Orca ADE

1. What is Orca?

Orca is a desktop app for running several AI coding assistants at once, each on its own task, without them getting in each other's way. Its makers (Stably AI) call it a development environment for agents; "agents" here means coding assistants that run in a terminal, such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor CLI.

How it works: every task you hand out lives in its own "worktree", an independent working copy of your project that Git creates. That lets three assistants attempt the same bug fix in three different ways while you compare the results and keep the best one. Orca also bundles terminals, a viewer for code changes, a built-in browser and a phone app for keeping an eye on things remotely.

To be direct: Orca is for people who write code. The official docs say it is designed for those who build software for a living, and that if you are looking for a no-code tool, Orca is not that.

Orca is free, open source under the MIT license, and has no account system. But Orca is not an AI model. You bring your own Claude, Codex or similar subscription.

A good fit if:

• You already pay for Claude Code, Codex or Cursor CLI and want one place to orchestrate them.
• You want several assistants to try the same task so you can pick the winner.
• You are willing to read and review AI-written code before you use it.

Not a good fit if:

• You do not program and have never used Git.
• You are looking for a free AI chatbot. Orca ships with no AI of its own.
• You only have a phone. The Orca mobile app is a remote control for the desktop app, nothing more.

2. What do you need?

• A computer running macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel), Windows or Linux. The official docs do not list minimum OS versions.
• Git: the tool that tracks versions of source code. Orca depends on it entirely to create worktrees. Download: https://git-scm.com/downloads
• A project already in Git on your machine. Orca works with an existing project folder.
• At least one terminal-based coding assistant, installed and signed in, for example Claude Code or Codex. This is the part that costs money: each assistant has its own subscription, priced on its vendor's site. Orca charges nothing on top.
• No Orca account for the desktop app. The privacy documentation states that Orca has no account system. (Pairing a phone through "Orca Relay" does ask you to sign in, see Step 4.)
• A phone (optional) if you want to monitor agents remotely: iPhone or Android.

The newest Orca release at the time of writing is v1.4.217, published on 29 September 2026. The team ships new builds almost daily.

3. Step-by-step installation

Step 1: Download the installer

Open the official download page: https://onorca.dev/download

Choose your operating system. The matching file names on the Releases page (https://github.com/stablyai/orca/releases/latest) are:

Your machine	File to download
Windows	orca-windows-setup.exe
Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later)	orca-macos-arm64.dmg
Mac with an Intel chip	orca-macos-x64.dmg
Linux	orca-linux.AppImage, or a .deb / .rpm package

You are on track when: your browser has saved the right file for your machine.

Step 2: Install on Windows

Double-click orca-windows-setup.exe and follow the installer screens. The Windows build is code-signed through SignPath.

You are on track when: Orca appears in the Start menu.

Step 2: Install on macOS

Open the downloaded .dmg and drag the Orca icon into Applications. The macOS build is signed and notarized by Apple; macOS may still ask you to confirm on first launch, which is normal.

If you have Homebrew (a command-line software installer for Mac), one command does it:

brew install --cask stablyai/orca/orca

You are on track when: Orca sits in Applications and opens.

Step 2: Install on Linux

The docs recommend the AppImage if you want Orca to update itself. Make the file executable and launch it. The .deb and .rpm packages install through your distribution's package manager.

Arch Linux users have an AUR package:

yay -S stably-orca-bin

Note: On Linux the Orca command-line tool is named orca-ide, so it does not clash with the GNOME Orca screen reader.

Step 3: Launch Orca for the first time

Open Orca. According to the docs, on first launch it will:

1. Ask for access to your home directory so it can add projects.
2. Offer to import settings from ~/.claude, ~/.codex and the Ghostty terminal if they exist.
3. Drop you on an empty screen where you add your first project.

You are on track when: you see the main window with a left sidebar and an Add Repo button.

Step 4 (optional): Install the phone app

The mobile companion is in beta.

• iPhone: install it from the App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orca-ide/id6766130217
• Android: open https://onorca.dev/download in Chrome and select Android to download app-release.apk (version 0.0.50 at the time of writing). When it finishes, open Downloads and tap the file. If Android asks, allow only your browser or the Files app to install unknown apps, and turn that permission off again afterwards.

To pair with your computer: on the desktop, open the pairing flow from the account / status menu to get a one-time code. On the phone, open the app, choose Pair and paste the code. The docs say the "Orca Relay" pairing route requires sign-in; pairing codes expire after a few minutes, so generate a new one if it stops working. Desktop and phone must be able to reach each other over the network.

