<!-- orca-pr-loc -->
<!-- Programmatic LoC summary. Do not edit by hand; rewritten on every commit. -->
| | Files | Added | Deleted | Net |
| :--- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Test | 6 | $\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$544 | $\color{#cf222e}{\Huge{\mathbf{−}}}$49 | $\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$495 |
| Prod | 36 | $\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$1719 | $\color{#cf222e}{\Huge{\mathbf{−}}}$1703 | $\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$16 |
<!-- /orca-pr-loc -->
## ELI5
Orca ships eight skill guides that agents read before running the CLI. Seven of them (everything except `orchestration`, which #16904 rewrites) were command catalogs that had drifted from the binary. This PR rewrites them so an agent reads the outcome, the done bar, and the safe-failure rule first, loads reference material only at the step that needs it, and never sees a command or flag the installed CLI does not define.
## What changed
- **Seven guides rewritten** to one standard: outcome spine first (Result / Done / Safe failure), conditions instead of case lists, one done bar, one autonomy envelope, references loaded at the point of use via `skills get <topic> --full`, every runnable invocation spelled `ORCA`. `orca-cli` is 424→260 always-loaded lines with three references (browser, automations, publishing); `orca-per-workspace-env` is 794→397 with five (provider-vercel, ssh-host, docker-ssh, windows-scripts, failure-modes).
- **Defects fixed in shipped guides:** `emulator camera` (no such command), iOS `permissions` (backend refuses it), Android pane described as "in development" (shipped in June), `relayGracePeriodSeconds: 0` documented as immediate teardown (it is unbounded), doctor `ok: true` hiding `warn`, an SSH exemplar setting both `jumpHost` and `proxyCommand`, a provisioned-root fetch from `origin`, the Linear unconfirmed-write rule keyed on four verbs when ten emit it. Linear and emulator descriptions dropped embedded commands and angle-bracket placeholders (651→329, 732→404 chars).
- **Generator bundles references.** `skill-guides/<name>/references/*.md` is appended to `--full`; `skills get` help says compact by default, full with references.
- **Stubs single-authored.** The resolver ladder, placeholder rule, and older-binary fallback shared by all eight installable `SKILL.md` files come from one `skill-stubs/_shared/cli-resolution.md` fragment composed by the generator. Projections were byte-identical before the content fixes.
- **Guards:** every `ORCA <cmd>` and flag in every guide and reference resolves against `COMMAND_SPECS` (this found the camera defect); descriptions ≤1024 chars with no angle-bracket tokens; reference routing checked both directions; an always-loaded size ratchet (300 lines) that guides may leave but never join. `orchestration` (440 lines on main) is recorded as an exception until #16904 lands its kernel.
## Relationship to #16904
Split out of #16904 so that PR carries only the orchestration guide. On main, `terminal send` has no `--wait-submit` / `--retry-request` and the orchestration kernel still carries the resolver ladder and worktree-selector rule, so this branch pins `accepted: true` for handoff receipts and leaves the orchestration pins where main has them. The merge in either direction is mechanical: #16904 rebased on this becomes a one-file `orchestration.md` change plus dropping the two exceptions.
## Standard
Compound Engineering's portable skill-authoring guidance (outcome spine, conditions not cases, pinned fragile commands with an ordered hatch, references at point of use). NVIDIA SkillEvaluator Tier 1 (`schema,pii,license,quality,unicode,lint`) was run on every guide; its deterministic checks pass, its template nudges (Instructions/Examples sections, 50–150 char descriptions) do not apply to Orca's stub architecture and were not applied.
## Testing
- `pnpm typecheck:tsc:cli` clean; `check:code-quality:changed` and `check:react-doctor:changed` 0 findings
- `pnpm verify:bundled-skill-guides` and skill-bundle manifest verify clean
- vitest over `config/scripts`, `src/cli/skill-guide-cli-parity.test.ts`, `src/cli/skills.test.ts`, `src/cli/specs/skills.test.ts`, `src/cli/help.test.ts`, `src/main/skills`: 240 files / 2,019 pass
- Live smoke on the built CLI of every `skills get <topic>` and `--full`, every emulator, linear, and vm verb named in the guides, and every projection's resolver, GNOME warning, and bounded fallback (done on the #16904 branch before the split; the guide bodies are identical here except the send-receipt vocabulary noted above)
## Deferred product decisions
Merging `orca-emulator` and `orca-emulator-android` into one skill with a platform branch; collapsing `linear-tickets` to a guide alias; a `skills get --reference <name>` selector so a gate table can load one file; a fresh-agent routing eval before trimming the `orca-cli` (1,015 chars) and `orchestration` descriptions, whose quoted triggers each fixed a routing misroute.
Orca
中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Español · Français · Português
The AI Orchestrator for 100x builders.
Run Codex, ClaudeCode, OpenCode or Pi side-by-side — each in its own worktree, tracked in one place.
Download Orca
Features
Also in the box:
- Quick open — Search across worktrees, files, agents, commands, and repo context without leaving your flow.
- Account switcher & usage tracking — See Claude and Codex usage and rate-limit resets, and hot-swap accounts without re-logging in.
- Rich repo previews — Preview Markdown, images, PDFs, and repo docs in the workspace.
- Computer Use — Let agents operate desktop apps and visible UI when a workflow needs real interaction.
- Notifications and unread state — Know when an agent finishes or needs attention, then mark threads unread to come back later.
- And many, many more — we ship daily, so this list is perpetually behind. The changelog is the real feature list.
Supported Agents
Works with any CLI agent — if it runs in a terminal, it runs in Orca.
Claude Code
Codex
Grok
Cursor
GitHub Copilot
OpenCode
MiMo Code
Amp
OpenClaude
Antigravity
Pi
oh-my-pi
Hermes Agent
Devin
Goose
Auggie
Autohand Code
Charm
Cline
Codebuff
Command Code
Continue
Droid
Kilocode
Kimi
Kiro
Mistral Vibe
Qwen Code
Rovo Dev
+ any CLI agent
Install
Desktop — macOS, Windows, Linux
- Download from onOrca.dev
- Or grab a build directly: macOS Apple Silicon · macOS Intel · Windows (.exe) · Linux AppImage · All builds
- Running
orca serveon a headless Linux server? See the headless Linux server guide.
Or via a package manager:
# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install --cask stablyai/orca/orca
# Arch Linux (AUR) — or stably-orca-git to build from source
yay -S stably-orca-bin
Mobile Companion — iOS, Android
Pair with your desktop app to monitor and steer your agents from your phone.
- iOS: Download on the App Store or join TestFlight
- Android: Download APK 0.0.47 · Install guide
Community & Support
-
Discord: Join the community on Discord.
-
Twitter / X: Follow @orca_build for updates and announcements.
-
WeChat: Scan to join the Orca community WeChat group 8. Group 8 may be full; if so, scan the Group 9 QR code instead.
-
Feedback & Ideas: We ship fast. Missing something? Request a new feature.
-
Privacy: See the privacy & telemetry docs for what anonymous usage data Orca collects and how to opt out.
-
Show Support: Star this repo to follow along with our daily ships.
Developing
Want to contribute or run locally? See our CONTRIBUTING.md guide.
The relay that pairs the mobile app with a desktop host is also in this repository under
cloud/, with a separate pnpm workspace and setup guide.
Signed Builds
Windows code signing sponored/provided by SignPath.io, certificate by SignPath Foundation.
License
Orca is free and open source under the MIT License.












