What it is
Orca is a desktop app for running a fleet of command-line coding agents at once. Each agent gets its own git worktree, so five agents can attempt the same prompt without touching each other's files, and you compare the results and merge the best one. It works with any agent that runs in a terminal; the README names 34, including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Amp, Goose and Pi.
Around the terminals it adds a code editor, a diff view where you can comment on lines and send the comments back to the agent, GitHub and Linear boards, worktrees on remote machines over SSH, a Chromium window whose elements you can click to pass their HTML and CSS into a prompt, and a CLI so agents can drive Orca themselves. Companion apps for iOS and Android let you watch and steer agents from a phone.
Orca is built by Stably AI and licensed under MIT, with builds for macOS, Windows and Linux. It ships almost daily: version 1.4.237 came out on 21 October 2026.
Our review
Orca solves the right problem. Once you run more than one coding agent, the bottleneck is the person keeping track of them, and Orca answers that with one git worktree per agent, a single list showing which agents are finished, and diff comments that go straight back into the agent's prompt. It wraps the terminal rather than any one agent, so the 34 agents named in the README, from Claude Code and Codex to Goose and Kiro, all run the same way on the subscriptions you already pay for.
The reach goes further than most rivals. SSH worktrees put agents on a bigger remote machine, but Orca installs its own pinned server runtime on that host the first time you connect, and the docs say hosts with a noexec home directory or SSH port forwarding switched off simply fail. Design mode sends a clicked element's HTML, CSS and a cropped screenshot into the prompt, which is more than a plain terminal multiplexer can offer.
Privacy is better handled than the word telemetry suggests. According to the telemetry docs, events go to PostHog's US region and carry only fixed values such as agent type and app version; file contents, prompts, terminal output, repo names and paths are never sent, and one setting or ORCA_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1 turns it off. The phone apps reach your desktop through Stably's hosted relay, which the relay code and the mobile app describe as end-to-end encrypted, though the docs do not say so; it can also connect directly over your LAN or Tailscale on port 6768.
The real cost is churn. Version 1.4.237 shipped on 21 October 2026, the repository is seven months old, and the team calls its changelog the real feature list. Nothing in the app is billed, but fanning one prompt across five agents can use five times the tokens, so heavy users of Claude Max or Codex plans hit rate limits sooner, which is presumably why Orca shows usage and limit resets for both.
Where it earns its place
A senior engineer on a Claude Max plan
Try three approaches to a tricky refactor and keep the best one
Fan the same prompt to Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode in separate worktrees, compare the diffs side by side and merge one. Orca costs nothing; the price is roughly three times the tokens of a single run against your existing plans.
A platform engineer with a 64-core build server
Run long agent sessions off the laptop
Open SSH worktrees on the server; Orca installs its own runtime there so terminals keep running after the laptop closes. Check first that the host allows port forwarding and an executable home directory, or the connection fails.
An engineering manager at a 20-developer startup
Standardise how the team runs and reviews agent work without buying another seat licence
Everyone installs the free MIT desktop app, agent changes land as worktrees and pull requests, and GitHub and Linear boards sit inside the app. Enterprise rollout help exists but its price and terms are not published.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Download a build for macOS, Windows or Linux, or use Homebrew or the AUR; point it at a repository and launch an agent you already have installed.
- Integrations
- GitHub and Linear boards, SSH remotes, an embedded Chromium window, iOS and Android companion apps, and an orca CLI that agents can script.
- Data and privacy
- Code and prompts go directly to the agent providers you configure; anonymous telemetry goes to PostHog US with PostHog's default retention and can be disabled. SOC 2 is shown only as readiness.
- Cost at scale
- The app is free for any team size; the bill is your agents' subscriptions or API usage, which rises with every extra parallel run.
- Limits
- Behaviour changes with near-daily releases; SSH hosts without port forwarding or with a noexec home fail outright; the mobile relay needs an Orca sign-in.
What's good
- Runs any terminal agent, 34 named in the README
- One isolated git worktree per agent
- Diff comments go straight back to the agent
- Telemetry excludes code, prompts and paths
What's not
- A new release almost every day
- Telemetry is on until you switch it off
- SSH mode installs a server on the remote host
- Parallel runs multiply token use
Best for
Developers who run several coding agents at once and want them isolated, tracked and reviewed in one place.
Alternatives
Orca: common questions
- Is Orca worth it?
- A free, agent-neutral control room for parallel coding agents, held back only by how fast it changes underneath you. We rate it 4.2 out of 5.
- How much does Orca cost?
- Free and open source under MIT. You bring your own agent subscriptions or API keys.
- What are the downsides of Orca?
- A new release almost every day; telemetry is on until you switch it off; sSH mode installs a server on the remote host; parallel runs multiply token use.
- Who is Orca best for?
- Developers who run several coding agents at once and want them isolated, tracked and reviewed in one place.
- How much does Orca cost for a team or in production?
- The app is free for any team size; the bill is your agents' subscriptions or API usage, which rises with every extra parallel run.
- Is Orca safe for company data?
- Code and prompts go directly to the agent providers you configure; anonymous telemetry goes to PostHog US with PostHog's default retention and can be disabled. SOC 2 is shown only as readiness.
- What are the best Orca alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are OpenCode.
Answers checked Oct 23, 2026.
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