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Orkas

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Intro

Orkas is an open-source (MIT), local-first multi-agent AI desktop app for macOS and Windows (Linux from source), built by Orkas-AI. Its pitch is "an AI assistant that works as a team": you chat with a Commander agent, which handles simple jobs itself and, for bigger goals, splits the work into to-dos and dispatches 16 built-in specialist agents — plus the CLI coding/personal agents you already use, such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw and Hermes-Agent.

The repo was created in April 2026 but exploded in late October 2026: on October 31 it was on GitHub's daily trending list with 1,000+ new stars in a day (≈5.9k total), was ranked #4 on Trendshift, and was widely shared on X as "one person, a whole AI team".

Explain

Key facts

  • License: MIT (desktop app fully open source)
  • Platforms: macOS & Windows official builds; Linux via source build
  • Models: Orkas built-in models (credit-based) or bring your own keys — OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Kimi, Zhipu GLM, Qwen, MiniMax, Doubao, etc.; BYO traffic goes directly to the provider
  • Data: local-first — projects, memory and files stay on your computer
  • Agents: 16 built-in specialists + 30+ in the agent marketplace; the Commander can also build custom agents on request

Built-in specialists (examples)

Area Agents
Research & analysis DeepResearcher, SeoGeoAgent, StockAnalyser
Content & media ContentWriter, PptMaker, ImageStudio, VideoStudio, VoiceStudio, UIDesigner
Build & office ProductDeveloper, OfficeWorker
E-commerce ECommerceResearcher, ECommerceWriter, ECommerceReviewer and more

Core concepts

  • Projects keep goals, rules, memory and files together so new chats continue where the last one ended.
  • To-dos split work between humans and agents; Auto-advance lets the team pick up the next to-do automatically.
  • Scheduled automations repeat routine work hourly/daily/weekly/monthly.
  • Connectors / MCP link external tools; finished deliverables come back to you for review.

Why it matters

Orkas is part of the late-2026 wave of "agent team" orchestrators. Its differentiator is acting as a no-code GUI team layer on top of existing CLI agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw, Hermes) rather than replacing them, while keeping everything local and open source.

Usage

Getting started

  1. Download the macOS or Windows build from orkas.ai or the GitHub Releases of Orkas-AI/Orkas (or build from source on Linux).
  2. Choose Orkas built-in models, or connect your own provider keys (OAuth or API key).
  3. Optionally connect local CLI agents you already have installed — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes-Agent.
  4. Create a project, state your goal to the Commander, and review the to-do plan it produces.
  5. Turn on Auto-advance or set scheduled automations for recurring work.

Example prompts

  • "Research the EU e-bike market and turn it into a report, a 10-slide deck and a 60-second launch video."
  • "Audit fasttoolhub.com for SEO/GEO issues every Monday and give me a ranked fix list."

Tips

  • Start with read-only or low-risk tasks before granting agents access to important files.
  • With your own keys, costs are billed by your model provider; built-in services use Orkas credits.