Singularity vs Orca: two ADEs for parallel AI coding agents

Orca is for developers who already run several coding agents at once (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI, Copilot and many more) and want them in one application, each task in its own Git worktree. Built by Stably AI and open source under the MIT licence, it presents itself as the “agent development environment” for a fleet of parallel agents.

Singularity starts from the same observation but organises it differently: a Kanban board where each ticket is an agent’s mission, with dependencies, review and rebase-based integration. Both are desktop ADEs that reuse your subscriptions; the decision is about the working model, open and pull-request-centric on one side, structured around the ticket on the other.

Comparison checked on 10 October 2026 against Orca’s website, documentation and GitHub repository (version 1.4.223, dated 8 October 2026, per its changelog) and Singularity’s documentation. It compares workflows; it does not benchmark speed or the quality of generated code. Public prices are quoted in USD/EUR as displayed, excluding tax and usage, and may change. Orca ships releases very frequently.

In short

• Orca is a free, open-source ADE: one worktree, terminal and browser per task, any CLI agent, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Linear and Jira integration, SSH worktrees and a mobile companion.
• Singularity is a free, proprietary ADE: editor, terminal, Git, LSP and a Kanban that schedules agents by priority and dependencies, then integrates their work with a rebase after review.
• Orca encourages sending one prompt to several agents and keeping the best result; Singularity, splitting work into linked tickets.
• Orca ends with a pull request; Singularity integrates locally, with an integration queue and per-file review.

Orca overview

Orca is built by Stably AI, backed by Y Combinator according to its website, and describes itself as the ADE for working with a fleet of parallel agents (Orca website). Its source is public under the MIT licence; the app runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, with an iOS and Android companion to monitor and steer agents (GitHub repository), and also installs through Homebrew, AppImage, .deb or .rpm (installation).

Every task gets its own Git worktree, agent terminal and browser tab; Orca does not replace Git, and each worktree remains usable with plain Git commands (documentation). A worktree can start from a branch, a commit, a pull request, a Linear or Jira issue or a GitLab merge request, from which Orca derives the branch name (worktrees).

Orca launches any command-line agent; around forty are preconfigured, including Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI, Gemini, Cursor CLI, OpenCode, Mistral Vibe and Cline (supported agents). The website highlights split terminals, a “Design Mode” that sends an element clicked in an embedded Chromium browser to the agent, diff annotation, usage tracking with an account switcher, and an orca CLI that agents can drive (Orca website).

Orca connects to GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket Cloud: pull requests, issues, GitHub Actions status per worktree and a GitHub Projects view under the Tasks entry (forge integration). An experimental orchestration layer lets a coordinator agent dispatch tasks to worker agents, with dependencies and decision gates (orchestration). For enterprises, the app or an always-on Orca server can run inside your network, and prompts and code go directly to your providers (enterprise page).

Singularity at a glance

Singularity, built by Meteor Factory, is a desktop agentic development environment: an editor with language servers (editor, LSP), real terminals (terminal), a Git client with graph, diffs, stash and worktrees, multi-project workspaces and Mission Control, a Kanban board that runs agents (Kanban).

A ticket carries description, priority, attachments, dependencies and agent configuration, then keeps the thread, the report and a short resolution (tickets). Every run works in an isolated worktree; its commits are replayed onto the base branch with a rebase, with a per-project integration queue (worktrees, orchestration). Singularity drives the CLIs of Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Gemini, Mistral and Ollama with your accounts (AI providers). The app is free on macOS, Windows and Linux (installation); the Singularity Licence, at 24 EUR per month per workstation, only unlocks paid plugins such as Pipelines (pricing).

Comparison table

The same feature in both tools

Take a common request: a CSV export of invoices, with an API endpoint, a UI button and tests.

With Orca. You create a worktree from the matching issue and launch Claude Code in its terminal, perhaps with Codex on the same prompt in a second worktree to compare. The worktree’s browser shows the app; in Design Mode you click the button to fix and the agent receives its HTML, CSS and a screenshot. You annotate the diff, send your comments back, then commit, push and open the pull request from Orca (commit and push). GitHub Actions checks show on the worktree; merging happens on the forge.

With Singularity. You create two tickets, “Export endpoint” and “Export button”, the second “blocked by” the first, each with context, acceptance criteria and out-of-scope items. The scheduler starts the API ticket in its worktree; the UI ticket starts once the first is integrated, from an up-to-date base. A blocking question puts the ticket on hold until you answer. The Review tab then lets you annotate, approve file by file, merge all or part, or rerun the agent with feedback (review).

