Changelog

Orbit now ships a second AI engine with support for 200+ models across 20+ providers — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, AWS Bedrock, Azure, Groq, Mistral, xAI, Cohere, Perplexity, DeepSeek, and more. Switch engines in Settings → Engine. Web search, semantic code search, custom skills, session sharing, subagent spawning, and a built-in permission system are available on the new engine. Both engines run as managed sidecar processes with automatic port selection and health checks.

Skills Marketplace

Browse and install community-built skills directly inside Orbit. Search, filter, scope skills to a project or globally, and see what's already installed.

Subagents

The agent can spawn parallel sub-tasks that run independently and report back. Each task appears inline with its status and collapsible output.

Settings Redesign

Settings moved from a modal to a full inline page with grouped navigation — Engine, General, Appearance, Agent, Providers, Commands, Shortcuts, Browser, Editor, Git, Notifications, and Tabs.

Slash Commands

Commands are syntax-highlighted inline as you type. The command menu filters as you type, replacing the previous popover.

Image Attachments

Attach images to messages for vision-capable models. Automatically disabled with a tooltip when the active model doesn't support vision.

Git Diff Stats

The top bar shows a live count of lines added and removed on the current branch. Click to jump to source control.

Branch Picker

Always shows the full view with search, branch list, and inline creation — no more context-dependent switching between compact and full modes.

Word-by-Word Streaming

Responses stream incrementally instead of arriving in blocks. Remaining tokens drain quickly on completion.

/compact Status

Compacting context now shows a live indicator with progress and an updated token count on completion.

Thinking Persistence

Thinking blocks persist across loads with accurate durations, correctly interleaved with tool calls.

Session Restore

Switching conversations is faster. Sessions pre-warm in the background with a skeleton loading state.

Instant Titles

Conversation titles generate immediately on first message. Automatic cleanup of stray quotes, prefixes, and truncation artifacts.

App Icon Picker

Choose your Dock icon from Settings → Appearance. Four styles with light/dark variants. Follows system theme, no restart required.

File Previews

Image files preview inline. SVGs render by default with a toggle to view source.

Tool Card Redesign

Plain-language headers ("Reading", "Edited", "Ran", "Searching"), collapsible code search results, and paginated question prompts with keyboard navigation.

Visual Refresh

Unified color system across light and dark themes. Frosted glass notifications. Blur-reveal transitions in the sidebar and top bar.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed ignored files (build artifacts, IDE metadata) appearing in source control as untracked or modified
• Saving a provider API key now immediately updates connected status
• Fixed browser panel dialog coordination with other overlays
• Fixed content security policy blocking the new engine in production builds

Upcoming

Orbit CLI. Terminal-native AI coding agent. 200+ models across 20+ providers, 30+ built-in tools, MCP support, custom skills, and a plugin system. Ships as a single binary. Sessions persist in SQLite with branching, export, and file revert. Granular permission system for tool approval. Run orbit serve to start a headless API server that any frontend can connect to.

Orbit Terminal. A native macOS terminal application purpose-built for AI coding. Written in Zig, rendering directly to Metal. Ships as a dedicated app wrapping the same agent as the CLI, with native sidebars for sessions, file trees, and syntax-highlighted diffs. Connects to the Orbit agent over the same HTTP + SSE protocol as the Editor.

Orbit's interface now uses macOS's native frosted glass rendering. Your desktop wallpaper subtly shows through the entire app — sidebar, dialogs, popovers — with properly tuned transparency in both light and dark modes. Every dialog in the app has been redesigned to match.

AI Session Titles

Conversations automatically get a descriptive title after your first message. Titles generate in under two seconds, persist across restarts, and show up instantly in the sidebar. Manual renames work too and are now reliably saved.

File Explorer

Drag files from the explorer directly into chat to attach them as context. Right-click any file for quick actions: Reveal in Finder, Open in Default App, or Add to Chat. Folders now show colored git status dots propagated from their children, so you can spot changes at a glance. Markdown files get a one-click preview toggle.

The explorer now refreshes in real-time when files change outside Orbit — creates, deletes, and renames from your terminal or Finder appear immediately.

Worktree Workspaces

Each git worktree is now a fully isolated workspace. Switching worktrees scopes your file tree, conversations, and git status so nothing bleeds between branches. Create, switch, and remove worktrees from the sidebar. When removing a worktree, you can optionally delete the branch too.

Branch Management

Branch switching moved into a searchable popover accessible from both the sidebar and source control panel. Create new branches, search existing ones, and checkout without leaving chat. Branches prefetch on hover so the list appears instantly.

