ORCA MCP server

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ORCA is a desktop agent that plans, writes code, runs it, reads the errors and fixes them — on your machine, in your files. It ships with built-in models that work out of the box, and connects to 200+ providers or any OpenAI‑compatible endpoint with your own key.

• Autonomous by default. 46 real tools: shell, Node/Python, file editing, web search, HTTP, headless-browser checks, Office documents, media, OCR, image and video generation, background processes, sub‑agents. Build requests are built first, with sensible defaults — a question is asked only when something genuinely blocks the work (a bot token), and only after the code exists.
• Any model. Built-in models with automatic failover, plus your own providers (cloud or local). Keys never leave your device.
• Builds whole sites. The model writes the content — texts, items, prices, FAQ, testimonials — and scaffold_site renders it into a finished, modern multi-page site in one step (design tokens, dark/light, hero, cards, stats, catalog with filters and cart, validated forms, RTL when needed), then every page is verified in a headless browser. No placeholders, no half-built pages.
• Runs what it builds. Bots, dev servers and workers start as background processes that survive across turns, with a live log, detected ports and a Stop button in the Processes panel. Image and video generation plug into any Images API / Videos API provider (OpenAI, Routeway, Together, xAI, Sora, Replicate, fal.ai) with a Test button in Settings.
• Knows what it can do. Ask "what can you do?" and the answer is generated from a live capability check of your installation — connected models, present binaries, enabled engines — not from a canned list.
• Decision engine (optional). Plug in a System One model and ORCA gets calibrated judgments in ~0.2 s: smarter auto-routing, semantic command-risk review, verification of every answer (garbled, promised-but-not-done, wrong language), re-ranked web results.
• Three ways to chat. Direct, side-by-side comparison, or blind battle with a local leaderboard.
• Checkpoints and diffs. Every file change is snapshotted; restore any step with one click.
• Built for long work. Output caps are continued transparently, long pastes become files, stopped answers can be continued, and pins, notes and branches keep long chats on track.
• Four languages. English, Русский, 中文, فارسی — with matching typography.
• Private. No accounts, no telemetry. Everything is stored in a local data folder you control.

Installation

Download the build for your system from Releases:

Platform	File	Run
Windows 10/11 x64	ORCA-Setup-<version>-win-x64.exe (installer) or ORCA-<version>-win-x64-portable.exe	run it; SmartScreen → More info → Run anyway
macOS 12+ (Apple Silicon)	ORCA-Agent-<version>-mac-arm64.dmg / .zip	drag to Applications; first launch: right-click → Open
macOS 12+ (Intel)	ORCA-Agent-<version>-mac-x64.dmg / .zip	same
Linux x64	ORCA-Agent-<version>-linux-x64.AppImage / .tar.gz / .deb	chmod +x and run, or sudo apt install ./ORCA-Agent-*.deb

Builds are not code-signed; SHA256SUMS is attached to every release. The app updates itself: it checks the release channel, downloads the package for your OS/CPU in the background (resumable, mirrors when GitHub is blocked), verifies the SHA-256 and installs it on restart — no browser needed (Settings → Updates). Installed Windows builds update through a silent installer, the portable exe replaces its own file, and packaged macOS/Linux builds swap themselves in place.

From source (Windows, macOS, Linux):

git clone https://github.com/Nethyric/orca.git
cd orca
npm install
npm start          # desktop app
npm run web        # or: browser UI at http://localhost:7860

[!TIP] Built-in models work immediately in release builds. A source checkout has no vault key, so add a provider in Settings → Models (or set ORCA_VAULT_KEY if you are the maintainer). See docs/setup.md.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

ORCA ships a minimal, dependency-free MCP client: connect external tool servers from Settings → MCP (or paste a Claude Desktop mcpServers config as-is). Both transports are supported — stdio (local subprocess) and Streamable HTTP (with a legacy SSE fallback). Servers spawn lazily and reconnect quietly; every result is treated as untrusted content, tool manifests are fingerprinted to detect silent redefinition, and each tool can be toggled per server. Use compact mode to keep a server's schemas out of the context until the agent discovers them on demand.

Providers

Open Settings → Models → Add provider, pick a provider from the catalog (or Custom for any OpenAI-compatible URL), paste a key, press Discover to list its models, Test, Save. Keys are stored only in your local config.json.

Anthropic-style and OpenAI-style APIs are both supported, as are local servers (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, llama.cpp). Full guide: docs/providers.md.

Documentation

Documentation site	The same guides, rendered — with search and dark mode
Overview	What ORCA is, how a run works, the UI
Setup	Install, build from source, data folder, environment variables
Configuration	Every config.json key, rules, persona, autonomy
Providers	Adding providers and models, local models, troubleshooting keys
Tools	Reference for all 46 agent tools
HTTP API	The local REST + SSE API used by the UI (and usable by scripts)
Built-in models & the vault	How built-in keys are shipped, rotated and protected
Decision engine	Optional System One model for routing, command-risk review, answer verification and search re-ranking
MCP	Connecting external tool servers (stdio / HTTP, presets, security)
Updates & releases	How self-update works, the release feed, manual installs
Troubleshooting	Common problems and fixes
Security	Threat model, reporting

Building ORCA

npm run fetch-bins   # ffmpeg, yt-dlp, OCR data (not in git)
npm run dist:win     # release/ORCA-Agent-<version>-win-x64.zip
npm run dist:mac     # release/ORCA-Agent-<version>-mac-{x64,arm64}.{zip,dmg}   (on macOS)
npm run dist:linux   # release/ORCA-Agent-<version>-linux-x64.{AppImage,tar.gz,deb}

Releases are built by GitHub Actions on every v* tag. Maintainers: see docs/setup.md#maintainers for the release and key-rotation workflows.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please read SECURITY.md before reporting anything key-related, and open a bug report with the ORCA version and the log excerpt.

License

MIT © Nethyric