Repo radar: orca: ADE for parallel Claude Code worktrees

orca (stablyai/orca) is a community MIT ADE for parallel Claude Code worktrees in one desktop app. Not Anthropic. Stars ≠ quality.

orca (stablyai/orca) is a community, non-Anthropic Agent Development Environment (ADE). Per its README, it runs CLI agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or Pi side-by-side — each in its own git worktree, tracked in one desktop app — with an optional mobile companion. Homepage: onorca.dev. License MIT (Copyright (c) 2026 Lovecast Inc.). Archived false. Stars 86,659 (GitHub API, checked 2026-10-07 ~08:15 CEST). This is popularity, not a quality or security review.

TL;DR. Worth a look if you already pay for Claude Code (or another CLI agent) and want several isolated worktree sessions in one UI. Download from onorca.dev or GitHub Releases. Not Anthropic. Review agent diffs yourself. Stars ≠ endorsement.

When to use / when not

Use when you already run Claude Code (or another terminal agent) on your own subscription, want parallel agents in separate git worktrees without juggling bare terminals, and accept a third-party Electron ADE — not Anthropic's official IDE.

Skip when you only need official Claude Code docs and CHANGELOG behavior, or you expected Anthropic support for the ADE itself. Also skip if star count is your only diligence — it isn't a security review. Nearby official skill/plugin paths: Anthropic skills marketplace · Claude skills · create a skill. Before trusting third-party tooling long term, run a plugin eval on anything that plugs into Claude Code.

Install: one path (Desktop)

Primary path from the README:

Download from onorca.dev/download, or grab a GitHub Releases build (macOS arm64/x64 DMG, Windows exe, Linux AppImage).
Optional package managers (README): brew install --cask stablyai/orca/orca · Arch AUR yay -S stably-orca-bin.
Headless Linux: README points to docs/reference/headless-linux-server.md for orca serve.

Mobile companion (optional): iOS App Store (id 6766130217) · Android APK 0.0.52 from Releases (version pinned in README on fetch day — may drift). Pair with the desktop app.

Orca is free and open source under MIT per the README License section. Privacy/telemetry: README links onorca.dev telemetry docs for anonymous usage and opt-out — one clause; we don't invent what is collected.

What's inside: README claims

Cite as README feature claims, not independent benchmarks:

Parallel worktrees — fan one prompt across agents, each in an isolated git worktree; compare and merge.
Any CLI agent — "if it runs in a terminal, it runs in Orca"; Claude Code listed among many.
Terminal splits — Ghostty-class / WebGL terminals per README.
Design Mode — click a Chromium UI element to send HTML/CSS/screenshot into the agent prompt.
GitHub & Linear native · SSH worktrees · annotate AI diffs · drag files to agents · Orca CLI (orca worktree create, etc.).

Repo tree also has skills/, skill-stubs/, and skill-guides/ folders. Contents were not code-reviewed this run [GAP] — do not invent skill behavior beyond "folders exist."

Limits

Not Anthropic. Listing it here is not an endorsement.
UI/orchestration ≠ correctness. You still review agent diffs and commits.
Stars ≠ quality. 86,659★ on 2026-10-07 is discourse heat.
Active issue tracker. GitHub showed a large open-issue count (~7994) the same day — verify fitness for your workflow before relying on it; no severity invented here.
Skills unreviewed [GAP].
README marketing tone ("100x builders") — we paraphrase calmly; no hype headlines.

Sibling radar fiches: ponytail · ECC.

Sources (checked 2026-10-07 ~08:15 CEST)

Repo
README
LICENSE (MIT, Lovecast Inc.)
GitHub API / MCP: 86,659★ · license.spdx_id = MIT · archived: false · homepage onorca.dev