Quick Start · CLI Commands · Desktop IDE · Contributing
Orion is an open-source AI coding tool with two modes:
CLI — 71 commands for AI-assisted coding directly in your terminal. Chat with AI, review code, fix bugs, generate tests, search codebases — all from the command line. Switch between Claude, GPT, and local Ollama models mid-conversation.
Desktop IDE — A full-featured code editor built on Electron with Monaco Editor, 18 themes, integrated terminal, Git workflow, and multi-agent AI orchestration.
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ ✦ O R I O N │
│ AI-Powered Coding Assistant │
│ v2.1.0 · Win/Mac/Linux │
└──────────────────────────────────┘
$ orion ask "How do I optimize this React component?" @src/App.tsx
$ orion fix src/auth.ts --auto # Fix → Test → Iterate until passing
$ git diff | orion review # AI code review from pipe
$ orion chat # Interactive chat with /claude /gpt /ollama
| Orion | Claude Code | Codex CLI | Aider | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-platform | Win/Mac/Linux | Mac/Linux/Win11 | Mac/Linux | Mac/Linux/Win |
| Built-in AI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Ollama (free) | No | No | Yes |
| Provider switching | Hot-switch mid-chat | No | No | Yes |
| Auto fix loop | fix → test → iterate | Manual | Manual | Yes |
| File ops in chat | /read /write /run /ls /cat | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom commands | .orion/commands/*.md | .claude/commands/ | /commands/ | No |
| Plan mode | AI implementation plans | Yes | No | No |
| Code generation | 20+ frameworks | No | No | No |
| File backup/undo | Automatic | No | No | No |
| Unix pipes | Full support | Partial | No | No |
| Web fetch | /fetch URL in chat | Yes | Yes | No |
| Natural language shell | orion shell | No | No | No |
| TODO scanner | orion todo --fix | No | No | No |
| Dependency analysis | orion deps | No | No | No |
| Migration | JS→TS, py2→3, class→hooks | No | No | No |
| Health check | orion doctor | No | No | No |
| Desktop IDE | Included | No | No | No |
| Price | Free & open source | Subscription | Subscription | Free |
npm install -g orion-ide
orion tutorialgit clone https://github.com/concrete-sangminlee/orion.git
cd orion
npm install
npm run cli:build
npm install -g .
# Start using
orion chat # AI chat
orion ask "What does this do?" @file.ts # Quick question
orion status # Check setup| Requirement | How to install |
|---|---|
| Node.js 18+ | nodejs.org |
| C++ Build Tools | Windows: npm i -g windows-build-tools · macOS: xcode-select --install · Linux: apt install build-essential |
| Ollama (optional) | ollama.com — ollama pull llama3.2 |
Core: chat · ask · explain · review · fix · edit · commit (7)
Code: search · diff · pr · run · test · agent · refactor · compare (8)
Generate: plan · generate · docs · snippet · scaffold · format (6)
Tools: shell · todo · fetch · changelog · migrate · deps · translate · env · log · summarize (10)
Analysis: debug · benchmark · security · typecheck (4)
AI: learn · pair · context (3)
Safety: undo · status · doctor · update · clean (5)
Session: session · watch · config · init · gui · completions (6)
Git: hooks · alias (2)
Config: profile · metrics (2)
Help: tutorial · examples · info (3)
Extend: plugin · api · regex · cron (4)
Total: 60
orion chat # Interactive AI chat (with file/shell tools)
orion ask "question" @file1 @file2 # Quick question with file context
orion explain src/app.ts # Explain what code does
orion review src/app.ts # AI code review with severity levels
orion fix src/app.ts # Find and fix bugs
orion fix src/app.ts --auto # Fix → test → iterate until passing
orion edit src/app.ts # AI-assisted file editing
orion commit # Generate AI commit messageorion search "authentication" # Search codebase + AI analysis
orion diff # Review uncommitted changes with AI
