Install Orbit
Orbit ships as a desktop application backed by a small local server. The installer sets up both, plus the secure tunnel that lets your phone reach Orbit later. You install once; after that, Orbit updates the server in place without a reinstall.
Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”- A Windows machine for the full desktop experience (macOS support arrives through the multi-node story — see Multi-Node Relay).
- A coding agent on your PATH if you want prompts to run — Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Gemini CLI. Orbit can detect and configure these during onboarding, and you can also skip this and add one later.
- Optional: an AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google) if you want Apollo or agent execution to use your own key instead of Sivants Credits.
Install the desktop app
Section titled “Install the desktop app”- Download the installer from orbitdev.app.
- Run it. The NSIS installer places the app, registers a desktop shortcut and Start Menu entry, and adds a system-tray icon.
- The installer also sets up two background Windows services — the Cloudflare Tunnel and the Wake Receiver — so your phone can reach Orbit even when the desktop window is closed to the tray. Both are reversed cleanly on uninstall.
The Electron shell is a standalone app. It loads and runs whether or not the background server is on, so the window always opens to a usable interface.
First launch
Section titled “First launch”On first launch, with no configuration present, Orbit walks you through a short setup flow: pick your project folders, choose which discovered projects to add, optionally drop in an AI provider key, and optionally connect a coding agent. The whole thing takes about thirty seconds for a power user and a couple of minutes for a beginner. See First Run & Onboarding for the walkthrough.
Keeping Orbit up to date
Section titled “Keeping Orbit up to date”Orbit updates the server in place — there is no need to reinstall the desktop app to get new server features. The shortcut, the window, and your data stay exactly where they are; only the server process updates.
Uninstalling
Section titled “Uninstalling”Uninstalling stops and removes both background services and the app, and leaves your data directory (~/.orbit/) intact unless you explicitly choose to remove all data.