Orca and Conductor improve your laptop. detachbox makes it optional
On your laptop, Orca and Conductor run Claude Code and Codex until the laptop sleeps. detachbox runs them in the cloud on your own subscriptions. At a limit they move to the next one and pick up the minute it resets. They reach you on any phone, in Telegram or through ChatGPT. From $39 a month.
From $39 a month · Docker and sudo included · Cancel from the dashboard any time
| Them | Orca | Conductor | detachbox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lid closed | Agents stop when the laptop sleeps; staying on takes a second computer you run | Local sessions end; Pro cloud workspaces sleep after 4 hours idle and stop before 24 hours | Your agents keep working until you end the terminal |
| A limit runs out mid-task | Swap accounts by hand; running sessions keep the old one | No account rotation in its docs | The agent moves to your next subscription, in your order or soonest reset first |
| The limit resets at 3 a.m. | Claude Code's own continue, for resets under 24 hours | Codex retries rate-limited requests | detachbox types “continue” at the reset, for Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode, weekly limits too |
| Every limit in one view | Yes, while Orca runs on your laptop or your own server | Claude usage per chat | Every window and reset in the header of every page, on any screen |
| From your phone | A native app with a key row, while the desktop app runs | An iPhone chat for cloud workspaces, no terminal | The real terminal in any phone's browser: key bar, dictation, photo key |
| The agent asks a question | Push to your phone; you reply in the app | Mac notifications; phone push not documented | Push or Telegram with the answers as buttons, and an email if you miss it |
| Through ChatGPT or Claude | Dictation | Hosted MCP for ChatGPT and Claude, cloud workspaces only, in beta | ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Muse drive every terminal; ChatGPT by voice |
| Show a client the dev server | Public links for static HTML and Markdown | Ports forwarded to your Mac | Every port on its own HTTPS link, private until you make the port public |
| Service keys: Stripe, GitHub, Cloudflare | In the agent's environment | Environment variables the agent can read | In Sallyport, out of the agent's reach; a call can wait for your yes |
| Parallel agents | A worktree each, one set of ports | A port range per workspace; a microVM each in the cloud | A container per terminal, so every agent can use port 3000; 3 to 30 at once by size |
| Price | Free and open source; always on means a second computer you keep | Free locally; Pro at $50 a month adds the cloud | $39 a month, flat, always on |
Read from Orca's and Conductor's docs, changelog and pricing, 17 October 2026.
When it is the better pick
Keep Orca or Conductor for the agents you sit and watch: a worktree per agent, on the laptop in front of you. Hand detachbox the runs that should outlast the lid: the overnight refactor, the reset at 3 a.m., the question that comes while you are out. Run both on the same subscriptions, the desk session in the app and the night shift on detachbox.
Questions about this
Can I keep using Orca or Conductor?
Yes. Keep them at the desk. Agents on your Compute push branches you pull into the app, and they keep working after the lid closes.
Doesn't Conductor run in the cloud too?
Conductor Pro, $50 a month, adds cloud workspaces. Its docs say a workspace sleeps after four hours without agent or terminal activity, and every sandbox stops before 24 hours, even when active. On your Compute an agent runs until you end its terminal.
Orca shows every limit too. What changes?
Orca's usage screen lives in the app, on your laptop or a server you run. detachbox shows every Claude and ChatGPT limit and its reset in the header of every page, on any phone. It also moves the agent to your next subscription and continues at the reset.
Do I need a Mac?
No. detachbox runs in a browser: Windows, Linux, a Chromebook, an iPad or a phone. Conductor's app is Mac only.
Other comparisons
- lid closedvs your laptopThe laptop stops the agent when the lid closes. Your Compute keeps going.
- €19.99 + an eveningvs a DIY VPSA bare VPS is cheap until you count the evening of setup.
- $0.18 an hourvs GitHub CodespacesCodespaces bills every hour and stops at 12 hours. Your Compute stays on all month for one flat price.
- €6vs TerminalboxBoth stay on. detachbox adds Docker, three terminals and a limits board for $39.
- In your planvs cloud agentsEach cloud session or task gets a new environment. Your Compute keeps the repo, the history and a warm database for the next one.
- API ratesvs Cursor background agentsCursor meters agent runs at API rates. detachbox runs your own plan at a flat price.
- $20–$200vs DevinDevin is its own agent on its own plans. detachbox runs the agents you already use.
Orca and Conductor improve your laptop. detachbox makes it optional
Pick a size, hand the agent the job and close the tab. Come back to finished work.
Get my ComputeYour first overnight run works, or your money back · Cancel from the dashboard; it runs to the end of the paid month