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Install and first run

Orbit ships signed builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with signed in-app updates. This page takes you from download to a first prompt.

Download

Grab the build for your platform from the latest release. The Download button in the header of this site picks the right one automatically.

PlatformFormats
macOS.dmg (signed and notarized, universal) and .tar.gz
Windows.exe and .zip
Linux.deb and .tar.gz

Requirements

Orbit drives tools that live outside the app. Install these first, or let the first-run check tell you what is missing:

  • pi — the coding agent CLI. Orbit spawns it as a child process for every session.
  • Node.js — many MCP servers run through npx, and pi packages run on Node.
  • Git — for the Review pane, the Git page, and worktrees.

First launch

  1. Open Orbit. On first run it checks for pi, node, and git and lists anything it cannot find with the command to install it.
  2. Connect a provider. Open Settings → Providers, then sign in with an API key or OAuth. Orbit reads pi's live model catalog, so this list matches what the CLI can reach.
  3. Choose a workspace. A workspace is just a project folder. New task has a workspace picker with recent folders and a native browse button.
  4. Pick a model and thinking level. Settings → Agent sets the default model and thinking level every new session starts on.
  5. Choose an access mode. Supervised asks before every mutating call; Auto-accept edits applies file edits but still asks before commands; Full access runs without prompting.
  6. Send a prompt. Press Enter to send, or Shift+Enter for a new line.

Updates

Release builds check for updates in the background and install them with a signed in-app updater. Run Check for updates manually with ⌘+⇧+U (Ctrl+Shift+U on Windows and Linux), or open the Version History from the updater dialog.

Next

With the app running, the Sessions guide covers the day-to-day workbench, and Keyboard shortcuts has the full keymap.

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