ThreadlinesvsOrca
An Orca alternative with several agents in one thread
Orca is a free, MIT-licensed app that runs dozens of coding agents, each in its own Git worktree, with phone apps and remote servers. Threadlines is free and MIT-licensed too. It puts several agents in one thread, and an agent on one of your computers can start a thread on another.
| Feature | Threadlines | Orca |
|---|---|---|
| Price and license | Yes:Free, MIT | Yes:Free, MIT |
| Desktop | Yes:macOS, Windows, Linux | Yes:macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Phone | Yes:Home Screen web app with alerts | Yes:iPhone and Android apps in beta, with alerts |
| Agents | Codex, Claude Code and seven more, plus community agents | About 40 agents, plus any CLI agent |
| Several agents in one thread | Yes:One can review the other's work | No:Each chat runs one agent |
| Your other computers | Yes:Agents start threads where the project is set up | Yes:SSH, and remote servers in beta |
| Scheduled and event tasks | Yes:On a schedule, a GitHub issue or a webhook | Partly:Schedules |
| Agents in your terminal | Yes:Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, scripts | Yes:An orca command and skills |
| Git worktree per task | Yes:Per thread | Yes:Per task |
| Pull requests and CI | Yes:Beside the thread, with fix and merge switches | Yes:Fix broken checks, auto-merge, stacked PRs |
| Built-in browser | Yes:Built in | Yes:Built in, plus Design Mode |
| Cloud agents | No:Agents run on your computers | Partly:Experimental VMs on your own cloud account |
Pick Threadlines if
- You want two agents in the same thread.
- You want Codex to check Claude's work without leaving the chat.
- You want tasks that start from a GitHub issue or a webhook.
Pick Orca if
- You use one of the many agents only Orca runs.
- You want an Android app.
- You want stacked pull requests or Design Mode.
Questions
Is Orca open source?
Yes. Orca is MIT-licensed, like Threadlines, and both are free.
Can I use both?
Yes. They're separate apps, and both run the agent CLIs already on your computer with your own sign-ins.
We checked these facts about Orca on October 29, 2026, against Orca's README, supported agents, chat docs, mobile, remote servers, automations, GitHub review and ways to run. Something out of date? Open an issue and we'll fix it.
See every agent Threadlines runs, or Threadlines vs Conductor, or Threadlines vs T3 Code, or Threadlines vs Codex app, or Threadlines vs Claude Code desktop, or Threadlines vs Paradev, or Threadlines vs Emdash.
Orca is made by Stably. Threadlines is an independent open-source project and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Stably.