Follow the steps
Prepare and review a plan here; run the planning conversation in Devin Desktop. This page does not send your text or execute code. Copy your record before leaving; inputs reset on reload.
Step 1 of 6
Start with a request that leaves room for questions
Use the fictional R1–R5 request from the requirements exercise: export the activity rows matching the current filter, keep the selected columns, and exclude scheduled email. Copy the request and unresolved decisions into a new practice folder that contains no work code, secrets or personal data. This is a planning exercise, not a request to build an exporter.
Read all steps
Start with a request that leaves room for questions
Use the fictional R1–R5 request from the requirements exercise: export the activity rows matching the current filter, keep the selected columns, and exclude scheduled email. Copy the request and unresolved decisions into a new practice folder that contains no work code, secrets or personal data. This is a planning exercise, not a request to build an exporter.
Check which agent you are using
Open the practice folder in Devin Desktop, formerly called Windsurf. For a new conversation, select Devin Local using the agent selector at the bottom right. Check the account's current access and usage allowance. If Devin Local is missing, stop with your prepared request; do not use Cascade as an automatic substitute. The two agents do not share every mode or permission setting.
Ask for a plan, not an implementation
In Devin Local, enter `/plan` and confirm the session shows Plan before submitting the request. Ask for a proposed implementation sequence, source-linked acceptance examples and a list of decisions still needed. State that the folder is a fictional exercise with no existing application to inspect. Do not grant broader permissions or click Implement for this exercise. Official documentation describes a plan file outside the project; that file is the expected output, not changed application code.
Test the plan against the tiny example
Read the generated plan alongside R1–R5. For R5, the active filter should keep A/Alpha and C/Gamma, with only id and label columns. B/Beta is archived and should be excluded. A plan that requires manually ticking rows changed the request. Record the exact sentence that needs fixing; a neat task list can still solve the wrong problem.
Keep open decisions open
Check that limits, permissions, empty results, ordering, encoding, formula-like cells, dates, budget and outcome metrics remain unresolved. Ask for one revision if the plan invented any of them. For example, “Use UTF-8 and allow every signed-in user to export” makes two unapproved decisions. Replace it with named questions and an owner-to-confirm placeholder. Read the revised plan again; a request to fix it is not proof that it was fixed.
Keep the plan and its limits
Record the agent, selected mode, plan filename, chosen revision, one correction and remaining decisions. Devin Local documentation places plans at `~/.devin/plans/plan-<session>.md`; use the actual file shown in your session. Copy a non-sensitive excerpt into the existing requirements worksheet if you want to compare it with the request. Mark the result as a reviewed proposal: no code, tests, approval or deployment was completed by this exercise.
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AhaDo reviewed the official Devin Desktop FAQ, Devin Local and shared command documentation on 8 September 2026. We have not tried this route in a signed-in account. This exercise uses Devin Local Plan, not Cascade Plan. You enter the agent, mode and plan filename yourself; this worksheet does not read your project files, run code or approve implementation.
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