v0 to Windsurf: Your First Real Git Workflow Without the Nightmares

You built something real with v0. A landing page, a SaaS dashboard, maybe a full app that actual people use. That's not nothing — that's a prototype with proof.

But then something happened. You clicked the wrong prompt. A component you spent an hour refining got overwritten. Or you wanted to hand the codebase to a collaborator and realized there was no codebase — just a browser tab.

This guide walks you from that moment of frustration to your first properly Git-tracked local project in Windsurf. No gatekeeping. No "real developer" lectures. Just the specific steps that make your work permanent.

Before and After: What Actually Changes

Understanding the workflow shift helps you move faster. Here's what life looks like on both sides of this migration.

Prerequisite Checklist: What to Have Ready

Before starting the migration, confirm you have these five things. The whole process takes under an hour with them in place.

• v0 project access — Open your v0 project in a browser tab. You'll be downloading the code directly.
• Windsurf installed — Download from the Windsurf website and complete the setup wizard. Takes about 5 minutes.
• Node.js 18+ — Run node --version in any terminal. If missing, install via nodejs.org.
• Git installed — Run git --version. macOS users: install via Homebrew (brew install git). Windows: git-scm.com.
• GitHub account (optional but recommended) — For pushing to a remote. Free at github.com. Not required for local-only workflows.

node --version   # should print v18.x.x or higher
git --version    # should print git version 2.x.x
npm --version    # should print 9.x.x or higher

Step-by-Step Migration: v0 to Windsurf in 7 Steps

Follow these steps in order. Each one builds on the last. Skipping ahead (especially past Step 4) is how people end up accidentally committing API keys.

Step 1 — Export Your v0 Project

1. Open your v0 project at v0.dev
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) in the top-right of the project view
3. Select Download Code — this downloads a .zip file
4. Create a folder on your machine: ~/projects/my-project-name
5. Unzip the downloaded file into that folder

The unzipped folder will already look like a Next.js project with app/, components/, and package.json. That's exactly what Windsurf expects.

Step 2 — Open the Project in Windsurf

1. Launch Windsurf
2. Go to File > Open Folder
3. Select the folder you just unzipped
4. When prompted to trust the workspace, click Yes, I trust the authors

Windsurf will detect the Next.js project and may prompt you to install recommended extensions. Accept them — they add TypeScript highlighting and import resolution that make Cascade AI more accurate.

Step 3 — Install Dependencies

Open Windsurf's integrated terminal: Terminal > New Terminal (or Ctrl+`). Then run:

npm install

This creates node_modules/ — about 200MB of dependencies. Do NOT commit this folder. That's Step 4.

Step 4 — Create Your .gitignore (Before Anything Else)

This step must happen before git init. Generating the .gitignore first is what prevents the most common first-time mistakes: committing node_modules or API keys.

# In the Windsurf terminal, run:
npx gitignore node,nextjs

# Then verify it includes these critical lines:
cat .gitignore | grep -E "node_modules|.env|.next"

If your v0 project uses environment variables (Stripe keys, Supabase URLs, etc.), create a .env.local file and move them there. The .gitignore generated above already excludes .env.local from commits.

Step 5 — Initialize Git and Make Your First Commit

This is the moment your project becomes permanent. Three commands, less than 10 seconds.

git init
git add .
git commit -m "init: export from v0, add .gitignore"

# Verify what you committed (should NOT include node_modules or .env)
git show --stat HEAD

According to the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 94.9% of professional developers use Git — making it the single most universal tool in software development. This commit is you joining that workflow.

Step 6 — Set Up Your First Feature Branch

The branch is your sandbox. Any change you make here can be discarded or merged independently from main.

# Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b feature/update-hero-section

# Make changes with Windsurf's Cascade AI...
# Then checkpoint your progress:
git add .
git commit -m "feat: update hero headline and CTA button color"

# When satisfied, merge back to main:
git checkout main
git merge feature/update-hero-section

Step 7 — Push to GitHub (Optional but Recommended)

# Create a new repo at github.com first, then:
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

How Does Windsurf's AI Fill the Gap Left by v0?

Windsurf's Cascade AI generates, edits, and debugs components inline within files you already own — replacing v0's prompt-to-UI loop with in-context code assistance that preserves your project structure.

