> For the index of every page in Orbital's docs, read https://docs.runorbital.dev/llms.txt.

# Overview

> Agents that finish the job. Turn goals into finished work.

You pick a workflow and a project, and describe what you want. Orbital runs the workflow one step at a time on your own machine, with agents such as Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode, and you watch, steer and collect the result.

Use this prompt to get started faster:

```text
Help me set up Orbital, an app that runs agent workflows on my own machine. Its docs index is https://docs.runorbital.dev/llms.txt.

Work through the steps below in order. Ask me one question at a time, and wait for my answer before you ask the next one. Don't change my files, except to register Orbital with you in step 3.

1. Install Orbital. Ask me which system I use. On a Mac, I download the app for Apple Silicon (https://releases.runorbital.dev/macos/Orbital-latest-arm64.dmg) or Intel (https://releases.runorbital.dev/macos/Orbital-latest-x64.dmg), drag it to Applications and open it. On Linux or Windows, follow https://docs.runorbital.dev/get-started/install.md to install the `orbital` command, then run `orbital serve`.
2. Check for an agent. Orbital runs Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode, and ships none of them. Check whether `claude`, `codex` or `opencode` is installed and signed in. If none is, ask me which one I want, and help me install it and sign in.
3. Connect Orbital to you over MCP. Ask me to open Settings > MCP in Orbital, and to paste the endpoint address and the token. Register a server named `orbital` with that address and the header `Authorization: Bearer <token>`, the way https://docs.runorbital.dev/mcp/connect.md shows for your client. If your client needs a new session to see the server, tell me.
4. Pick a project. Call `list_projects`. If there is none, ask me to add a Git repository as a project in the app, then call it again. Ask me which project to use.
5. Start the first run. Call `start_run` with that project, the workflow `explain-repo` and the goal "Explain this repository: what it does, who it is for, how it is built and how to run it." The workflow only reads the repository. Follow the run with `wait_for_run` until it ends, then tell me what it found and where the app shows the run.
```

The prompt has your coding agent install Orbital, connect to it over MCP and start the read-only `explain-repo` workflow on a repository of yours. To do the same by hand, follow [Install Orbital](/get-started/install/) and [Start your first run](/get-started/first-run/).

![A run page with an agent step selected, showing the step's prompt, the agent's answer and the values it recorded, with run facts, pull requests and the list of steps on the right.](/screenshots/run-hero.webp?v=4fa21a573c)

*A run shows every step: what the agent was asked, what it answered and what comes next.*

## What you can run

| Kind of work | What Orbital does | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Research and reporting | Researches a question on the web and writes a short report with its sources. | [Research report](/examples/research-report/) |
| Triage | Proposes a label, a priority and a next step for each open issue. | [Triage issues](/examples/triage-issues/) |
| Code | Implements a feature, delivers an epic ticket by ticket, or reviews pull requests. | [Implement a feature](/examples/feature-pull-request/) |

Use Orbital for work you repeat. In one long agent session, you must remember when to research, draft, review, wait and stop. A workflow writes that process down once, so every run follows it. For a one-off question, a plain chat is enough, and Orbital has [chats](/chats/) too.

![You start a run from a project and a workflow. Each agent step runs on the harness and model chosen for it, and the run ends with a result such as a report, a summary, a triaged board or a pull request.](/overview.svg?v=86907d9fe0)

## The parts

A **run** carries out one workflow for one project, towards one goal. Each step runs on the harness and model that its styles or the run chose, so one run can use several. Orbital keeps every run's history, and a run carries on where it was when Orbital restarts. Read [Runs](/runs/).

A **workflow** is a file of steps. Most steps are prompts for an agent. Others are checks a machine does better, such as "did anything change?" or "did the pull request merge?". Each step's routes say what happens next, so a workflow can branch, loop and wait. Orbital ships eight workflows, from `explain-repo`, which only reads, to `implement-epic`, which delivers a whole epic. Read [Workflows](/workflows/) and [Shipped workflows](/reference/shipped-workflows/).

A **project** is a name and the folders a run works in. A folder can be a Git repository, or a plain folder of notes and documents. Plain folders work with every harness except Codex, which needs a Git repository. Read [Projects and folders](/projects/).

A **harness** is the agent program that does an agent step: Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode. You sign in to it yourself, and Orbital uses your plan. [Styles](/styles/) choose the harness and model step by step. Read [Harnesses and models](/harnesses/).

The **delivery lead** is an optional chat that leads delivery for you. A watcher wakes it when a run stops, fails or runs out of quota, and it steps in inside the limits you set. Read [Delivery lead](/delivery-lead/).

[How Orbital works](/concepts/how-orbital-works/) puts every idea on one page.

## How work reaches you

Most results arrive as text. The agent's last reply is the answer, and each step's output stays in the run's **Context** tab. The research, follow-up and triage workflows work this way, and so does `explain-repo`.

A workflow that changes code can add a worktree step. A **worktree** is an isolated copy of a repository on a branch of its own, so your own checkout stays untouched. Workflows that use one can then open a pull request, repair failing CI, conflicts and review comments, and wait for it to merge. Read [Worktrees and delivery](/projects/worktrees-and-delivery/).

## Where it runs

Orbital runs on your machine. The Mac app starts its own server. On other systems, `orbital serve` starts the server and you use Orbital in a browser. Coding agents can drive Orbital too, over [MCP](/mcp/connect/).

## Find your way

- [Get started](/get-started/install/): Install the app, add a project and start your first run.
- [Runs](/runs/): Start, watch, message and stop a run, and read its result.
- [Workflows](/workflows/): Write the steps an agent follows, with branches, loops and gates.
- [Automate](/triggers/): Start runs from GitHub, Linear or a schedule, and let a delivery lead watch your runs.
- [Examples](/examples/feature-pull-request/): Complete workflows for code, research and triage, with downloads.
- [Reference](/reference/workflow-file/): Look up the workflow file, the command line, the HTTP API and MCP tools.

## Related

- [Install Orbital](/get-started/install/): get the Mac app or the `orbital` command and sign in to a harness.
- [Start your first run](/get-started/first-run/): run `explain-repo` on a repository you already have.
- [Build with AI](/get-started/build-with-ai/): connect coding agents, and give them these docs as Markdown.
- [How Orbital works](/concepts/how-orbital-works/): every idea in Orbital, with a link to its page.