Improved Diffs

All file change previews — edits, writes, search results — now use a unified syntax-highlighted diff viewer with proper language detection. The source control panel gained expanded diff views with folder grouping and inline status indicators.

Smooth Scrolling

Every scrollable panel — chat, file explorer, sidebar, source control, settings — now scrolls with natural damping. The chat area sticks to the bottom during streaming but respects manual scroll position when you're reading back.

Drag-and-Drop Context

Drag files from the explorer into the chat input to attach them. File mentions in messages render as clickable links that open the file directly. Context chips got a visual refresh — borderless tinted pills with subtle hover states.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• ⌘\ — Toggle sidebar
• ⌘N — New conversation
• ⌘T — Open projects
• Shift+Tab — Cycle input modes

Launch Animation

A new startup sequence — wallpaper fade, logo reveal, sidebar slide — gives Orbit a polished first impression. Disable it in Settings if you prefer instant launch.

Conversation Skeletons

Switching conversations now shows an animated placeholder that mirrors the shape of real messages instead of a generic spinner. Same treatment for settings tabs.

Tool Widget Cleanup

Every tool widget — file edits, bash commands, search, web fetch — has been visually simplified. Gutter lines removed, expand/collapse animations refined. The thinking indicator is cleaner. Message actions (copy, rewind) now appear only on hover.

Chat Polish

Code blocks wrap long lines properly with matched line-number sizing. Interrupted tool executions stay visible in the conversation instead of silently disappearing. File mentions render as clickable blue links.

Reliability

The agent process now cleanly shuts down when Orbit exits. Session data is more resilient across conversation rewinds. Stale worktree metadata is automatically pruned. Git status detection catches same-file re-edits that were previously missed.

This release is about making the development loop feel reversible. Conversation rewind lets you branch off from any point in a session without losing history. File checkpointing snapshots every edit the agent makes so you can roll back with precision. And we redesigned the entire interface around Liquid Glass — a translucent design system that responds to your content.

Conversation Rewind

Every AI conversation is now a tree, not a list. Rewind to any message and branch off in a new direction — the original branch stays intact and browsable in the sidebar.

• Non-destructive branching — Origins are preserved on disk. Old branches appear as separate sidebar entries you can revisit anytime
• parentUuid chain filtering — Active message chains are resolved at load time, so dead branches never pollute the conversation view
• File checkpointing — Every Write and Edit the agent performs is checkpointed. Rewind a conversation and the files rewind with it
• Hard-link backups — Forked sessions inherit parent checkpoints via hard-links, so file rewind works correctly across multi-fork lineages

Liquid Glass

A new visual language built on translucency and depth.

• Window vibrancy — Native macOS frost effect with real-time background blending
• Solid mode toggle — Switch between translucent and opaque in Appearance settings
• Consistent depth — Dialogs, popovers, and panels all use the same frosted material
• Light mode tuning — Custom CIScreenBlendMode tint overlay for natural transparency in light themes

Claude Opus 4.6

Full support for Anthropic's latest model.

• Extended thinking — ThinkingBox renders extended reasoning blocks in real time
• Effort level control — Adjust reasoning depth per-message from the input bar
• Model selector — Switch between Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus directly in the chat header

Skills & Slash Commands

A plugin system for teaching the agent new capabilities.

• Skill tool widget — Visual feedback when skills are loaded, with auto-approval
• Slash command UX — Type / in the input to browse and invoke registered skills
• Inline token display — See token costs for skill expansions before sending

Source Control

Git integration that shows you what changed, not just that something changed.

• Inline diffs — Expand any changed file to see a full diff without leaving the activity panel
• Pierre syntax theme — A custom theme built specifically for diff readability
• Auto-fetch — Configurable background fetch interval keeps remote status current
• Branch selector — Switch branches from the chat header with toast notifications

ProMotion 120fps

On supported displays, Orbit now renders at the panel's native refresh rate.

• CADisplayLink integration — Bypasses WebKit's default 60fps vsync cap
• Display-aware — Only activates on ProMotion displays, no wasted cycles on 60Hz
• WKWebView uncap — Uses WebKit private API to unlock frame rate

Session Architecture

The conversation system was rewritten from the ground up.

• ChatStore — Migrated from React useState to Zustand with Immer, eliminating an entire class of stale-state bugs
• Single session ID — Removed the dual frontend/SDK session ID system that caused tool widgets to break on reload
• Disk-first persistence — Conversations load from JSONL, with live trailing for in-progress sessions
• AI session titles — Sessions are automatically titled based on conversation content

Worktree Management

Git worktrees are now first-class citizens.

