. Open your IDE and ensure the Codeium extension is enabled (check the extension panel).
2. Start a new project or open an existing one.
3. Begin typing a line of code. For example, type function calculateArea(.
4. As you type, Codeium will display suggestions. Use the arrow keys to navigate through the suggestions and press Tab to accept a suggestion.
5. Continue coding, and Codeium will provide context-aware completions as you go.

Step 3: Get better results

1. Use comments to guide Codeium. For example, type // Function to calculate area of a circle before your function declaration to help it understand your intent.
2. Explore the settings by clicking on the Codeium icon in your IDE’s toolbar. Here, you can adjust preferences like suggestion frequency and enabling/disabling specific languages.
3. Utilize the chat feature by opening the Codeium panel and asking questions about code snippets or programming concepts. This helps you get quick explanations or alternative coding approaches.

Pro tip

Take advantage of keyboard shortcuts to navigate Codeium's suggestions faster. For example, use Ctrl + Space to manually trigger suggestions if they don’t appear automatically.

Common mistake to avoid

Avoid typing code without context. Codeium performs best when it understands what you’re trying to achieve, so always provide comments or clear function names to get the most accurate suggestions.