explaingit

stablyai/orca

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

25,811TypeScriptAudience · developerLicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A desktop app that lets you run several AI coding agents like Claude Code and Codex in parallel, each in its own git worktree, with tools to compare, review, and merge their results.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Orca))
    What it does
      Orchestrates AI coding agents
      Parallel git worktrees
      Review and merge results
    Tech stack
      TypeScript
      Electron desktop app
      Git worktrees and SSH
    Use cases
      Run agents in parallel
      Compare and merge results
      Remote agents over SSH
    Audience
      Developers using AI agents
      Teams running multiple coding tools

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run the same coding task through several AI agents in parallel and compare the results before merging.

USE CASE 2

Manage and monitor multiple AI coding agent sessions from one desktop app instead of separate terminals.

USE CASE 3

Click a UI element in an embedded browser to send its code and a screenshot straight into an agent's prompt.

USE CASE 4

Run agents on a remote server over SSH and check on them from a mobile companion app.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptElectronGit worktreesSSH

How does it compare?

stablyai/orcagrapesjs/grapesjsakveo/ngx-admin
Stars25,81125,78625,728
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/5
Audiencedeveloperpm founderpm founder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Download the desktop app, bring your own subscriptions for whichever coding agents you use.

MIT license, use freely for any purpose including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Orca is a desktop application for people who run several AI coding agents at once, such as Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode, and want a single place to manage all of them instead of juggling separate terminal windows. It calls itself an orchestrator, meaning its job is to organize and coordinate multiple agents rather than being a coding agent itself. The core idea is running each agent in its own git worktree, which is a separate working copy of your code that shares the same repository. This lets you send the same task to several agents in parallel, each working in isolation, and then compare their results side by side before choosing which one to merge. Orca also includes full terminal support with fast rendering and scrollback that survives restarts, so you can still work directly in a shell when needed. Beyond running agents, Orca adds tools meant to speed up reviewing their work. A design mode lets you click any element in an embedded browser window and send its HTML, styling, and a screenshot straight into an agent's prompt. You can annotate lines in a code diff with comments that get sent back to the agent, drag files or images directly into a prompt, and browse GitHub and Linear issues and pull requests without leaving the app. There is also a mobile companion app so you can check on running agents and send follow-up instructions from your phone, plus an SSH mode for running agents on a remote server instead of your local machine. Orca is built with TypeScript and is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with users bringing their own subscriptions to whichever coding agents they use. It also ships a command line interface so agents themselves can script Orca, and the project is released under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how Orca's parallel worktrees feature lets me run the same prompt across multiple coding agents.
Prompt 2
Help me set up Orca to run Claude Code and Codex side by side on the same repository.
Prompt 3
Show me how to use Orca's design mode to send a UI element's HTML and screenshot into an agent's prompt.
Prompt 4
Walk me through using the Orca CLI to script a worktree creation and take a snapshot.

Frequently asked questions

What is orca?

A desktop app that lets you run several AI coding agents like Claude Code and Codex in parallel, each in its own git worktree, with tools to compare, review, and merge their results.

What language is orca written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Electron, Git worktrees.

What license does orca use?

MIT license, use freely for any purpose including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is orca to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is orca for?

Mainly developer.

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