What you’ll do
- Install the CLI and sign in.
- Copy Scout with one command, or build it from a few lines of code.
- Use it: ask it something, then have a conversation.
- Let your coding agent drive.
- Run it from your own code.
- See what it cost, and clean up.
Or hand this page to your coding agent
If you work in Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor, it can do the typing while you watch. Paste this prompt:1. Install the CLI and sign in
orca binary to ~/.local/bin. If your shell then says orca: command not found, add that folder to your PATH as the script suggests, and open a new terminal. On Windows, download the binary from the releases page. An older CLI updates itself with orca update.
balance is your Orca credit. The amount new accounts start with is on the pricing page.
2. Copy Scout
Scout is a model, its instructions, and one tool. This is all of it:orca/openrouter/<id> runs on your Orca credit. See models and provider keys.
Get Scout into your account whichever way you like:
- Copy it (one command)
- Build it from code
Scout is shared as a kit, a link anyone can copy an agent from.Or open Scout’s kit page and choose Copy.It shows the same definition as the code above.
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Copy it into your account
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See your agent
3. Use it
Ask Scout something it has to look up:orca chat scout with no question. You’re now chatting with Scout, and it remembers what you said. Try a question, then a follow-up:
session session_...: a session is one conversation, and Orca keeps it. orca chat scout --session session_... (with your session’s ID) picks it up again tomorrow.
You can also chat with Scout in the dashboard. Open it on the Agents page, type your question into Give scout a task…, and choose Submit task. The Sessions page shows every conversation, including the ones from your terminal.
4. Let your coding agent drive
Give your coding agent Orca’s tools, and you can run Scout just by asking.orca mcp serve is an MCP server with one tool per CLI action, so your coding agent can copy kits, create agents, chat with them, and read your usage and wallet. It uses the login you already have.
- Claude Code
- Cursor
- Codex
Install the Orca plugin. It registers the MCP server and adds a skill that knows the CLI:Or add only the MCP server:
- “Ask Scout to research the trade-offs between SQLite and Postgres for a small app, and summarize its answer.”
- “Ask Scout which versions of our dependencies have security advisories this month, and list the links it found.”
- “Continue my last session with Scout and ask it for a shorter answer.”
- “How much Orca credit do I have left, and what did Scout cost today?”
5. Run it from your own code
Everything so far went through the CLI, which calls the same API your application will. Your code uses the officialopenai package with an Orca API key. If you built Scout from code in step 2, you already have the package: skip to the key.
Install the openai package. It needs Python 3.10 or later, or Node 22.18 or later. Check your version first, and update it if it’s older:
ORCA_API_KEY without printing it. A new terminal won’t have it, so run this again there.
6. See what it cost, and clean up
Every call is recorded with what it cost, down to the session:orca sessions get session_... shows one session’s cost, tokens, and machine time.
- Model tokens and web searches are paid from your Orca credit, since Scout’s model starts with
orca/. - Scout uses no machine time, unless you give it a sandbox with
--sandbox. Sandboxes use machine time from your plan and need a small balance of credit, your plan’s minimum balance.
scout with orca keys revoke <its id> --yes, and close the terminal: its ORCA_API_KEY still holds the revoked key.
Where to go next
Cram Coach
Another kit: a textbook chapter and your exam date in, a study plan, Anki cards, and a practice test out.
Build your own agent
Every call explained, from creating an agent to streaming its answers.
Agent recipes
Complete agents to copy: a support agent, a data analyst, a code reviewer, and more.
Share your own agent
Publish an agent as a kit, the way Scout is shared, and send the link to anyone.