An Orca alternative with flows and a team kanban
Orca, from Stably AI (Y Combinator), calls itself the agent development environment: a free, open-source (MIT) desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux that runs Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and any other CLI agent in parallel, each task in its own git worktree, with diff comments, an embedded browser, SSH worktrees and a mobile companion. AgentVera also runs agent CLIs in parallel in real terminals, and adds flows, acceptance checks and team tools. Below is how they differ and where Orca is the better fit.
Orca and AgentVera side by side
| Feature | Orca | AgentVera |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows and Linux, plus an iOS app and an Android APK as mobile companions. | macOS, Windows and Linux desktop app. |
| Supported agents | About thirty named CLIs, including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Grok, Gemini, Cursor, Copilot, Amp, Goose, Kiro and Qwen Code, plus any other CLI agent. | 18 CLI coding agents, including Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Cursor Agent, opencode, Amp and Aider, plus plain terminals. Each uses its own CLI install and login. |
| Open source / license | Open source, MIT (about 113k GitHub stars). | Closed source. |
| Pricing model | Free and open source; an Enterprise offering is listed without prices. | Free plan with unlimited agents; Pro and Team plans are paid. |
| Git worktrees | Yes. Each task runs in a real git worktree; one prompt can fan out to several agents so you compare and merge the best result. | Yes. Create a worktree per task from the Git panel and start an agent in it; night-shift tasks get their own worktree. You are warned when two agents edit the same file. |
| Kanban | GitHub and Linear issues, pull requests and project boards open in the app; starting a task opens its own worktree. | Team kanban shared across your organization; hand a card to Claude, Codex or another agent and the reply lands on the card (Pro and Team). |
| Flows and pipelines between agents | Orchestration (experimental): a coordinator agent creates runs and tasks with dependencies, starts worker agents and exchanges messages and decision gates with them through the Orca CLI. | Flows pass one agent’s output to the next; a team view of open agents led by a manager; a parallel team that ends in one PR; staged task line; night shift (Pro and Team). |
| Acceptance checks | Diff-line comments go back to the agent; CI status, conflicts and pull requests are handled in the app. | Verify extracts acceptance criteria from your request and a separate read-only verifier checks each one after the agent’s turn; automatic code review. |
| Database manager / SSH | SSH worktrees: agents run on a remote machine with file editing, git and terminals, auto-reconnect and port forwarding. | Database manager for PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB and SQLite (Pro and Team); SSH/SFTP panel; agent SSH and database access with your rules. |
| Token savings | Shows Claude and Codex usage and rate-limit resets; accounts switch by hand in one click. | Context profiles, automatic /compact, bundled RTK output compression, automatic per-task model routing and a project map (code graph) for agents. |
| Team features | No team plan listed; the Enterprise page covers team rollout, self-hosting as an always-on server and organization-level defaults. | Organizations, team kanban, client boards, AgentVera Runner on your own server, automatic account switching. |
When to pick Orca
- You want a free, open-source (MIT) app you can read, fork and build yourself.
- You want a built-in browser with Design Mode, which sends a clicked element’s HTML, CSS and a screenshot to the agent.
- You run agents on remote machines in SSH worktrees, or want to fan one prompt out to several agents and keep the best result.
- You use an agent CLI that AgentVera does not list; Orca runs any CLI agent.
When to pick AgentVera
- You want ready-made handoffs between agents: flows, a team view led by a manager, a parallel team that ends in one PR, night shift.
- You want acceptance checks (Verify) after each turn, automatic code review and a warning when two agents edit the same file.
- You want accounts to switch automatically when one hits its limit, for Claude, Codex and other agents.
- You want a team kanban whose cards you hand to Claude, Codex or another agent, plus a database manager and an SSH/SFTP panel in the same app.
Moving from Orca to AgentVera
- Download AgentVera and open the repository you use in Orca as a project.
- Add the agents you ran in Orca; AgentVera starts the installed claude, codex, opencode or other CLI with its own login.
- Worktrees created by Orca are real git worktrees: open them from the Git panel, or merge and remove them first.
- Recreate repeatable orchestration runs as flows or a parallel team, and set up account chains so a limit switches to the next account.
Questions
Is Orca free?
Yes. Orca is free and open source under the MIT license; its site lists an Enterprise offering without prices. AgentVera has a free plan with unlimited agents; Pro and Team are paid.
Does Orca switch accounts automatically?
Orca shows Claude and Codex usage and lets you switch the active account by hand in one click; new sessions use the selected account. AgentVera switches to the next account in a chain automatically when one hits its limit.
Can Orca agents work together?
Orca has an experimental orchestration layer: a coordinator agent creates tasks with dependencies, starts workers and messages them through the Orca CLI. AgentVera has flows, a team view led by a manager and a parallel team that ends in one PR.
Is AgentVera open source like Orca?
No. AgentVera is a closed-source desktop app with a free plan. Orca is open source under MIT.
Can I use Orca and AgentVera on the same repository?
Yes. Both work on plain git branches and worktrees, so you can try AgentVera without changing your Orca setup.
Sources
Facts about Orca come from its own pages, checked on the date below. Products change quickly; check them for the current state.
- onorca.dev
- github.com/stablyai/orca
- onorca.dev/docs
- Orca docs: orchestration
- Orca docs: hot-swap accounts
- onorca.dev/enterprise
Last checked:
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- Alternatives and comparisons
Try AgentVera next to Orca
The free plan has unlimited agents. Open the same repository, add the CLIs you already use and compare for yourself.