Windsurf Wave 8's second batch adds custom workflows and multitasking to Cascade

Just a day after announcing the first batch of new features in Wave 8, Windsurf Editor has released the second set of updates, focusing on greater Cascade customization and automation. The update introduces a new Custom Workflows system, enabling users to define markdown-based automation routines stored under .windsurf/workflows. These workflows can be shared across teams and triggered by slash commands, with graphical user interface guidance and the ability to generate workflows from Cascade conversations.

Following upgrades to workflows, Windsurf's rules system now supports multiple markdown rule files per repository, each with distinct activation modes including manual, always-on, model decision, or glob-based triggers. Rules are separated into repository-scoped and global types for improved flexibility and can be referenced directly in chat using mentions, making it easier to enforce and reuse standards.

Alongside these changes, users may now initiate simultaneous Cascade tasks, removing previous blocking limits and supporting multitasking within the platform. The new Plugins Panel provides a centralized space to discover, manage, and verify Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools, with support for enabling or disabling individual integrations. MCP-based tool limits have increased from 50 to 100, and the platform now offers expanded MCP capabilities, with multimodal responses limited to Anthropic models for image output.