gotnerfed · index of recordfiled · 2026-03-11 · receipt #windsurf-2026-03-model-swap

RECEIPT#WIND-2026-03-MScalm

Windsurf·AI-first code editor·scored10nerf/ 100

[RETRACTED] Windsurf Flex-tier model swap

Retracted 2026-06-10: Windsurf has no "Flex tier" (Flex = promo credits) and NerfBench does not test Windsurf, so it cannot be the evidence. See /transparency.

Filed: 2026-03-11
Observed: 2026-03-11
Response window: UNCONTESTED · DAY 30
Jurisdiction: MIT · public

§ 01THE CHANGEBEFORE → AFTER · AI-FIRST CODE EDITOR

− BEFORE · REMOVED2026-03-11

Flex tier: full-size model (advertised default)

FLEX · FULL-SIZE MODEL·advertised configuration

+ AFTER · CURRENT2026-03-11

Flex tier: smaller variant, same label, lower benchmark scores

FLEX · SMALLER VARIANT·silent swap from 2026-03-11

WASAdvertised full-size model on Flex

→

NOW
Smaller variant · ~12% lower benchmark pass-rate

-12%BENCHMARK PASS-RATE DROP

PREDICTED IMPACT · EST.LOW CONFIDENCE

USER IMPACTSmall subsetof users on edge configurations

12-MO FINANCIAL DAMAGENegligible direct costsoft friction only

CHURN PRESSURE · 30Dsettledvendor reversed course; trust partially restored

Estimate based on the receipt's Nerf Index (10 / 100), the severity flag, and the kind of change (model swap). How we estimate ↗

§ 03VENDOR RESPONSE WINDOWCLOSED · UNCONTESTED

Windsurf · response window UNCONTESTEDUNCONTESTED

FILED2026-03-11

MARKED UNCONTESTED2026-04-10

NOW · DAY 110

Windsurf did not respond inside the 30-day window. This receipt now reads as uncontested in the public record.

How the window works ↗Subscribe to updates

§ 04EVIDENCE TRAIL1 SOURCES

CONTEXT · NARRATIVEfiled by gotnerfed · 2026-03-11

Discovered when independent benchmarks (including NerfBench) showed a sudden ~12% pass-rate drop on identical prompts.

Discovered when independent benchmarks (including NerfBench) showed a sudden ~12% pass-rate drop on identical prompts. Windsurf acknowledged the swap in a community thread but did not update marketing claims about model quality.

DETECTED2026-03-11KINDMODEL SWAPSEVERITYINFOSOURCES1VENDOR REPLYNONE

PRIMARY SOURCES · CHRONOLOGICAL01 / 01

DOC

Windsurf product page ↗Source · codeium.com

§ 05NEXT STEP · ESCAPE POD4 RANKED ALTS

◆ FREE / OPEN-SOURCE ALTERNATIVES4 ranked replacements for Windsurf.avg score 90 / 100

OpenCode↗FREE / OSS

MIT·★ 120k

Open-source Claude Code / Cursor replacement that lives in the terminal. Pick when you want zero vendor lock-in and any LLM backend.

GLM-5.2 (open weights)↗FREE / OSS

MIT

Permissive (MIT) open-weight model targeting ChatGPT/Claude-class chat and agentic coding without API lock-in - the strongest open option for a self-hosted stack.

Open Interpreter↗FREE / OSS

AGPL-3.0·★ 60k

ChatGPT's Code Interpreter, but local and against any model.

Kimi K2.6 (open weights)↗FREE / OSS

Modified MIT

Near-frontier open-weight model to back a self-hosted ChatGPT/Claude replacement or an agentic coding stack.

List manually curated · last reviewed 2026-05-13Open full picker →