Coming from Orca

Pond reads your Orca setup once and leaves Orca as it is. Both apps can stay installed side by side.

Bring your projects

On the first launch, after the privacy screen, Pond asks Orca for its repo list (orca repo list --json) when Orca is installed. The sidebar then says Bring your Orca projects and lists them, with your recent Claude Code folders after them.

• Every row starts ticked. Add brings them all. Click a row to leave it out.
• A row says how many worktrees the repo has, for example "~/code/shop · 2 worktrees". They come along: your in-flight branches show in the sidebar at once, with their changes, tests and merge checks.
• Bringing them over only reads. It changes nothing in Orca's settings, its files or its worktrees, and Pond stores just each project's name and path.
• If Orca does not answer within 5 seconds, Pond lists only the Claude Code folders. You can add any repo later with Add project… or pond project add <folder>.

Worktrees Pond did not make

A worktree that Orca made, or that you made yourself with git worktree add, shows like any other. Its card has one extra line: "Made outside Pond. Its branch stays."

• Pond never deletes a branch it did not make. Removing such a worktree from Pond keeps the branch, merged or not.
• Remove worktree… asks first and says so: "Made outside Pond: the folder is deleted, the branch stays." It removes the folder as git worktree remove does: it refuses when there are uncommitted changes, and unmerged commits stay on the branch. Ignored files in the folder, such as .env or local notes, are deleted with it. A worktree on a detached HEAD whose commits no branch holds is kept. Remove it from Orca instead if you want Orca to clean up after itself.
• In Merge…, "Remove the worktree too" starts unticked for such a worktree.
• pond worktree remove asks for --outside before it removes one, and refuses it from an agent. Pond's terminal helper has to be running for that (open Pond and a terminal in it).
• Prune on a worktree whose folder is gone forgets only that worktree. For one Pond did not make it asks first: if its folder is on a disk that is not plugged in, Orca loses it too.
• Pond's own worktrees live next to the repo in <repo>-pond/ on branches named pond/<slug>.

Where things are

In Orca	In Pond
A new worktree with an agent in it	+ in the sidebar or Cmd-N, then type the task. Or pond new "…" in a terminal. See Tasks
Start from a branch or a pull request	The Where chip: From branch… or From pull request…
Run one prompt in several worktrees	The "× n" chip, then the compare card and Keep this one…
Setup per worktree (copy .env, install)	Pond copies .env and .env.local. More files and a setup command: pond project add (CLI)
Agent status dots and the dashboard	Blobs on the desktop and the sidebar rows. See Blobs, stage and sidebar
Jump to an agent (Cmd-J)	Ctrl-Option-K from any app, needs-you first. Return opens it
Quick open (Cmd-P)	Cmd-K: agents, projects, worktrees, changed files and commands
Terminal tabs and splits	The stage: up to four terminal tiles per display. Cmd-1 to Cmd-4 focus one
Search in a terminal	Cmd-F in the focused tile
Diff view and notes on lines	Click a file on the worktree card. Notes go back to the agent from the diff tile. See Review and merge
Commit, push, open a PR	Push and open draft PR… on the card, when you allow push for the project
Merge	Merge… on the card, a local git merge --no-ff once its checks pass. Pond never pushes on merge
PR checks and "fix with AI"	The card lists failing checks, each with Send to agent
Built-in browser	The browser tile: Cmd-click a localhost URL in a terminal. See Browser preview
Ports per worktree	Run sets PORT to a free port that stays with the worktree
Session history	Past sessions… on a project row, or pond sessions
Open in your editor	pond open <worktree>, with --editor to pick one
Notifications	macOS notifications when an agent needs you, fails or finishes
Settings	Cmd-,

Pond runs Claude Code only. Orca's other agent CLIs, its issue tracker views and its phone app have no Pond counterpart yet.