Frequently asked.

Quick answers to the questions we get most. For anything else, email hi@orchidide.com — a real person replies.

Is Orchid free?

Yes. The desktop app is free to download and use at orchidide.com/download. Free includes Python notebooks, SQL cells, dashboards, the schema browser, real-time collaboration on local projects, and the Gemini-powered agent on the free tier. Paid usage of premium models (Claude, GPT) runs on either Orchid credits or your own API key — see the next question.

Can I bring my own model keys?

Yes — BYOK is built in. Paste an Anthropic or OpenAI key into Preferences → Agents → Bring your own keys, or wire them up via environment variables (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY) and reference them with the env: syntax in your config. With BYOK there's no Orchid markup — your provider bills you directly. Free Gemini stays the default if you don't configure anything.

Is Windows supported?

Yes — at v1.0 the Windows build ships unsigned. SmartScreen will show a “Windows protected your PC” warning on first launch; click More info then Run anyway to proceed. Code-signing is planned for v1.1+. See the install page for the full flow.

Does Orchid work offline?

Mostly, yes. Notebooks, SQL cells against local databases, chart rendering, dashboards, and the schema browser all work without internet. Agents need network access — Gemini, Claude, and OpenAI are all cloud APIs. Publishing to orchidide.com obviously needs connectivity too. Auto-update checks happen on launch but won't prevent the app from running offline.

Where do my files live?

Notebooks live wherever you put them — Orchid never moves your .orchid files. They're plain YAML, so you can keep them in your home folder, a Dropbox directory, or a git repo. App-internal state (settings, logs, the local kernel cache) lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Orchid/ on macOS, ~/.config/orchid/ on Linux, and the equivalent %AppData% path on Windows. Full layout in Configuration.

What happens to my data and prompts?

Cell content, query results, and outputs stay on your machine unless you choose to publish. When you publish, the contents you select upload to Orchid's backend on Supabase PostgreSQL — encrypted at rest, served over TLS. Agent prompts go directly to whichever provider you've configured (Gemini, Anthropic, OpenAI) and don't pass through Orchid's servers when you're BYOK. With the free Gemini tier, prompts route through Orchid's backend so we can rate-limit fairly — we don't train on them.

Do the model providers retain my data?

Orchid does not, beyond what's needed to render the agent transcript inside the notebook (which stays on your disk). Provider retention is governed by their policy:

• Gemini (free tier) — short retention windows; see Google's API terms.
• Anthropic Claude (BYOK) — zero retention if your Anthropic account is on a Zero-Data-Retention plan.
• OpenAI GPT (BYOK) — API traffic is excluded from training by default.

For regulated data, use BYOK with a vendor you have a signed agreement with — Orchid never gets a copy.

Can I self-host Orchid?

Partial yes. The desktop app is local-first and doesn't need a backend for solo work. The optional backend (publishing, real-time collaboration, agent rate limiting on the free tier) is a FastAPI + PostgreSQL service that you can run on your own infrastructure. The source is open-core: point ORCHID_BACKEND_URL at your deployment and the app uses it instead of api.orchidide.com. We don't publish a turnkey self-host yet — talk to us if you need one.

Is there a team plan?

Not at launch. Orchid 1.0 is single-user-focused with light real-time collaboration on shared notebooks. A team plan with shared connection profiles, audit logs, SSO, and pooled model credits is on the roadmap for the second milestone after 1.0 — exact date TBD. Email hi@orchidide.com if you're interested in being a design partner.

Is the source code open?

Parts of it. The Theia fork, the notebook editor extension, and a chunk of the backend will be open-sourced under permissive licenses — track progress in the changelog. The agent system stays proprietary for now while we iterate on safety and tool routing. We use plenty of open source ourselves (Eclipse Theia, Plotly, DuckDB, FastAPI) and contribute back where we can.

How is publishing different from sharing a file?

Publishing makes the project cloud-canonical: the first publisher owns the row, the project becomes shareable at <slug>.orchidide.com, and anyone with the link sees a read-only viewer with your outputs. Sharing a .orchid file directly is fine for one-off handoffs — recipient opens it in their copy of Orchid. Pick the one that fits how you collaborate. See Publishing for the model and the CLI for headless publishes.

How do I report a bug or request a feature?

Email hi@orchidide.com. Include your Orchid version (About menu) and the relevant log lines — see Troubleshooting for where logs live. For feature requests, a short description of the workflow you're trying to do is more useful than the specific UI change you have in mind.

For getting-started questions, jump back to Install or First project.