Orca v1.4.251 sends any file or terminal selection to your agent's chat

In Orca v1.4.251, right-click a selection in a file or terminal and add it to any agent's chat, or a new agent. It arrives headed by its file and lines, unsent.

Slide text

Orca v1.4.251 sends a selection from any file or terminal to your agent’s chat

From

a file, a Markdown preview or a terminal

To

any agent in the workspace, or a new agent

Sending

never automatic: the quote waits in the composer

> src/cart.ts:12-13
>   return items.reduce((sum, i) => sum + i.price, 0)
> }

On your phone, a chat can now rewind to an earlier message, continue a reply you stopped, and keep the agent's plan pinned above the composer. Pasted images and unsent drafts work too.

Slide text

Phone chats can now rewind, continue and pin the agent’s plan

Rewind

back to an earlier message

Continue

a reply that Stop cut off

Plan

pinned above the composer

Paste images and long text. Unsent drafts survive an app restart.

When Orca quits or updates mid-task, working chats now carry on by themselves after relaunch. That default is for new installs only. If you never chose, it stays off, so switch it on yourself.

Slide text

Working chats pick up on their own after Orca restarts or updates

New installs

automatic resume is on by default

Existing users

keep their saved choice; no choice means off

Turned on

resume now waits for settings, so it works every time

Workers in Orca can now start their own helper workers, up to four levels deep. A finished worker can still message its coordinator, and stopping a worker now stops its helpers too.

Slide text

Orca workers can now start their own workers

Depth

nested workers go 4 levels deep by default, up from 1

Finished

a done worker can still message its coordinator

Stopped

stopping a worker stops every helper it started

A saved depth of 1 moves to 4 once; any value you set after that sticks. An older host keeps a limit of 1 until it updates.

Terminals you typed into from a phone or a paired desktop could go silent after Orca's terminal daemon reconnected. Now every one re-attaches, a busy Orca keeps the link, and new GPU terminals stop flashing blank.

Slide text

Terminals come back after a daemon reconnect, and survive a busy Orca

Reconnect

every terminal re-attaches, even one used only from a phone or paired desktop

Busy app

a frozen main process no longer cuts the terminal link

New canvas

GPU terminals no longer flash blank

When a future Orca needs a newer macOS, older Macs stay on their last working build with one notice, instead of an app that won't open. The minimum is still macOS 12.

Slide text

Macs too old for a new Orca stay on the last build they can run

Without it

a too-new update installs, and the app won’t open

Now

the update is skipped, with a one-time notice

The minimum is still macOS 12, so nothing changes yet.

Claude chats now clear a stuck permission status on Claude 2.1.118 or later, and projects collapse in one click. If you run Orca workers, I'd update today, so helpers stop with them.

Slide text

Claude chats, projects and launch get smaller fixes

Claude

a stuck needs-permission status clears, on Claude 2.1.118 or later

Projects

collapse or expand all, and add a child worktree from the menu

Launch

skips a second login-shell capture

Running workers in Orca? Update today.

Orca v1.4.251 release notes on GitHub