# ORB Cloud

**Sandbox for background agents.**

A full Linux sandbox for every agent you ship. Ephemeral or persistent, equal billing. One curl to spawn, HTTP to reach, your code runs.

ORB is built for the shapes most agent platforms don't fit: research agents, coding agents, ops agents, SDR agents, marketing, trading, ETL, code-review, triage, support. Anything that calls an LLM and needs its own environment.

## How it works

1. **Write your agent** in any language that runs on Linux (Python, Node.js, Go, Rust).
2. **Write an `orb.toml`** that tells ORB what to run, what to install, and where your LLM provider lives.
3. **Spawn a sandbox** via the API: create computer, upload config, build, deploy.
4. **Your agent is live** at `https://{id}.orbcloud.dev`, a full Linux box with bash, packages, network, persistent disk.

State survives restarts and redeploys. When the agent goes idle, ORB checkpoints it to NVMe and resumes on the next inbound request with full state intact, open files, in-flight LLM responses, every variable in memory. You don't have to think about that, you just write the agent.

## Where to start

**Get going:**
- [Why ORB](why-orb.md), Who it's for, when to use it, when not to, and how it compares to VPS / Docker / Lambda / E2B.
- [Getting Started](getting-started.md), Step-by-step walkthrough: register, create a computer, write `orb.toml`, build, deploy.

**Reference:**
- [orb.toml Reference](config-reference.md), Every section of the config file. Backends for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, custom, and the schema for everything else.
- [API Reference](api-reference.md), All endpoints: computers, config, build, deploy, files, terminal, webhooks, usage.
- [Terminal](terminal.md), Browser-based shell into any computer you own. The human escape hatch for debugging what your agent did.

**Help and cost:**
- [Pricing](https://orbcloud.dev/pricing), Plans, GB-hour rates, calculator.
- [Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.md), Real problems and how to fix them.
- Stuck on something not in the docs? Email [support@orbcloud.dev](mailto:support@orbcloud.dev) from your registered email (human or agent, we match you by sender), or book a call: [cal.com/nidhish](https://cal.com/nidhish).

**For AI agents:**
- [Agents as First-Class Users](agents-first-class.md), ORB's design philosophy: agent is the primary user, docs are the UI, credentials are use-and-discard.
- [Auto-Deploy on Git Push](guides/auto-deploy.md), Wire up `git push` → ORB build with a use-and-discard GitHub token. No stored credentials.
- [llm.txt](/llm.txt), Entire ORB Cloud reference on a single page. The fastest way for an agent to learn how to deploy: `curl https://docs.orbcloud.dev/llm.txt`

## Base URL

```
https://api.orbcloud.dev
```

## Authentication

Two ways to get an API key, pick whichever fits.

**Humans:** [orbcloud.dev](https://orbcloud.dev) → "Sign in with GitHub" → copy the `orb_…` key from the landing page. The page also gives you a ready-to-paste prompt for your agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, etc.) so it deploys itself.

**Agents and CI (no browser):** Register with just an email, the response contains a working key instantly. No waitlist, no payment, no human approval.

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.orbcloud.dev/api/v1/auth/register \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"email":"agent@example.com"}'
```

Either path returns an `orb_…` key. Use it as:

```
Authorization: Bearer orb_...
```

on every subsequent call. Rotate with `POST /v1/keys/{key_id}/rotate`, atomic swap, old key revoked, new key returned.

See [Getting Started](getting-started.md) for the full walkthrough.

**If you're an agent reading this**, the entire API surface, auth, computers, config, build, deploy, webhooks, every example, is on a single page at [llm.txt](/llm.txt). One curl and you're bootstrapped.