What it is

Orca is an agent desktop environment (ADE) that runs multiple AI coding agents in parallel, each in its own isolated git worktree. It unifies workflow, monitoring, and collaboration around AI-assisted coding across desktop, mobile, and remote runtimes. Built for developers who rely on several AI coding tools simultaneously, Orca eliminates context switching by tracking all agents and their outputs in one place.

The project solves the fragmentation problem inherent in using multiple AI coding agents—each requiring separate terminals, workspaces, and manual coordination. With Orca, users can fan a single prompt across five agents, compare outputs, annotate diffs, and merge results—all within a single interface. It replaces disjointed workflows involving terminal tabs, multiple IDEs, and external task management tools.

Key capabilities

• Run any CLI-based AI agent (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Pi) side-by-side in isolated git worktrees
• Monitor and control agents from a mobile app with push notifications and follow-up prompts
• Use terminal splits with Ghostty-class rendering, infinite splits, and persistent scrollback
• Click UI elements in a Chromium window to inject HTML, CSS, and screenshots into agent prompts via Design Mode
• SSH into remote machines and run agents there with full file editing, git, and auto-reconnect
• Annotate AI-generated diffs with inline comments and ship feedback back to agents without leaving Orca
• Drag files or images directly into agent prompts and preview Markdown, PDFs, and images natively

Who uses it and how

• Developers running multiple AI agents in parallel to compare outputs and select the best solution for a task
• Teams using Linear or GitHub to track tasks, opening worktrees directly from issues or PRs for context-aware coding
• Remote engineers using SSH worktrees to offload heavy agent runs to powerful servers while editing locally
• Mobile users managing long-running agent tasks and receiving finish notifications while away from desktop
• Automation engineers scripting agent workflows via the Orca CLI (orca worktree create, snapshot, click, fill)

Getting started

Download desktop builds from onOrca.dev or GitHub Releases for macOS, Windows, or Linux; install the mobile companion via iOS App Store, TestFlight, or Android APK. No build required—run out of the box. The CLI is bundled with the desktop app.

When to use it — and when not to

Orca shines when you need to orchestrate multiple agents concurrently with tight feedback loops and minimal context switching. It replaces manual terminal multiplexing and scattered tooling but does not replace the agents themselves—each still requires its own API key or subscription. Self-hosting is not supported; Orca is a client-side desktop/mobile app with optional remote agent execution via SSH. It does not manage infrastructure, authentication, or billing—those remain user responsibilities.