# Orca Per Workspace Env

> Set up, review, debug, or validate an Orca per-workspace environment recipe: the on-demand, disposable runtime (cloud sandbox, VM, SSH host, or local container) Orca creates fresh for each workspace. Use to stand up a new recipe end to end, fix an `environmentRecipes` entry in `orca.yaml`, scaffold provider lifecycle scripts, or resolve an `orca vm recipe doctor` failure. Use `orca-cli` for ordinary worktree and workspace creation with no recipe involved.

- Skill: `stablyai/orca-per-workspace-env` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add stablyai/orca-per-workspace-env`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/stablyai/orca-per-workspace-env/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: stablyai (https://skillmd.com/u/stablyai)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/stablyai/orca-per-workspace-env

---


# Per-Workspace Environments

This discovery stub loads the version-matched guide from the Orca executable used for this session.

## Resolve the CLI for this session

Choose the executable once and reuse it for every later command:

- If the `ORCA_CLI_COMMAND` environment variable is set, use its value. Orca exports this
  for managed WSL sessions.
- Otherwise, in a dev checkout whose session exposes `ORCA_DEV_REPO_ROOT`, use `orca-dev`.
- Otherwise, on Linux outside an Orca-managed terminal, use `orca-ide`. Never run bare
  `orca` there — outside Orca's terminals it normally resolves to the
  GNOME Orca screen reader (`/usr/bin/orca`) and starts speech on the user's machine.
- Otherwise, use `orca`.

Below, `ORCA` is a placeholder for the executable you resolved. Substitute it before
running anything; do not create a shell variable or run `ORCA` literally. This works the
same way in POSIX shells, PowerShell, and cmd.exe.

If the selected executable cannot run, report its exact error and stop. Do not fall through
to another executable, which could silently target a different Orca build.

## Load the version-matched guide before running Orca commands

```text
ORCA skills get orca-per-workspace-env
```

Prefer `--json`. Use the selected executable's `--help` for commands or flags the guide does
not cover. If a command reports that Orca is not running, start it with `ORCA open --json`
and retry. If `skills get` is unknown, explain that updating Orca restores the guide; use
`--help` for read-only discovery and do not guess unsupported commands.