A small beta,
run in person.
Ora is a Windows assistant in a small private beta. We're inviting friends, teachers and lecturers first, so we can watch it work on real jobs and fix what gets in the way.
There is no public download and no signup form yet. Invites go out personally during the beta — if you have one, this page is your short path in.
A PC, and a model. That's the list.
Ora is a Windows desktop assistant. If your PC runs Windows 10 or 11, it fits.
You do not need a terminal, and nothing else has to be installed first.
A model that runs on your PC. Free and private — nothing you type leaves for the answer.
Slower than a cloud model, especially on a modest laptop, and the first answer is the slowest. Later answers are faster.
A paid key from a model company. Answers are faster, and what you type goes to that company.
You paste the key in Settings → Models → API Keys, during setup or any time after.
"Decide later" is a fine answer too — pick a model whenever you're ready, and anything you typed is kept as a draft until one is connected.
From installer to first real job.
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Install it.Double-click the installer. If Windows shows the blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, choose More info, then Run anyway — the installer isn't signed with a paid certificate yet, so every install shows this. It doesn't mean the program is doing anything wrong. Ora lands in your Start Menu.
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Answer two questions."Where should I think?" — the free local model on this PC, your own API key, or decide later. "What's the first thing you want off your plate?" — pick where to start, or skip. Skipping setup is safe: nothing risky is enabled by skipping.
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Ask something in plain words.For example: "Explain what a spreadsheet formula is, in plain words." If no model is connected yet, your draft is saved — one button on the bar under your message fixes that, and your message sends itself. You never retype it.
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Give it a real job.The getting-started guide that opens from the app has five worth keeping: a research report whose every claim links to the page it came from, a school-portal chore that leaves a receipt, a Downloads-folder tidy-up that Undo can reverse, a small web page you can edit, and a chore that repeats on a schedule.
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Read the approval cards.Ora proposes each action and waits for you. Deny has focus first, so no single keypress approves anything. Credentials, payments, sending messages, uploads, installs, and deletions ask every time, in every mode.
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When something goes wrong, ask for help in the app.Get help — the life-ring button in the left rail — opens the getting-started guide and the troubleshooting page in your browser, and is also where feedback starts.
Everything goes through the app. You see it first.
Ora has no phone or email support, and it never sends a report or telemetry on its own. A report is built only when you make one, from pieces you preview.
- Open Get help — the life-ring button in the left rail, or Settings → General → Get help.
- Press Review support info, read the preview, then Copy to clipboard. It holds only versions and redacted diagnostic lines — never chats, keys, or identifying file paths.
- Choose Report a problem to open Ora's public issue tracker and paste the info in. Check the preview before posting — reports are public.
- If a part of the window shows an error, press Retry first, then Reload this part. Copy diagnostics on the panel copies a redacted summary for the report, and your draft message survives the reload.
The eight we hear most.
Ora says it has no model.
It keeps what you typed — "Your draft is saved." Press the button on the bar under your message — Start the local model and answer, or Get the free local model and answer — and your message sends itself. Or choose Add an API key there. If there is no bar, pick a model in Settings → Models, or save a key under Settings → Models → API Keys.
The first answer is slow, or setup "did not finish".
A free model on your own PC is slower than a cloud one, especially on a modest laptop, and the first answer is the slowest. Give it time once; later answers are faster. If setup failed, press the bar's button again — your message is kept. In Settings → Models, each card says whether a model runs well, runs slowly, or is too big for this PC.
An approval card appeared. Is something wrong?
No — that is Ora asking permission, which is normal. Read the Why: line; it says what Ora intends to touch. Deny refuses and has focus, so nothing approves by accident. Approve once covers this one action; Approve for this session, when offered, covers repeats of the same action until the chat ends. Cards about credentials, payments, sending, uploads, installs, or deleting always ask.
Ora's browser can't reach my logged-in sites.
That's on purpose: Ora's built-in browser is a separate browser with none of your logins. Sign in once inside Ora's browser and the site stays signed in for later runs — Ora never types your password. To use your existing logins instead, open Settings → Automations → Browser access and follow the pairing steps for your own browser.
Does Ora send everything I type or see to a cloud model?
No. Typed prompts go to the model you select. Screen content, passive context, and spoken transcripts have separate controls before they can be shared with a remote model. You can choose an on-device model, or use Local-only mode, which blocks all cloud content egress. The row-by-row version is on What leaves your computer.
Why can't Ora use my screen content?
Remote screen sharing needs your consent first. Review it in Settings → Privacy & Safety → Screen & Voice privacy. A request made without the desktop app cannot share screen content, because it cannot show that confirmation. Local-only mode blocks cloud screen and file routes even when their separate sharing choices are on.
Is my voice recorded and sent anywhere?
No. Ora records and recognizes speech on this PC, and the audio recording is not sent. The recognized words can go to a remote model only after you allow transcript sharing — a separate, revocable choice in Settings → Privacy & Safety → Screen & Voice privacy.
How do I update Ora?
Open Settings → General → About. The card shows the installed version and whether the release feed lists a newer one. This build can't install updates on its own — nothing is downloaded or installed for you. Choose Check for updates, open the releases page to get the installer in your browser, or copy the version info to compare. Checking sends one request to Ora's release service, even under Local-only mode, and the card says so when it runs.
Also worth reading: what leaves your computer, row by row.