Here’s the full walkthrough. Orca AI coding is coding inside Orca — a free, open-source agentic development environment where you run fleets of coding agents in parallel, preview your build live, and annotate the page to give feedback. It’s one of the most intuitive ways to code with AI right now.
And yes, it can be completely free — either on subscriptions you already have, or with a free agent and a free API. Here’s exactly how to use it.
Last updated: July 2026.
Key takeaways
- Orca is a free, open-source agentic development environment — get it on GitHub and download the app.
- Run multiple coding agents side by side — Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, Kimi — on the same project.
- It’s free two ways: your existing subscriptions plug in, or use free Hermes + a free API.
- Live preview, element selection and page annotation make iterating fast.
- Learn AI coding workflows like this in the AI Profit Boardroom.
What Is Orca AI Coding?
Orca is a free, open-source agentic development environment — think of it as a workspace built for coding with AI agents rather than just an editor. You open a project, spin up terminals running your favourite coding agents, and they build while you preview the result live in a browser tab.
The headline feature is parallelism: you can split the workspace into multiple terminals — four agents working on the same project at once if you like — with Claude Code in one pane, Hermes in another, Kimi in a third.
How to Start Coding With Orca
- Get Orca from GitHub and download the app.
- Open a project — browse a local folder, clone a GitHub repo, or create a new project.
- Open a terminal and pick your agent — Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, whatever you use.
- Split the terminal (right-click → split right or down) to run more agents on the same project.
- Give it the brief — e.g. “create a beautiful website for an SEO agency” — and let it build.
- Preview live — click + → new browser tab, paste the localhost URL, and watch your build.
How to Use Orca AI Coding for Free
There are two genuinely free routes:
| Route | How it works | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Existing subscriptions | Plug in Claude Code, Codex or open code — no extra charge on top of what you pay | Free extra |
| Fully free stack | Free Hermes agent + a free API like Ling Flash / Ling 3.0 | £0 / $0 |
To be very clear: free model, free API, free app. In my test, the Ling 3.0 output for the same ‘SEO agency website’ prompt actually looked a bit nicer than the Claude Code version — so the free stack is genuinely usable. Antigravity is another free coder you can run inside it. See my free AI model guide.
The Killer Feature: Annotate the Page
This is what makes Orca coding feel different. Open your build in the preview, and instead of typing “change this, change that” back and forth, you grab an element (a logo, a headline) and paste it straight to the agent as feedback — or annotate the page: right-click an element, describe the change (“make the headline bright yellow”), and set the intent as a command or a question.
Best of all, annotations queue up — you can mark ten changes across the page, then hit send once, and the agent works through all of them. No more one-change-at-a-time ping-pong.
Preview Mobile Apps Too
Building a mobile app instead of a website? Orca can preview that as well — click + and open a mobile emulator via Xcode or an Android virtual device in Android Studio (you’ll need one of those installed). For websites, games and tools, the browser preview covers you.
Code From Your Phone
Orca has a mobile companion: scan a QR code and you can drive your coding terminals from your phone. Having tested Claude Code’s remote feature and found it underwhelming, this approach — controlling all your agents across multiple projects from your phone — looks like the better way to code away from your desk. Coding from the gym, genuinely possible.
Level It Up
Orca is a brilliant front-end for AI coding, and it slots straight into the wider agent setups I teach — pairing it with the right models, skills and automations. That’s all inside the AI Profit Boardroom, with daily tutorials as tools like this evolve. See also my Hermes for coding guide and Codex + Hermes guide.
New here? Start free with my AI Money Lab community (free AI course + 1,000+ AI agents), or grab a free strategy session.
FAQ
What is Orca AI coding?
Coding inside Orca — a free, open-source agentic development environment where multiple coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, Kimi) work on your project in parallel, with live preview and page annotation.
Is Orca free for coding?
Yes — the app is free and open source. Plug in subscriptions you already pay for, or go fully free with the Hermes agent plus a free API like Ling Flash.
What makes Orca better for coding than a plain terminal?
Parallel agents side by side, a live browser preview, element selection, and page annotation — you queue up multiple changes visually and send them to the agent in one go.
Can I preview mobile apps in Orca?
Yes — via an Xcode mobile emulator or an Android Studio virtual device. Websites, games and tools preview straight in a browser tab.
Can I code from my phone with Orca?
Yes — connect via QR code and drive your terminals from the Orca mobile app, across multiple projects and agents.
The Bottom Line
Orca AI coding gives you parallel agents, live preview and page annotation — free, open source, and genuinely intuitive. Learn to build with it in the AI Profit Boardroom.
