Orca vs OpenHands: Worktrees, Agent APIs, and Local Execution

Orca and OpenHands overlap in coding-agent work, but their starting points differ. Orca gives you a development environment for working with multiple agent CLIs and Git worktrees. OpenHands provides an agent SDK and services for building and running software agents. Choosing between them starts with deciding whether you primarily want an environment to work in or an agent execution API to build on.

Both ecosystems extend beyond that first description. Orca documents scheduling, memory-related hooks, and session restoration. OpenHands includes execution services, a browser client, and an automation service. Treating either as an empty shell around a terminal would miss capabilities that matter to the decision.

This comparison is written from the CompozyOS project using official documentation checked on September 11, 2026. It does not report hands-on performance measurements or rank the quality of the agents' code.

Compare the product boundaries

The Orca introduction and OpenHands component map are the starting references for this table. Check the exact component and deployment you intend to use; one product name can cover several independently configured pieces.

Orca: organize parallel changes and review their diffs

Orca centers the development workflow on real Git worktrees. Its interface brings agent terminals, browser work, and diffs together, and it can use the agent subscriptions you already have. The project repository documents that arrangement and the supported desktop, mobile, and remote surfaces.

That is a concrete fit when two agents should attempt changes without editing the same checkout. The worktree is also an ordinary Git artifact you can inspect outside the app. It does not, however, establish a security boundary between processes sharing the host.

Orca's session restoration, agent hooks and memory, and scheduled automation documentation are relevant to unattended work. Their existence rules out a simplistic “Orca has worktrees but no memory or automation” comparison. Evaluate their exact behavior against your intended workflow instead.

For a local trial, choose a small change and inspect the resulting diff, terminal history, and session restoration behavior. The quality of that experience matters more than how many tools appear in a screenshot.

OpenHands: compose an agent and expose execution

The OpenHands Software Agent SDK provides composable agent, conversation, tool, and workspace primitives. Agent Server exposes execution through an API. This is a useful starting point when you want to embed agent work inside another application rather than operate only through a desktop workflow.

The ecosystem also has a separate Automation Service. Its repository describes cron and webhook triggers, run history, and dispatch for OpenHands Cloud, and marks the service beta. That is a specific component and deployment context; it should not be flattened into either “OpenHands has no scheduler” or “every local OpenHands CLI install includes this service.”

Likewise, “local” needs a precise meaning. An agent process, workspace, model endpoint, and automation service can run in different places. Map those locations before deciding which data stays on your machine. Review the license of the component you actually deploy rather than assuming a single license covers the whole ecosystem.

Test the workflow you care about

Use one repository revision and a bounded task, such as explaining a failing test without editing files. Then use a disposable checkout for a small implementation task. Record:

This is an evaluation plan, not a result from tests performed for this article. It avoids a common comparison error: attributing a better answer to the runtime when the two runs used different models, prompts, or starting revisions.

Where CompozyOS fits with OpenHands

CompozyOS manages sessions, Loops, memory, permissions, and automation around ACP-compatible providers. Its built-in openhands provider launches openhands acp and uses provider-native authentication. This is a CLI integration. It does not import the OpenHands service topology or turn Agent Server conversations into CompozyOS sessions.

The relationship is:

CompozyOS session and automation state
                  |
          provider: openhands
                  |
             openhands acp
                  |
       OpenHands agent execution

Orca is not an entry in the CompozyOS built-in provider registry. That says which executable CompozyOS can launch, not which product has the better development environment. The provider reference records the integration contract.

Configure a bounded OpenHands integration check

Use the OpenHands CLI installation guide to install and configure the provider first. Confirm that your installed version supports the acp subcommand. You also need an installed CompozyOS daemon; follow its installation guide.

From your repository, create .compozy/agents/openhands-check/AGENT.md:

---
name: openhands-check
provider: openhands
permissions: approve-reads
---
 
Inspect the requested repository files and explain their behavior.
Cite evidence for each conclusion. Do not edit files.

Then inspect the provider and create a session:

command -v openhands
compozy provider inspect openhands -o json
compozy session new --cwd "$PWD" --agent openhands-check --name openhands-check

Creation returns the logical session before the provider runs. Replace sess_1234 with its ID:

compozy session prompt sess_1234 \
  "Explain the repository's test entry points and cite their configuration files."
compozy session status sess_1234 -o json
compozy session history sess_1234

This tests the installed integration. A successful session creation alone does not verify OpenHands authentication or model execution; those happen when the prompt binds the provider. If that stage fails, inspect the CLI configuration before changing the agent definition.

Choose the surface your team will use

Start with Orca when your main requirement is a coherent environment for parallel repository work and review. Start with the OpenHands SDK and services when you need to compose or expose agent execution inside an application. Evaluate CompozyOS when an existing agent CLI should participate in daemon-managed sessions and automation.

There is real overlap, and combinations introduce extra ownership boundaries. Select one system to own a particular schedule or run lifecycle, then make any handoff explicit. The useful result is knowing where to inspect a failed run and who can authorize its next action.