• Worktree-as-workspace — Switch your entire workspace context to a different worktree
• Full lifecycle management — Create, switch, and delete worktrees from the sidebar
• Branch badge — See which branch each worktree tracks at a glance
• Workspace isolation — Each worktree maintains its own file tree, terminal, and editor state

Additional Improvements

• AskUserQuestion — The agent can now ask you questions mid-conversation with an interactive modal
• Demo mode — Embeddable demo for the marketing site with mock credentials
• Apple code signing — macOS builds are signed and notarized for Gatekeeper
• SF Symbols — Replaced SVG icons with native SF Symbol PNG masks
• Facehash avatars — Generated avatars for projects in the sidebar
• Account settings — Live OAuth status, API key management, and credential refresh
• Per-word streaming — Messages animate word-by-word during streaming
• Beam reveal — ASCII logo animation with selectable styles (beam vs scramble)
• Bug report dialog — Dislike a message to generate an AI-enhanced bug report
• Sentry integration — Error monitoring with full TypeScript stack traces
• Token usage persistence — Usage stats survive session reloads
• Window state persistence — Remember position, size, and panel layout across restarts
• Stick-to-bottom scrolling — Replaced custom scroll logic with battle-tested library
• Quick Open improvements — Better fuzzy search, fixed scroll jank, @mention context

Coming Soon

Background Sessions — Queue messages to multiple sessions and let them run in parallel. Come back when they're done.

Notes Vault — Project-scoped Markdown notes with Mermaid diagrams, indexed by the agent for automatic context.

Editor App — The standalone Snowflake editor, separate from the Agent and Canvas tabs, with full LSP support for 22 languages.

This release marks a fundamental architectural shift. We've rebuilt Orbit from the ground up using Tauri and Rust, delivering native performance while maintaining the developer experience you expect. The result is a faster, more efficient UDE with deeper system integration.

Architecture Overhaul

Tauri + Rust Backend

We've moved away from Electron to Tauri with a complete Rust backend. This transition delivers:

• Significantly smaller binary size — Tauri apps are a fraction of Electron's footprint
• Native performance — Rust backend handles file operations, process management, and system calls
• Lower memory usage — No Chromium overhead for the shell
• Better security — Rust's memory safety guarantees throughout the backend

CodeMirror 6 Editor

Monaco has been replaced with CodeMirror 6 as our editor foundation:

• Lighter weight — Faster initial load and lower memory consumption
• Mobile-ready architecture — Built for modern web constraints
• Extensibility — Cleaner plugin system for custom functionality
• Familiar layout — VS Code-style interface so developers don't have to relearn anything

Workspace Tabs

Agent Tab

The AI assistant now features deep integration with the browser and full MCP tool support:

• MCP Tools — Full Model Context Protocol support for extensible tool use
• Browser Control — Agent can control the integrated browser for testing, debugging, and automation
• Console Access — Direct access to browser console logs and errors
• Context Sharing — Seamless communication between agent and browser via MCP

The agent runs on the Claude Agent SDK as a subprocess, ensuring isolated and reliable execution. Bring your own Claude subscription — authenticate with your auth token and use your existing plan.

Editor Tab

A complete code editor with VS Code-style layout:

• File explorer — Navigate your project structure
• Multi-tab editing — Work across multiple files simultaneously
• Syntax highlighting — Full language support via CodeMirror
• Integrated terminal — Run commands without leaving the editor

Canvas Tab

Visual editing has evolved into a functional design environment:

• ShadCN Component Preview — Browse and preview the entire shadcn/ui library
• Custom Component Import — Download components from anywhere, preview instantly
• Live Editing Sidebar — Modify component code and see changes in real-time
• Copy to Agent — Send components directly to the agent for integration
• Save for Later — Build a personal component library

This is Figma-style editing for real code — not wireframes, but functional React components you can ship.

Introducing Snowflake

We're open-sourcing the editor. Snowflake will be a standalone, open-source code editor built with:

• React for the UI
• Tauri for the native shell
• Rust for the backend
• CodeMirror 6 for editing

The Agent and Canvas tabs remain exclusive to Orbit, but the editor will be freely available for the community to use, extend, and contribute to.

