Prerequisites
- Windsurf installed on your machine
- A Sparkle account (sign in after installation)
Install from the marketplace
Windsurf uses the Open VSX Registry for extensions.1
Open the Extensions panel
Press Cmd+Shift+X (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux), or click the Extensions icon in the activity bar.
2
Search for Sparkle Guardrails
Search for Sparkle Guardrails or
thesparkle.sparkle-guardrails.3
Install the extension
Select Sparkle Guardrails published by thesparkle, then click Install.
Install from a VSIX file
If the extension does not appear in the marketplace, install it manually from Open VSX.1
Download the VSIX file
Open Sparkle Guardrails on Open VSX and download the
.vsix file.2
Install from VSIX
In the Extensions panel, open the … menu and select Install from VSIX…. Choose the downloaded file.Alternatively, open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P or Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Extensions: Install from VSIX….
3
Reload Windsurf
Reload the window if prompted.
Sign in
After installation, open Sparkle in Windsurf and complete the sign-in flow with your Sparkle account.Verify installation
1
Confirm the extension is enabled
In the Extensions panel, confirm Sparkle Guardrails appears under Installed.
2
Open a project
Open the repository you want to protect with Sparkle.
3
Run a prompt
Use Windsurf’s AI features in that project. Sparkle applies guardrails on every prompt.
Next steps
Using the Extension
Learn the basic extension workflow.
Troubleshooting
Fix common installation issues.

