Orkas
Command a team of AI agents from one desktop chat — not one chatbot.
Orkas is an open-source, local-first multi-agent desktop app. Describe a goal; its Commander plans the work, handles the general parts itself, and coordinates specialist agents in parallel or in sequence. Nine specialist agents ship with the app, ready the moment you launch it, out of 30 in the marketplace. Bring your own model keys — Claude · OpenAI · Gemini · DeepSeek · Kimi · GLM · Qwen · MiniMax · Doubao. macOS · Windows · Linux.
You: "Research the top 5 competitors, write it up, and turn it into a deck."
Orkas: the Commander breaks the goal into steps and runs them across specialists — DeepResearcher gathers and verifies the sources, ContentWriter drafts the report, PptMaker builds the slides. One chat, one shared plan, finished files on your disk.
Agents that ship with the app
Installed and ready the first time you launch Orkas — each with its own skills, memory, and tools.
| Agent | What it does |
|---|---|
| DeepResearcher | Evidence-grounded research — plans the investigation, verifies sources, flags contradictions, ships an auditable report with citations |
| ContentWriter | Turns a goal, source material, or a rough draft into publish-ready posts, articles, newsletters, and case studies |
| PptMaker | Turns a topic, outline, or document into an attractive, editable, reviewable PPTX deck |
| ProductDeveloper | Repo-aware engineering — implement a PRD, fix bugs, refactor, review code, with verifiable results |
| OfficeWorker | Create, edit, check, and deliver Word / Excel / PowerPoint / PDF files, one at a time or in batches |
| VideoStudio | Make and edit video — narration, AI presenters, captions and dubbing, highlight clips, localization |
| ImageStudio | Posters, covers, social images, infographics — HTML/CSS/SVG first, image models when the shot needs them |
| UIDesigner | Product goals, PRDs, screenshots, or Figma material into editable, HTML-first UI deliverables |
| SeoGeoAgent | Give it a URL — technical audit, content quality, Core Web Vitals, GEO citability, health score, ranked fix list |
More on the built-in agents → orkas.ai/agents · Browse all 30 → agent marketplace · or just describe what you need and the Commander builds a custom agent for you.
Why Orkas
- A super-powered Commander — understands context, breaks down goals, chooses the right agents, skills, connectors, and tools, and directly handles analysis, writing, research, file work, and automation when no specialist is a better fit.
- Drives the open-source ecosystem — plug in external CLI agents as local sessions — the coding agents Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode, plus the personal agents OpenClaw and Hermes-Agent — and onboard open-source projects like HyperFrames as local tools, all coordinated by the same Commander.
- Local-first by design — conversations, files, API keys, knowledge bases, and custom agents all stay on your disk. Model calls go straight from your machine to the provider — never through Orkas servers.
- No vendor lock-in — mix providers across agents: one on Claude, another on DeepSeek, another on a local endpoint.
- Agents that get better — each agent has its own private skills and memory, and improves through reflection after each task.
⭐ If Orkas is useful to you, a star helps more people find the project.
Download
Packaged installers for macOS and Windows. glibc-based Linux x64/arm64 runs from source today — see Quick start.
- macOS Apple Silicon → Orkas-mac-arm64.dmg
- macOS Intel → Orkas-mac-x64.dmg
- Windows x64 → Orkas-Setup.exe
What can you build with it?
- Automate recurring reports & market research — a specialist agent gathers, summarizes, and ships a weekly report.
- Turn a product spec into dev tasks — the Commander breaks a PRD into tasks and dispatches them across agents.
- Chat with your documents & run local data analysis — drop files in, keep the data on your machine.
- Go beyond code — video, slides, and more — the Commander drives open-source tools like HyperFrames and hands off to CLI agents — the coding agents Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode, plus the personal agents OpenClaw and Hermes-Agent — and other local agents, so one chat produces code, research, video, and slide decks.
Explore use cases → research workflows · data analysis · chat with documents · for developers · automate your workspace
How Orkas compares
| Tool | What it is | How Orkas differs |
|---|---|---|
| LangChain | A developer framework/library for building LLM apps and agents — code-first, embedded in your own Python/JS app. | Orkas is a local-first multi-agent desktop app you direct through chat, not by writing orchestration code. Data and keys stay local by default. |
| CrewAI | A Python framework for orchestrating role-playing autonomous agents — you define crews and agents in code. | Orkas brings multi-agent orchestration into a desktop app, with local-first storage and per-agent self-evolution built in. |
| Cloud agent platforms (SaaS orchestrators) | Server-hosted; conversations, files, and API keys live on the vendor's infrastructure. | Orkas is local-first: everything stays on your machine, and model API calls go straight to the provider — never archived by Orkas. |
| OpenClaw | A single always-on personal assistant reaching you across messaging channels. | Orkas gives you a team rather than one assistant: the Commander coordinates specialist agents from one desktop chat, and OpenClaw plugs in as an Orkas CLI backend. |
| Hermes-Agent | Nous Research's self-improving personal agent (TUI + multi-channel gateway). | Orkas is a local-first multi-agent desktop app, with per-agent private skills and meta-cognition — and Hermes-Agent plugs in as an Orkas CLI backend. |
Orkas is for you if you want a team of agents rather than one assistant, a desktop GUI with file drop-in and visual agent management, and your data, keys, and agents on your own disk rather than a vendor cloud.
Not for you if you just want a single all-purpose chatbot, a fully hosted/cloud team where your data lives on a vendor's servers, or a pure code library to embed in your own app.
Full side-by-side comparisons → vs Claude Code · vs Cline · vs LangChain · vs ChatGPT · vs OpenClaw
FAQ
What is Orkas? Orkas is an open-source, local-first multi-agent desktop app. A super-powered Commander plans your goal and coordinates specialist agents to complete it together — nine of them ship with the app. Not a single chatbot, not a code framework, not a hosted SaaS.
Is Orkas a local LLM? No. Orkas runs on your machine but calls the models you choose through your own API keys (or a local model endpoint). It orchestrates agents and tools — it is not itself a model.
Can I use local models like Ollama or LM Studio? Yes. Open Account settings → Models → Chat → Add model → Custom, select OpenAI-compatible or Anthropic-compatible, and enter the base URL, exact model ID, and API key. Choose the saved model from the task’s model control.
Where are my API keys and data stored? On your disk. Conversations, files, knowledge bases, agents, and keys stay local; model calls go straight from your machine to the provider and are never proxied or archived by Orkas.
Does Orkas work offline? The app is fully offline-capable — only the model calls need network. Point agents at a local model endpoint and you can run without the cloud.
Do I need an Orkas account? The packaged desktop app asks you to sign in when you first launch it. The source build in this repository has no account layer at all — it boots straight into the app. Either way your model keys are your own and stay on your machine.
Can Orkas drive Claude Code and other CLI agents? Yes. Beyond its own Commander and specialist agents, Orkas can drive five external CLI agents as local subprocesses — the