Getting started
Do I need to pay before trying it? No. Sign-in, App installation, connecting a repository, provisioning and your first 3 merged deliveries are all free, with no card. See billing. Do I need to configure a model or an API key? No. The free deliveries and both paid plans include model usage, and deliveries use the platform channel by default. Configuring your own key is optional — see model configuration. Do I have to install anything? No. Everything happens in your browser and in GitHub. You never get a shell on the runner and nothing runs on your machine. Can I use it on a private repository? Yes. The GitHub App works on private repositories you authorize. Can I connect more than one repository? On Pro, up to five at once; Free and Solo connect one real project at a time. On every plan, once you are at the limit you disconnect a repository first, then connect the new one. See connect a repository. Which languages and frameworks does Orbi support? There is no fixed list: Orbi has no language- or framework-specific rules, and relies on your repository’s own tests and CI instead. Orbi works with your repository’s code and test suite in an isolated environment. It runs the tests, reviews against your testing and coverage requirements, and reads your reported CI checks at the merge gate. What CI guarantees depends on what those tests cover. See your first Issue and what your CI guarantees. What should my first Issue be? Start with Orbi’s suggestions after it reads your repository. Review draft lets you check a new task before handing it off; Let Orbi do this dispatches an existing Issue immediately. You can also write a request or create an Issue on GitHub. Pick a small task with clear acceptance criteria. See your first Issue and write a request. Is it safe to give it write access? The App only reaches the repositories you select, you can pick a single small repository to start, and every change arrives as a pull request that is reviewed before it merges. See install the GitHub App and security. Does it work on an organization’s repository? Yes. Install the App on the organization; that creates a separate tenant for the organization with its own subscription and usage.Running deliveries
How do I give Orbi work? Choose a suggestion or define your own task; each path ends withai-ready on an Issue. For a new suggestion, review the draft and confirm; for an existing Issue, the handoff button dispatches immediately. These entry points also remain available:
- On the status page, click Write a request and say what you want changed in a sentence or two. Orbi reads your code and writes a draft Issue; when it looks right, click Hand off to Orbi. See write a request.
- On the status page, click Let Orbi do this (or Try →) next to an Issue you already have.
- On GitHub, create an Issue in your connected repository and add the
ai-readylabel yourself. See file your first Issue.
ai-ready, on GitHub or from the status page, wakes the runner for that repository. If that signal is lost, the regular five-minute timer picks the Issue up.
How long does a delivery take?
It depends entirely on the size of the task. Small, well-specified changes finish quickly; large or vague ones take longer and go through more repair rounds.
How long until a request is merged?
With the environment ready, quota available and no earlier work or version scope holding it up, Orbi usually starts within a minute of adding ai-ready; the fallback pickup runs every five minutes. Measurements across Orbi’s own three repositories (orbi, orbi-cloud, orbi-website), covering 239 deliveries and calibrated on 2026-09-26, put the median time from Issue creation to merge at about 23 minutes for changes under 100 lines, 60 minutes for the 100–500-line band, and 91 minutes for the 500–2,000-line band (lines added plus deleted). That interval starts at Issue creation, which may precede handoff to Orbi. Queueing and waiting for people to handle blocked deliveries were the main causes of slower deliveries; coding time was not the main cause. These are measurements from Orbi’s own repositories, not a delivery-time promise. See the delivery lifecycle and troubleshooting.
Can I change my mind while it is working?
Yes. Comment on the Issue or edit its body — the running session restarts with your correction. It accepts 3 such restarts, and only trusted repository roles can steer. See steering a delivery.
Can I stop a delivery?
Close the Issue. If it was an unsubscribed delivery that never merged, closing it refunds the free-allowance slot.
Will Orbi review its own code?
The review runs in a separate session that did not write the code, and it repairs what it finds before anything reaches the merge gate. It is not the same session marking its own work — though it is still Orbi, so your own CI is what makes the guarantee concrete.
Does it merge without my approval?
Yes, when the review verdict is clean and the merge gate passes — that is the point of an unattended loop. If you want a human approval on every delivery, set your branch protection to require one; see security.
My base branch is already failing CI. Can Orbi still merge?
When a check fails on both the reviewed PR and its base branch, Orbi pauses the delivery. Its comment says the PR is ready but waiting on the base checks, and lists each failing check with its run link and first error lines. With write permission, reply /orbi fix-base on the original delivery Issue to create or reuse an open repair Issue for each failing check, labelled ai-ready + p0 (highest priority). On the status page, Have Orbi file the fix tickets posts that command for you. Once all base checks recorded for this pause turn green, the original PR can resume for another review and merge if the merge gate passes. See troubleshooting and the engine’s recovery workflow.
What is ai-blocked?
A deliberate stop meaning a person has to decide the next step, not a crash. Fix the cause, then replace ai-blocked with ai-fix-needed if the PR is still open, or ai-ready if there is no PR. See troubleshooting.
Can I get a Telegram reminder instead of keeping the page open?
Yes. Open Settings → Notifications and configure your bot and Chat ID. One setup covers this account’s repositories. Orbi message language controls the messages separately from the website language. See notifications.
Does trying the official example use my free deliveries?
No. One verified official example copy is exempt from both the repository-slot limit and the free-delivery count. See trying the example.
Limits and cost
What does it cost? 3 merged deliveries free, then Solo (400M tokens a month, one repository) or Pro (1.2B tokens a month, up to five repositories), billed monthly or yearly. No per-token overage — deliveries pause at the cap instead. Current prices are on the pricing page; see billing. Do failed deliveries use up my free allowance? No. A delivery that ends blocked or is closed without merging refunds its slot, and so does a request Orbi sends back as needing more detail (ai-needs-detail) before starting.
How many deliveries does the allowance cover?
It depends on task size, codebase size and prompt caching. The pricing page gives current measured ranges for each plan.
What happens when I hit the monthly cap?
Orbi pauses claiming new Issues; their labels stay, and in-flight deliveries finish. Delivery resumes automatically on the 1st of the month (UTC), or immediately when you save your own model key or upgrade. See limits and quotas.
My quota is draining fast. Why?
Open Usage and settings on the status page and look at the Cached percentage on the Monthly AI usage line. Cached tokens count toward the allowance the same as input and output, so the cached share does not change how fast it drains; a fast drain means the tasks themselves use a lot of tokens.
Releases
Does Orbi release automatically? You choose the version and release policy. Use Create release task in Versions, or create anai-ready + ai-release Issue. An enabled milestone workflow can also create the release task after a confirmed version decision. See releases.
Does it pick the version number?
No. You name it — the next version is a product decision Orbi will not make for you.
Why did my release stop at scope derivation?
The scope comes from a milestone titled exactly like the version, and it was missing. Use Create the version and continue on the status page, or create versions with Create and switch, which makes the milestone for you.
Do I have to use versions?
No. Until you set a delivery scope, every ai-ready Issue is picked up. Versions matter once you want to ship in batches. See releases.