4. First use

Orca's docs call this the most important page: going from an empty app to three agents working in parallel.

1. Add a project. Click Add Repo in the sidebar and point it at a project folder on your machine. Orca reads the Git state and uses your default branch as the base.
2. Create a worktree. Click the + next to the project name and type a task name, for example fix-login-race. Leave it blank and Orca names it after a sea creature.
3. Pick an agent. In the new worktree a terminal opens with an agent selector. Choose Claude Code, Codex or whichever assistant you have. Orca launches it in the right folder.
4. Give it a task. Type your request to the agent as you normally would.
5. Try running in parallel. Repeat steps 2 and 3 twice more and paste the same request into all three. Drag a worktree's tab to the right or bottom edge to split the view and watch them together.
6. Pick the winner. When the agents settle, open each worktree's diff view, choose the one you like, then commit and push from inside Orca. The other two worktrees can be deleted with one click, and their branches go with them.

What it looks like: the left sidebar lists your worktrees, and the main area holds the terminal panes where each agent is working.

Note: By default Orca launches assistants with their permission prompts bypassed (for example, it adds --dangerously-skip-permissions for Claude), on the reasoning that worktrees are disposable. If you want assistants to ask before running commands, go to Settings, then Agents, then Agent Permissions, and switch to Manual.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
An agent will not start	The assistant is not installed, not signed in, or Orca cannot find it	Run the assistant in an ordinary terminal. If it fails there too, reinstall it or sign in again. If it fails only inside Orca, check Settings, then Agents, and try the Restart chip on the tab
Creating a worktree fails	The starting branch has not been fetched, or that branch already has a worktree	Open a terminal in the project folder and run git fetch origin; or delete the old worktree, or pick a different branch name
The diff view looks wrong or stuck	A Git operation outside Orca landed between refreshes	Click the refresh icon on the diff toolbar
Typing orca gives "command not found"	The Orca command-line tool has not been registered	Register it under Settings, then General, then Orca CLI. On macOS it is placed in ~/.local/bin, so make sure that folder is on your PATH
The computer is slow or short on memory	Too many worktrees and browser tabs are open	Close worktrees you are not using and in-app browser tabs. The docs name split layouts with many browser tabs as the biggest memory users
The Android download never finishes	The link opened inside Discord, GitHub or another app	Choose "Open in browser" and download again in Chrome
Samsung says Auto Blocker prevented the install	A Samsung protection feature	Go to Settings, Security and privacy, Auto Blocker, turn it off temporarily, install Orca, then turn it back on. Do not disable Play Protect

When you need to report a bug, open the Help menu and choose Open Logs to find the log files, then file it at https://github.com/stablyai/orca/issues

6. Uninstalling / updating

Updating:

• Orca updates itself on the stable channel. To check right away, go to Settings, then General, then Updates, and click Check for Updates.
• If you installed with Homebrew:

brew upgrade --cask orca

• On Linux, the AppImage updates itself. The .deb and .rpm packages only report that an update exists and give you the command to run; quit Orca before running it.
• Do not like the new version? Older builds stay available on the Releases page. The docs say Orca will not force-downgrade your worktree data if you go back.

Uninstalling:

• Windows: open Windows Settings, go to Apps, then Installed apps, find Orca and choose Uninstall.
• macOS: drag Orca from Applications to the Trash. If you used Homebrew:

brew uninstall --cask orca

• Linux: delete the AppImage file, or remove the package with the package manager you installed it with.

Before uninstalling, delete the worktrees you no longer need from inside Orca. Deleting a worktree removes both its folder and its branch (after a confirmation). Your original project folder is not affected.

7. Frequently asked questions

Does it cost money? Orca is free and open source (MIT). What you pay for is the subscription of whichever coding assistants you run inside it.

Do I need an internet connection? Yes. Orca itself runs on your machine, but the assistants inside it need a connection to reach their AI services.

Does Orca collect my data? Orca sends anonymous usage data (event types, version, operating system). The docs state it never transmits file contents, prompts, agent output, project names or paths. To turn it off, go to Settings, then Privacy, and switch off "Share anonymous usage data". A separate point: your code is still sent to the AI vendor behind whichever assistant you choose, because that is how those assistants work.

Can I use it without knowing how to program? Not really. The official docs say plainly that Orca is not a no-code tool. You need to be able to read a diff and understand the basics of Git.

Does it work with any assistant? Orca can run any assistant that works in a terminal. Many come preconfigured for one-click launch, including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI and OpenCode. The full list is at https://www.onorca.dev/docs/agents/supported