orion diff --staged # Review staged changes
orion pr # Generate PR description from branch
orion pr --review # AI reviews all branch changes
orion run "npm test" # Run command, AI diagnoses errors
orion run "npm build" --fix # Run, diagnose, and auto-fix
orion test # Run tests, AI analyzes failures
orion test --generate src/auth.ts # Generate tests for a file
orion agent "task1" "task2" "task3" # Run multiple AI tasks in parallel
orion refactor src/app.ts --simplify # AI refactoring
orion compare file1.ts file2.ts # Compare two files with AIorion plan "Add auth to the app" # AI implementation plan + auto-execute
orion plan --execute "task" # Plan and execute immediately
orion generate component LoginForm # Generate code (20+ frameworks)
orion docs src/app.ts # Generate JSDoc/docstrings
orion docs src/ --readme # Generate README for directory
orion docs src/app.ts --api # Generate API documentationorion shell # Natural language -> shell commands
orion todo # Scan for TODO/FIXME/HACK comments
orion todo --fix # AI suggests fixes for each TODO
orion fetch https://docs.api.com # Fetch URL content for AI context
orion changelog # Generate changelog from git history
orion changelog --days 7 # Last 7 days
orion migrate src/app.js --to typescript # JS->TS, py2->3, class->hooks
orion deps # Analyze dependencies
orion deps --security # Security audit
orion deps --unused # Find unused packages
orion snippet save "name" --file f # Save code snippet from file
orion snippet list # List all saved snippets
orion snippet generate "desc" # AI-generate a new snippet
orion compare --approach "React vs Vue?" # Compare tech approachesorion debug src/app.ts # Analyze file for potential bugs
orion debug --error "msg" # Diagnose a specific error
orion debug --stacktrace # Paste stack trace for analysis
orion benchmark src/app.ts # Analyze file for performance
orion benchmark --memory src/app.ts # Memory usage analysis
orion benchmark --complexity src/app.ts # Time complexity analysis
orion security src/ # Scan for security vulnerabilities
orion security --owasp # OWASP Top 10 audit
orion typecheck src/app.ts # Analyze types, suggest improvements
orion typecheck src/app.ts --strict # Strict type safety audit
orion typecheck src/app.js --convert # JS to TypeScript conversionorion undo # Restore last file from backup
orion undo --list # List all backups
orion undo --file src/app.ts # Undo specific file
orion undo --checkpoint # Restore a workspace checkpoint
orion status # Environment dashboard
orion doctor # Full health check (9 checks)orion session new "project" # Create named session
orion session resume "project" # Continue where you left off
orion session export "project" # Export as markdown
orion watch "*.ts" --on-change review # Auto-review on file change
orion config # Set up API keys and models
orion init # Create .orion/context.md project memory
orion completions bash # Generate shell completions/read src/app.ts # Add file to conversation context
/write output.ts # Write AI's code block to file
/run npm test # Run command, add output to context
/ls # List directory
/cat src/app.ts # View file with line numbers
/cd src # Change directory
/fetch https://docs.api.com # Fetch URL into context
/my-custom-command # Custom commands from .orion/commands/cat error.log | orion ask "What's wrong?"
git diff | orion review
cat app.ts | orion explain
cat app.ts | orion fix > fixed.ts--json # Structured JSON output (CI/CD)
--yes / -y # Auto-confirm all prompts
--dry-run # Preview changes without writing
--quiet # Minimal output
--no-color # Disable colorsorion chat
# Inside chat:
/claude # Switch to Claude
/gpt # Switch to GPT
/ollama # Switch to Ollama (local)
/model deepseek-r1 # Use specific model
/models # List installed models
/switch # Cycle providersLaunch with npm run dev or orion gui.
