Anthropic relaunched Projects in Claude Code as a beta on September 17, 2026. A project now has a coordinator that hands work to parallel threads. Here is how it works, who can use it today, where it stops, and how to run Claude Code alongside Codex and OpenCode instead.
Source: Anthropic's announcement of September 17, 2026: “Projects redesigned: from folder to conversation”
| Compared on | Claude Code Projects | Orkas |
|---|---|---|
| Where the work runs | Anthropic's cloud | Your own Mac or Windows PC |
| Which agents | Claude Code sessions | Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw and Hermes, plus Orkas's own agents for research, documents, slides, images and video |
| Isolation | Each thread gets its own branch and repo copy | No automatic branch or git worktree per agent; you manage branches yourself |
| After you close the laptop | Keeps running in the cloud | Stops; tasks run while your computer is awake |
| Local files and internal network | Planned | Yes, it runs on your machine |
| How to get it | Select Pro and Max subscribers (beta) or waitlist | Download for macOS or Windows; new accounts get 500 free credits, or use your own API key or connect a CLI |
| What it costs you | Counts against your Claude plan's usage limits | CLI agents use their own logins and plans; Orkas agents use credits or your own key |
Orkas is MIT open source. The Claude Code Projects column follows Anthropic's announcement of September 17, 2026.
If all your work is Claude Code, you want threads to keep running in the cloud while you follow them from your phone, and you want a branch and pull request per thread.
If you also use Codex or OpenCode, want the work to happen on your own computer next to your local files, or don't have beta access.
Projects for cloud Claude work, Orkas for jobs that mix agents on your machine.
Install the CLIs you use and log in to them as usual.
Add them as agents in Orkas: add an agent and pick the CLI on the External tab, which lists the CLIs found on your computer. Orkas runs each one as a local CLI session with the login you already have.
Ask the Commander for the job. It routes parts to Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode, they run in parallel, and their output lands in one chat.
Orkas does not give each agent its own git worktree, so point agents that run at the same time at different folders.
A beta feature, launched September 17, 2026, in which a coordinator hands a goal to parallel Claude Code cloud sessions called threads, each on its own branch, sharing one project memory.
Not yet. It started with select Pro and Max subscribers who use cloud sessions in Claude Code; others can join a waitlist, and Anthropic says wider access is coming.
Not today. Threads run in Anthropic's cloud; Anthropic says running them on your own machine is planned.
Its threads are Claude Code sessions. To have Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode work on the same job, you need a separate orchestrator; Orkas runs all three on your computer.
Orkas is free, MIT licensed, and available for macOS and Windows. New accounts get 500 free credits, or you can use your own API key or connect a CLI.
Facts as of October 8, 2026, from Anthropic's announcement. Orkas is not affiliated with Anthropic.