Orca lets you drive each worktree as a complete workstation; Singularity asks you to formalise work as tickets, then handles the sequencing.

Two philosophies of parallelism

Orca highlights fan-out: one prompt sent to several agents, each in its own worktree, keeping the best result (GitHub repository). It is a good way to compare models on a real task. To coordinate distinct tasks, its experimental orchestration adds dependent tasks, messages between agents and decision gates, driven from the command line by a coordinator agent (orchestration).

Singularity puts that coordination in the app: priorities, dependencies, child tickets, scheduled runs, concurrent-agent and retry limits (Kanban). Each session gets a temporary MCP gateway to read its ticket, publish its phase or ask a question (orchestration). Orca’s model is more open-ended; Singularity’s is more structured and easier to read when a dozen tickets move at once.

Review and integration: pull request or local rebase

Orca’s documented flow ends with a pull request: commit, push with no implicit force (force push with --force-with-lease when needed), then PR or MR creation. The documentation does not describe automatic integration into the base branch; merging goes through the forge, with GitHub auto-merge once requirements pass (forge integration). That suits teams already reviewing on GitHub or GitLab.

Singularity integrates locally: a rebase onto the latest base for linear history, a per-project integration queue, and automatic merging or a Review tab that also allows a partial merge of approved files only (worktrees). In both cases, green tests do not rule out a semantic conflict: rerun tests after integration and keep human review on sensitive code.

Open or integrated: agents, extensions and data

Orca extends through skills installed by agents, MCP servers and its CLI (skills and MCP). It runs on your desktop by default, and its telemetry is anonymous, can be turned off, and excludes prompts and terminal contents according to its documentation (telemetry).

Singularity limits itself to seven provider adapters, each with dedicated settings: permissions, effort, sandbox, default model (AI providers). Its extensions come from a Marketplace of signed modules whose optional permissions are never granted automatically (Marketplace); the paid Pipelines plugin monitors GitHub Actions, GitLab CI and Azure DevOps (Pipelines). Its data stays in a local SQLite database, and only provider CLIs talk to external services.

Where Orca is stronger

• Openness. MIT-licensed source, free, self-hostable.
• Agent choice. Any CLI agent, versus seven providers in Singularity.
• Remote and mobile. SSH worktrees, Orca servers and a mobile companion.
• Front-end work. A browser per worktree and Design Mode.
• Forges. Built-in GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Linear and Jira.

Where Singularity stands out

• The ticket as the unit of work. Dependencies, child tickets, report and short resolution on a Kanban that shows every agent’s state.
• Built-in scheduling. The next ready ticket starts based on dependencies, priority and the agent limit.
• Controlled local integration. Rebase, integration queue, per-file approval and partial merge.
• Process isolation. A Seatbelt sandbox on macOS and Landlock on Linux, on top of the worktree.

Can you use both?

Technically yes: both work on real repositories and Git worktrees. You could hand a series of scheduled tickets to Singularity and keep Orca for exploring one task with several agents on the same prompt. Avoid, however, having two orchestrators integrate into the same base branch at the same time. For other tools in the same family, see Singularity vs Superset and Singularity vs Conductor.

Which tool should you choose?

• You care about open source or want to self-host: Orca.
• You use less common agents or switch often: Orca.
• You do a lot of front-end work or develop on a remote machine: Orca, for Design Mode and SSH worktrees.
• You delegate dozens of interdependent tasks: Singularity, for the Kanban and scheduler.
• You want to integrate locally after review, without depending on a forge: Singularity.

Trial protocol

1. Pick a real task that touches the API and the UI and has existing tests.
2. Write one description (context, acceptance criteria, out of scope) for both tools.
3. In Orca, create one worktree per sub-task; in Singularity, two tickets linked by a dependency.
4. Use the same agent and model on both sides.
5. Compare the review and the path to the base branch, then rerun tests after integration.

Frequently asked questions

Is Orca really free?

Yes, according to its website and repository: it is free and open source under the MIT licence. You pay for the subscriptions of the agents you use. An enterprise offer exists, with no public price.

Can Singularity launch any agent like Orca?

No. Singularity drives seven providers: Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Gemini, Mistral and Ollama. The list is shorter, but each provider has dedicated settings.

Does Orca have a Kanban board?

Orca shows a GitHub Projects view under the Tasks entry, with drag-and-drop. It mirrors your GitHub projects; it is not an agent scheduler like Mission Control.

Do my prompts go through Orca’s or Singularity’s servers?

According to their documentation, no: both launch provider CLIs that talk to their own services directly. Check each provider’s policy.

To go further, browse all Singularity comparisons, follow the getting started guide or download Singularity.