Full Shortcut Support

Comprehensive keyboard shortcuts now work throughout the entire application:

• Agent tab shortcuts for quick commands
• Editor shortcuts matching VS Code conventions
• Canvas navigation and manipulation shortcuts

Coming Soon

Notes Vault

A dedicated space for project documentation:

• Create and organize Markdown files
• Mermaid diagram support for visual documentation
• Project-scoped notes that travel with your codebase
• Agent-indexed — The AI will automatically reference your notes when relevant

Multi-Agent Canvas

Run multiple agents simultaneously with visual coordination:

• Git worktree support — Each agent can work in isolated branches
• Live preview nodes — See all agent sessions as nodes on a canvas
• Double-click to expand — Focus on a specific agent for detailed interaction
• Parallel development — Watch multiple approaches evolve side by side

No more switching between chat windows to track different experiments.

Authentication

Use Orbit with your existing Claude subscription. Simply authenticate with your auth token — no separate Orbit subscription required for AI features.

This release establishes Orbit as a comprehensive Unified Development Environment — a single workspace designed to eliminate context switching entirely. Built on Electron for native performance, version 0.0.2 introduces four specialized workspace tabs and support for the latest frontier models.

Workspace Tabs

Ask Tab

A conversational interface optimized for ideation and exploration.

• Ideation workflows — explore concepts without modifying your codebase
• Read-only tooling — designed for research, documentation queries, and architectural discussions
• Isolated context — no side effects on your active project

Agent Tab

An autonomous coding assistant with three distinct operational modes:

• Plan Mode — The agent analyzes requirements and proposes an implementation strategy before generating code
• Accept Mode — Streamlined execution with approval checkpoints for rapid development
• Critique Mode — Multiple language models review code simultaneously, providing consensus-based feedback

Browser Tab

A fully integrated Chromium instance within the development environment.

• Local development — Test applications without switching windows
• DevTools integration — Full inspector access, visible to the AI agent
• Playwright support — Automated end-to-end testing directly from your workspace
• Web context — Research and reference documentation without interrupting your workflow

Canvas Tab

A visual interface for designing and orchestrating complex development workflows.

• Component library — Reusable UI elements with drag-and-drop composition
• Animation editor — Visual tools for designing micro-interactions
• Contextual notes — Capture and organize thoughts alongside your code
• Multi-agent coordination — Deploy multiple agents with distinct tasks and real-time oversight
• Live editing — Modify running workflows without restart

Model Support

Orbit provides unified access to frontier language models through a consistent interface.

OpenAI

• GPT-5 — Latest flagship model
• GPT-5.1 (mini / nano / full) — Optimized variants for different latency and capability requirements

Google DeepMind

• Gemini 3 — Multimodal capabilities with broad task coverage
• Gemini 3 Pro — Extended context and enhanced reasoning

Anthropic

• Claude 4.5 Haiku — Optimized for speed and efficiency
• Claude 4.5 Sonnet — Balanced performance across diverse tasks
• Claude 4.5 Opus — Maximum capability for complex reasoning

Additional model integrations are in active development.

Technical Foundation

• Electron runtime — Native performance with cross-platform compatibility
• Monaco editor — VS Code-class editing with full language server protocol support
• Unified state — Seamless context sharing across all workspace tabs

Roadmap

Upcoming releases will expand Canvas workflow capabilities, enhance browser automation, and introduce support for custom model configurations.

We're excited to announce the first beta release of Orbit - your AI-powered development workspace that combines intelligent assistance with professional development tools!

AI Integration

Orbit features deep integration with Claude SDK, bringing advanced AI capabilities directly into your workflow.

The platform supports:

• Multimodal interactions for text, code, and visual content
• Built-in tool calls for executing functions
• Multi-session SDK support for managing multiple conversations
• Seamless interaction with external tools and services

Development Environment

At the core of Orbit is the Monaco Editor, providing a professional VS Code-style editing experience. The environment includes:

• Syntax highlighting for multiple programming languages
• Fully functional terminal for command execution
• Complete file operations system
• Professional code editing features

Workspace Modes

Orbit offers three distinct operational modes to match your workflow:

• Plan Mode - AI helps you strategize your implementation approach
• Accept Mode - Review and approve AI-generated code suggestions
• Default Mode - Standard development workflow

All three modes are fully functional in this beta release.

Specialized Pages

Canvas Page (Beta)

A powerful visualization tool for designing and planning your projects:

• UI components and interfaces
• Frontend workflows and user journeys
• Backend architecture diagrams
• System design and infrastructure planning

Chat Page

A dedicated space for conversations and brainstorming with AI, separate from your coding workspace. This allows you to explore ideas and get assistance without cluttering your development environment.

Authentication & Security

Orbit implements secure OAuth integration with intelligent token management. The system reads credentials directly from system storage, eliminating unnecessary API calls while improving both security and performance.

What's Next

This is our first beta release, and we're actively developing new features and improvements based on user feedback. Join us in shaping the future of AI-powered development!