Getting Started

You can use Orb the second you install it. Everything else is optional upgrades to how powerful its brain is.

1. Install the app

Install Orb from the App Store (free). On first launch, Orb walks you through naming it and choosing its personality.

2. Pick how it thinks

Orb has three brain tiers. You can start with the first and add the others whenever you want — they all sound like your Orb.

Tier	What it is	Needs	Best for
On-device	A model running entirely on your phone	Nothing — works offline	Privacy, offline, quick everyday asks
Free APIs	Free cloud models you chain together	A free API key or two	More capable answers at no cost
Your own server	The Orb server on your PC	A computer you run it on	Maximum power: desktop actions, deep work

See Brains & Models for how the tiers fit together and how Orb keeps a single consistent personality across all of them.

3. (Optional) Add free APIs

Want more capable answers without paying? Add one or more free API providers and Orb will chain through them — when one runs out, it falls through to the next, so you effectively never run out. See Free APIs & Chaining.

4. (Optional) Connect your own PC

For the most power — running things on your computer, deep multi-step work — run the Orb server on your PC and point the app at it. See Self-Hosting and Connect Your PC.

What “limited functionality” means

When you’re offline or on a lighter brain, some things won’t be available (for example, actions that need your PC). Orb will tell you when that’s the case and, where it can, offer to do it a different way. It never pretends.