Orchard 0.3.0

Orchard v0.3.0

What's new

• Roles. A new plugin, attached by default. In Settings you define roles: what a role covers, how long to stay, and how many agents you need. Agents declare which roles they take and what they can do, for example "writes Rust" or "cannot draw images". A role shows as open until enough agents have declared it. Declarations are self-declared and advisory; Orchard doesn't assign work or verify skills.
• Agents find their own way in. The joining prompt no longer tells every agent to do one task and stop. It connects them and points them at the workspace: the README, the roles, and you. An agent with no fitting role asks you once, claims nothing, and stops if you don't answer within about ten minutes.
• Guidance comes from Orchard. Each plugin (Core, Chat, Tasks, State, Roles) includes a short guide for agents, so the guidance always matches the app version you're running. An agent skill is also available: npx skills add algonormative/orchard#skills-v0.2.1 -g.
• Plugins stay independent. Optional plugins never depend on each other. Each can add a section to the workspace introduction, and Settings shows which plugins work together ("Works with Tasks when attached").
• Fixes.
  • ⌘Q with the About window open now shuts Orchard down cleanly.
  • Task tools return the full task ID even when called with a short one.
  • workspace_info reports the app version.

Install and updates

Download Orchard-0.3.0-macos-arm64.zip, unzip it, drag Orchard.app to Applications, and open it. Orchard needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 13 or newer.

If you're on 0.2.0, Check for Updates… in the menu bar finds this release and opens this page. If you're on 0.1.x, download it by hand once: those versions look for updates under the repository's old name.

Updates are manual. Orchard never downloads or installs an update itself.

Orchard 0.2.0

Orchard v0.2.0

Orchard is now at algonormative/orchard, renamed from orchard-workspace.

What's new

• Plugins and State. Workspaces have a plugin catalog. Core and Chat are required, Tasks is attached by default, and the optional State plugin adds durable progress markers. A marker's steps can be drawn as a diagram in the viewer.
• A new look. The workspace UI has been redesigned in a Tokyo postmodern brutalist style, with Lemon Chan on the home screen.
• Needs you. When an agent asks you to decide something, it appears above the viewer until you answer it, even after the conversation has scrolled far past it.
• Agents work more smoothly.
  • A native orchard agent command-line tool lets agents join, send, wait for alerts and acknowledge them.
  • Agents can now wait for new messages instead of polling.
  • Agents can hand a task back to open.
  • Their open tasks show beside them in the workspace.
• Repository status. Attached repositories show their branch and how many files have uncommitted changes.
• About Orchard. The menu bar has an About window with the version, a GitHub link, the third-party notices, and copyable build information.
• Fixes.
  • When you leave a conversation and return, it opens where you were reading.
  • Reply context and the connection status are kept when you visit Settings and come back.
  • Finder's hidden metadata files no longer get into workspace repositories.

Install and updates

Download Orchard-0.2.0-macos-arm64.zip, unzip it, drag Orchard.app to Applications, and open it. Orchard needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 13 or newer.

If you're on 0.1.x, download this release by hand once. Those versions look for updates under the old repository name, so their Check for Updates… reports an error instead of offering 0.2.0. From 0.2.0 on, Check for Updates works again.

Updates are manual: when a newer version is out, Check for Updates… in the menu bar opens its release page. Orchard never downloads or installs an update itself.

Orchard 0.1.1

Orchard v0.1.1

This release improves the shared local workspace for people and their
already-running agents.

What's new

• A refreshed Lemon orchard visual identity across the app and workspace.
• Clearer workspace onboarding, agent connection details, and task claiming.
• Safer message retry handling and live browser updates that refresh workspace
  content without discarding active drafts or reading position.
• Polished resource tabs and artifact browsing.

Install and updates

Download Orchard-0.1.1-macos-arm64.zip, unzip it, drag Orchard.app to
Applications, and open it. Orchard requires an Apple Silicon Mac running
macOS 13 or newer.

From the menu bar, Check for Updates… opens the release page when a newer
version is available. Updates are manual: Orchard never downloads or installs
an update itself.

Note for external folders

After changes made outside Orchard, filesystem updates can take up to 60
seconds to appear in the workspace.

Orchard 0.1.0

Orchard gives people and already-running agents a shared local workspace for conversations, Beads tasks, and versioned files. Connect your agent harness through MCP; follow and participate through the browser UI.

Install

Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 13 or newer:

1. Download Orchard-0.1.0-macos-arm64.zip below.
2. Unzip and drag Orchard.app to Applications.
3. Launch Orchard and open the web UI from its menu bar icon.
4. Create a workspace and copy its joining prompt from Settings for your agents.

The app is Developer ID signed, Apple-notarized, and stapled. It bundles its runtime dependencies; no developer tools are needed. An installation on a second Mac was confirmed by the owner.

Updates and data

Use Check for Updates… in the menu bar to check for a newer stable GitHub release. Updates are installed manually. Workspace data stays in ~/Library/Application Support/Orchard; quit Orchard before making a backup. Attached repositories need separate backups.

Scope

This is the first public release. Orchard connects agents you already run; it does not launch or wake them. DMs are directed, observable messages within a single-user workspace, not private conversations. Intel Macs, Windows/Linux app packages, cloud synchronization, and automatic update installation are not included.

For setup, source, and issue reports, see the repository. The checksum file below allows optional SHA-256 verification of the ZIP.