- Monaco Editor — Syntax highlighting, minimap, bracket colorization, inline AI editing
- 18 Built-in Themes — Orion Dark, GitHub Light, Tokyo Night, Catppuccin, Dracula, Nord, and more
- AI Chat Panel — Multi-provider streaming chat with markdown rendering
- Integrated Terminal — xterm.js + node-pty with multiple sessions
- Git Integration — Source control, blame, stash, timeline, merge conflict resolver
- 30+ Panels — Debug, test, profiler, problems, database, API client, Docker, CI/CD
- Command Palette — Ctrl+Shift+P with fuzzy search
- Extension System — VS Code-compatible extension API
- 4 Languages — English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+P |
Quick Open |
Ctrl+Shift+P |
Command Palette |
Ctrl+K |
Inline AI Edit |
Ctrl+L |
Focus AI Chat |
Ctrl+B |
Toggle Sidebar |
Ctrl+` |
Toggle Terminal |
| Provider | Models | Cost | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ollama | llama3.2, deepseek-r1, mistral, qwen, + any | Free | ollama pull llama3.2 |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4, Opus 4, Haiku | API key | console.anthropic.com |
| OpenAI | GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, o3 | API key | platform.openai.com |
Ollama works out of the box with no API key. Run orion config for API key setup.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| CLI | Node.js · Commander · Chalk · Ora · Marked |
| Desktop | Electron 33 · React 19 · TypeScript 5.7 |
| Editor | Monaco Editor 0.52 |
| Terminal | xterm.js 5 · node-pty |
| State | Zustand 5 (33 stores) |
| Styling | TailwindCSS v4 |
| Build | Vite 6 · esbuild |
| AI | Anthropic SDK · OpenAI SDK · Ollama API |
| Packaging | electron-builder 25 |
orion/
├── cli/ # CLI tool (71 commands)
│ ├── index.ts # Entry point
│ ├── ai-client.ts # Multi-provider AI client
│ ├── ui.ts # Premium UI components
│ ├── markdown.ts # Terminal markdown renderer
│ ├── backup.ts # Automatic backup system
│ ├── shared.ts # Shared patterns
│ ├── pipeline.ts # CI/CD pipeline mode
│ ├── stdin.ts # Unix pipe support
│ └── commands/ # 60 command implementations
│ ├── chat.ts # Interactive chat with hot-switch
│ ├── ask.ts # Quick questions with @file refs
│ ├── review.ts # Code review with severity
│ ├── fix.ts # Auto-fix with test loop
│ ├── edit.ts # AI file editing
│ ├── search.ts # Codebase search + AI
│ ├── diff.ts # Git diff AI review
│ ├── run.ts # Command execution + diagnosis
│ ├── test.ts # Test runner + generation
│ ├── undo.ts # Backup restore
│ └── ...
├── electron/ # Desktop main process
├── src/ # Desktop renderer (React)
│ ├── components/ # 60+ UI components
│ ├── panels/ # 30+ workspace panels
│ ├── store/ # 33 Zustand stores
│ └── themes/ # 18 built-in themes
├── shared/ # Shared types & constants
└── package.json
We welcome contributions from everyone! Here's how to get involved:
# 1. Fork the repo on GitHub
# 2. Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/orion.git
cd orion
# 3. Install dependencies
npm install
# 4. Create a branch
git checkout -b feat/my-feature
# 5. Make changes and test
npm run cli:build && orion --help
npm run dev # Test desktop IDE
# 6. Commit and push
git commit -m "feat: add awesome feature"
git push origin feat/my-feature
# 7. Open a Pull Request on GitHub| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Bug Reports | Found a bug? Open an issue with steps to reproduce |
| Feature Requests | Have an idea? Start a discussion |
| Code | Pick an issue, write code, open a PR |
| Documentation | Improve README, add examples, write guides |
| Translations | Add or improve translations in src/i18n/locales/ |
| Themes | Create new themes in src/themes/index.ts |
| CLI Commands | Add new commands in cli/commands/ |
| Testing | Write tests, improve test coverage |
Look for issues labeled good first issue — these are beginner-friendly tasks.
- Follow existing code style (
.prettierrc+.editorconfig) - Use Conventional Commits for commit messages
- Keep PRs focused on a single change
- Add tests for new features where applicable
- Update README if your change affects user-facing behavior
CLI Flow: orion <cmd> → Commander → ai-client.ts → Provider API → markdown.ts → stdout
Desktop Flow: Electron main.ts → IPC → React App.tsx → Monaco/Panels → Zustand stores
AI Flow: User input → System prompt + context → Provider (stream) → Response rendering
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) support
- Workspace checkpoints (multi-file undo)
- Sandboxed execution environment
- Web search grounding for AI
- Voice-to-code input
- Session sharing (shareable links)
- VS Code extension marketplace integration
- Plugin system for custom CLI commands
MIT — Free to use, modify, and distribute.
✦ Built with Orion by the community
Star the repo if you find it useful!