Windsurf: Devin CLI Lets You Steer a Running Turn Without Cancelling It
WindsurfWindsurf's Devin CLI (v3000.11.92) added steering support: a message typed while Devin is working is handed to the running turn instead of waiting in a queue. Devin reads it at its next step and nothing is cancelled. Users who prefer the old behavior can press Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter elsewhere) to queue the message until the turn ends.
Key Takeaways
- Messages typed mid-turn now go straight to the running turn, so Devin reads them at its next step instead of after the turn ends.
- Nothing is cancelled, which means partial progress is preserved when the developer redirects the agent.
- Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter elsewhere) keeps the old queue-until-done behavior for follow-ups that should wait.
- Ctrl+C now clears a draft first, including image attachments, and only cancels the task when the input is empty.
- Ctrl+U in a multiline prompt removes line breaks one at a time, making it faster to clear a long draft.
- Steering is especially useful for long unattended runs such as those started with /goal, where early correction saves the most time.
Talk to Devin While It Works
Before this release, a message typed during an active Devin CLI turn waited in a queue until the turn ended. Windsurf's Devin CLI v3000.11.92 changes that default. A message sent mid-turn is now passed directly to the running turn, and Devin reads it at its next step. No work is cancelled or restarted, so a course correction such as "use the existing helper instead" lands while the agent is still in motion.
Queueing Is Still Available
Steering is the default, but queueing remains one keystroke away. Pressing Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on other platforms) holds the message until the current turn finishes, which suits follow-up requests that should not influence the work in progress.
Related Input Improvements
The release also refined how the prompt handles input. Ctrl+C now clears a non-empty draft, including image attachments, without interrupting the running task, and only cancels the task when pressed on an empty input. In a multiline prompt, Ctrl+U at the start of a line removes the line break, so repeated presses clear the prompt line by line.
Why It Matters
Long agent runs are where wrong assumptions get expensive. Being able to correct direction without losing progress shortens the feedback loop, and it pairs naturally with the new /goal command, where Devin may run many turns unattended.