Styx vs Orca
Styx and Orca are both agentic development environments: a fleet of coding agents, one git worktree each, with a place to review what they changed. Orca is MIT-licensed, cross-platform and strong on the review loop; Styx focuses on every project in one window and on what agents are allowed to reach.
Side by side
| Styx | Orca | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Mac (Apple silicon); Windows coming | Mac, Windows, Linux; iOS and Android companions |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor | 27 presets incl. Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Copilot; any CLI |
| Price | Free | Free, MIT-licensed |
| Each agent isolated | Own git worktree and branch | One git worktree per task, with its own terminal and browser tab |
| Scope of one window | Every project you work on | A folder holding several repositories |
| Review | Diff with per-hunk accept and reject; checks before landing | Diff viewer; inline comments go back to the agent; CI and PR review |
| Your editor | Imports recents, keybindings and theme; opens files back in it | Built-in VS Code-style editor |
| Secrets | In the macOS Keychain; agents get scoped, expiring access | Setup scripts usually copy .env files into worktrees |
| Production access | Agents ask; you approve for a set time; Touch ID for live systems | Not part of its docs |
| Audit log | Every request, approval and use, append-only | Usage dashboard (agents spawned, time, pull requests) |
| Deploy targets | Vercel, AWS, Google Cloud, Supabase, GitHub, SSH | Not part of its docs |
| Cloud workspaces | No: everything runs on your Mac | SSH remote worktrees; self-hosted headless server |
| Team collaboration | No | Account switcher and usage tracking |
| Issue tracker | No | GitHub, Linear, Jira |
“Not part of its docs” means we could not find it in Orca's own material on 29 September 2026, not that it can never be done with it. Tell us at hello@heystyx.com if something here is wrong and we will fix it.
Where Orca is ahead
- Open source. Orca is MIT-licensed. Styx is not open source.
- Diff comments. Comment on a line of the diff and the agent gets it as its next instruction.
- Every platform, and your phone. It runs on Windows and Linux too, with iOS and Android apps for keeping an eye on agents.
- Headless. `orca serve` runs the whole thing on a server, and SSH worktrees reconnect by themselves.
Where Styx is different
Agents never hold your keys
Useful agents need real things: a deploy, a database, a server. In Styx the credentials stay in your Mac’s Keychain. When an agent wants production, it stops and asks; you approve it for a set time, with Touch ID for anything live, and the access ends on its own. Every request, approval and use goes into a log nobody can edit.
Every project, one window
Styx is built around switching between everything you work on: each project, its agents and the ones waiting on you, one keystroke apart. Nothing is organised around a single repository.
On top of your editor
Styx brings in your editor’s recent projects, keybindings and theme, and opens any file back in it with one key. It is not trying to be the place you write code.
One honest limit: this is a guardrail, not a sandbox. Agents run as you, on your Mac, and an agent that deliberately goes around Styx’s tools is not stopped by them.
Which to choose
Choose Orca if you want open source, Windows or Linux, a phone app, or agents running on a server. Choose Styx if you are on a Mac and want agents working near production without holding your credentials.
Download Styx for Mac. It is free. See every comparison.
Questions
Is Styx an Orca alternative?
Yes. Both run coding agents in parallel, each in its own git worktree. Orca is open source and cross-platform with a strong review loop; Styx adds a gate on production access and an append-only audit log.
What is an agentic development environment (ADE)?
An app for managing AI agents that write code, rather than for writing code yourself: several agents in parallel, each isolated on its own branch, with a place to see who needs you and to review what they did. Warp coined the term in June 2025.