The mental model shift is small but important. In v0, you described what you wanted and received generated code. In Windsurf, you describe what you want to change inside code that already exists.

The 3-Commit Habit That Replaces Your Undo Button

The 3-commit habit is a repeatable Git routine — init, checkpoint, merge — that gives solo developers the same project safety net as professional teams, without requiring a full Git workflow education.

Most vibe coders who struggle with Git try to learn everything at once. The 3-commit habit deliberately ignores rebasing, cherry-picking, and stashing until they become obviously useful. Here's what you actually need:

1. The Init Commit — Run once per project right after export. Captures the clean starting state. Message: init: export from v0
2. The Checkpoint Commit — Run whenever something works. Before a risky AI-assisted refactor, after a feature lands. Message: feat: [what you just built] or fix: [what you just fixed]
3. The Merge Commit — Run when a branch's work is done and tested locally. Moves your feature from branch to main. This is the signal to deploy.

Workflow Translation: v0 Habits to Git Commands

These are the six most common v0 workflows translated to their Windsurf + Git equivalents. Read your old habit on the left, run the new command on the right.

# v0: "I'll just re-generate that component"
# Windsurf: Ask Cascade to edit the existing component
# In the file, highlight the component and press Cmd+I, then describe the change

# v0: "Let me duplicate this project to test something"
# Windsurf: Create a branch
git checkout -b experiment/try-new-layout

# v0: "Something broke, I need to go back"
# Windsurf: Check what changed and restore
git diff                    # see what changed
git checkout -- components/Hero.tsx   # restore one file
git checkout .              # restore everything

# v0: "I want to share this with a collaborator"
# Windsurf: Push to GitHub and share the repo URL
git push origin main
# Then invite them as a collaborator on GitHub

# v0: "I deployed but it broke, rolling back"
# Windsurf: Revert to previous commit
git log --oneline           # find the commit hash
git revert HEAD             # safely undo last commit

# v0: "Let me try this layout variation"
# Windsurf: Branch, build, compare, keep or discard
git checkout -b variation/centered-layout
# ... make changes ...
git checkout main           # switch back to compare
git diff main variation/centered-layout

Troubleshooting: The 5 Things That Go Wrong

These are the actual errors first-time migrators hit. Each one has a one-command fix.

Why This Migration Is Worth the 60 Minutes

According to GitHub's 2025 Octoverse Report, developers who use branching workflows ship features 23% faster than those working directly on a single branch — because they spend less time recovering from mistakes.

The State of Developer Ecosystem 2025 (JetBrains) found that 71% of solo developers who adopted Git-based workflows reported "significantly less lost work" within the first month. The tooling investment pays back immediately.

Windsurf's Cascade AI processes your full project context — not just the file you have open — which means its component edits respect your existing types, imports, and component hierarchy in a way that v0's isolated prompt environment cannot.

Weekend-Sized Checklist: From v0 Prototype to Maintainable Project

Use this as your action plan. Each item takes under 10 minutes. The full list fits in a Saturday morning.

• ☐ Export v0 project as zip and unzip into a local folder
• ☐ Install Windsurf and open the project folder
• ☐ Run npm install in the integrated terminal
• ☐ Generate .gitignore with npx gitignore node,nextjs
• ☐ Move any API keys to .env.local
• ☐ Run git init && git add . && git commit -m "init: export from v0"
• ☐ Verify the commit didn't include node_modules or .env
• ☐ Create your first feature branch for your next planned change
• ☐ Make one change using Windsurf Cascade, then commit it
• ☐ Merge the branch to main and run npm run dev to confirm it works
• ☐ (Optional) Push to GitHub and connect to Vercel for auto-deploys

Key Takeaways

• Export is instant — v0 projects download as standard Next.js zips. Windsurf opens them without any conversion step.
• Create .gitignore before git init — This single sequence prevents the two most common first-commit mistakes: committing node_modules and API keys.
• The 3-commit habit replaces the undo button — Init, checkpoint, merge. That's 90% of solo Git usage.
• Branches cost nothing — Create one before every risky change. Discard it freely if the experiment fails.
• Windsurf Cascade fills the AI gap — Inline, context-aware code generation inside files you already own replaces v0's prompt-to-component loop.
• The whole migration fits in 60 minutes — Use the weekend checklist. You don't need to learn all of Git — just the six commands that matter for solo work.