Orca lets agents use your Mac apps in the background, and adds plugins

Orca now lets agents use Chrome, Blender and other Mac apps in the background, while you keep your mouse and keyboard. Drags into Chromium and Electron apps still bring the app forward.

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On a Mac, agents use your apps in the background

Before

every click raised the app and moved your pointer

Now

agents click, type and scroll in Chrome, Blender and other apps behind your windows

You

keep your pointer, your keyboard and the app you were using

Some actions still bring the app forward, such as drags into Chromium and Electron apps.

Orca also stops freezing after launch when you have hundreds of chats. Typing lags less, hidden chats do less work, and multi-agent Codex chats stop growing your chat history to gigabytes.

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Orca launches without freezing, even with hundreds of chats

Launch

chats show as Interrupted or Done without reading their history

Typing

the chat composer stops redrawing on every keystroke

Codex

multi-agent chats no longer grow chat history to gigabytes

Orca now has plugins: icon themes, syntax highlighting and custom editors, installed from Settings. A plugin that runs code asks first, then gets full access to your computer. Community publishing is coming soon.

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Orca has plugins

Icon themes, syntax highlighting and custom editors, from Settings, Plugins.

A plugin that runs code asks first, then gets full access to your computer. Community publishing is coming soon.

Quit Claude or Codex in an Orca terminal, and the conversation carries on in Chat. Turn on Chat UI in Settings, then right-click a tab to switch it between Chat and terminal.

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Quit Claude or Codex in a terminal, and the conversation keeps going in Chat

The terminal tab stays open.

Chat UI

turn it on in Settings

Switch

right-click a tab to move it between Chat UI and the terminal while it runs

Orca's browser now installs Chrome extensions, so Bitwarden or 1Password can fill your logins. It's experimental and off by default. Ad blockers install but don't block yet.

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Orca’s browser installs Chrome extensions

Add to Orca from the Chrome Web Store, and Bitwarden or 1Password fills your logins. Experimental, off by default.

Ad blockers install but don’t block yet.

On your phone, dictation now shows your words as you speak. They land right at the cursor, and if the connection drops, Orca sends the lost audio again.

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Dictation on the phone shows your words as you speak

They land at the cursor, and audio lost to a dropped connection is sent again.

Also, remote files play and save like local ones, Orca adds four languages, and Windows terminals show their prompt at once. If agents drive your Mac apps, I'd update for background computer use alone.

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Remote files

audio and video play, text files up to 50 MB save, on SSH hosts and paired servers

Languages

German, Russian, Turkish and Traditional Chinese

Windows

new terminals show their prompt right away

Agents in your Mac apps? Update today.

Compatibility and upgrade notes in Orca’s v1.4.245 release notes on GitHub