Orion Docs

Local vs hosted app ​

Orion is available as a local install (CLI + browser) and as a hosted web app. Both give you a notebook IDE with an AI assistant; they differ in where code runs and how you connect Jupyter.

Local install (CLI) ​

Run Orion on your machine with:

bash
orion

The orion command (from the orion-notebook package) starts Jupyter, launches the Orion app locally, and opens your browser. Data and managed environments live under:

  • macOS / Linux: ~/.orion
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.orion

Best for:

  • Full control over files and kernels on your computer
  • Using your own Python environments or conda stacks
  • Offline or air-gapped workflows (with local models such as Ollama)
  • Custom workspace skills and sub-agents in project folders

See Install Orion and the CLI reference.

When Orion manages the local Jupyter server, Copy path in the workspace copies the file's absolute path on that machine. For a remote or manually configured Jupyter server whose root path is not available to Orion, it copies the workspace-relative path instead.

Hosted app ​

Open app.orion-agent.ai in your browser without installing the CLI.

Best for:

  • Trying Orion quickly
  • Machines where you cannot install Node.js or Python locally

Both local and hosted Orion support optional Orion Cloud sign-in for publishing notebooks and managing your account. See Publish to Orion Cloud.

Hosted behavior may differ from the open-source local app (for example billing). The open-source tree documents bring-your-own-key, local-first usage; see the Orion-app architecture for technical details.

Jupyter connection ​

Both local and hosted Orion need a Jupyter server to execute notebooks:

  • CLI default: Orion creates and connects to a managed Jupyter environment under ~/.orion/runtime/venv.
  • Manual: Start your own server and connect via the kernel selector. See Connect to an external Jupyter server.

Credentials and settings ​

  • API keys are entered in Settings → Providers and stored in ~/.orion/credentials.json (Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.orion\credentials.json) for local Orion, not in settings JSON files.
  • User settings (theme, pinned models, editor preferences) live in ~/.orion/settings.json on the machine running the Orion app.
  • Workspace settings can override user settings per project in <workspace>/.orion/settings.json. See Workspace settings.

Last updated June 2026.

Apache-2.0 Licensed