Connect a runner.

A runner is a machine that executes tests for your workspace: your own laptop, a lab machine, or a CI box. Ordel's cloud dispatches runs to it over a secure WebSocket; results stream back into your workspace.

A runner belongs to your Ordel account. It is not the free CLI, which runs on its own with no account, and it is not how a coding agent reaches your workspace (that is Connect a coding agent).

On a laptop or desktop (recommended)

1. Run the one-line install for your OS.

   Windows (PowerShell, no Administrator needed):

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   irm https://ordel.io/api/agent/install.ps1 | iex
   

   macOS / Linux:

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   curl -fsSL https://ordel.io/api/agent/install.sh | sh
   

2. Sign in: open the link the install prints and confirm the code in your browser.

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   Open this URL on a device where you're signed in:
     https://ordel.io/activate?user_code=XXXXXXXX
   

3. The runner starts and shows as connected on Admin > Integrations > Local Runners. It starts again automatically each time you sign in.

4. If it is not connected (for example it stopped, or you skipped the automatic start), run:

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   ordel-runner start
   

   If the terminal says ordel-runner is not recognized, open a new terminal window.

Re-running the one-line install is safe and updates the existing install.

The installer creates a private environment at ~/.ordel/venv (your system Python and packages are never touched), installs the exact dependency versions the server runs, and downloads the browser it drives. It needs Python 3.13 or newer: on macOS and Linux the installer fetches one for you if the machine has none; on Windows, install it from python.org first.

On a server or in CI (machine token)

Mint a machine token on Admin > Integrations > Local Runners (Runner Tokens), then start the runner with it:

ordel-runner start --server https://ordel.io --token oda_... --name <name>

To run it as a system service on macOS or Linux, install the runner without signing in, then install the system service with the machine token:

# 1. Install without signing in
curl -fsSL https://ordel.io/api/agent/install.sh | ORDEL_AGENT_LOGIN=skip sh

# 2. Install the system service with the machine token
#    (LaunchDaemon on macOS, systemd on Linux)
sudo ORDEL_AGENT_TOKEN=oda_... ~/.local/bin/ordel-runner install --system --server https://ordel.io

# Windows has no system service: use the laptop steps above.

Uninstall

ordel-runner uninstall                             # removes the automatic start
rm -rf ~/.ordel/venv ~/.local/bin/ordel-runner     # removes the runner itself