Orbit
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Setup

Prepare Orbit before project work starts.

Configure local domains, TLS trust, and default services once, then return to project work.

Local domains

*.orbit.test lives on 127.0.0.2.

Orbit installs the loopback, resolver, DNS responder, HTTP proxy, HTTPS forwarder, and optional trusted local CA used by project domains. It keeps this boundary separate from Herd on 127.0.0.1.

  1. Open Settings, then Local Domains.
  2. Run setup when Orbit reports that local domains are not ready.
  3. Enable Trust Orbit CA when browser trust should be automatic for HTTPS project domains.
  4. Use Re-check after changing network, resolver, or keychain state.
  • Loopback alias 127.0.0.2 is present.
  • /etc/resolver/orbit.test points macOS at the Orbit responder.
  • orbit-proxyd accepts HTTP on port 80 and TLS on port 443.
Orbit Local Domains settings
The Local Domains tab shows resolver, proxy, TLS, and root CA checks in one place.

Use this screen before debugging a project. If any machine check fails here, fix resolver, proxy, or trust state before touching app code.

First run

Choose only the shared engines you need.

On first launch, Orbit offers service downloads without forcing them. The same choices can be revisited later from Settings.

  1. Pick Mailpit, PostgreSQL, MinIO, Redis, or another service only when your projects need it.
  2. Skip the wizard when the machine is not ready for service downloads.
  3. Re-run the wizard from Settings when the default service mix changes.
Orbit services onboarding dialog
The onboarding dialog starts selected engines and leaves the rest untouched.

Keep first-run setup narrow. Download the engines your projects use and leave the rest available for later from Settings.

Preferences

Control launch and notifications.

General settings decide whether Orbit starts after macOS login and whether runtime failures or certificate expiry should reach the desktop.

  • Launch at login is enabled when project domains must survive a restart.
  • Notifications are enabled when runtime crashes and certificate expiry matter.
Orbit General settings
General settings keep launch and notification behavior visible.

Use these toggles to decide whether Orbit should recover after login and whether runtime failures should reach the desktop.

Service defaults

Set default engines before adding projects.

Service settings control automatic management, idle stop, engines enabled for new projects, disk usage, and setup reset actions.

  • Service defaults match the engines new projects should receive automatically.
  • Idle stop is enabled when unused services should sleep.
  • Clear data is reserved for captured service state that should be removed.
Orbit Services settings
Services settings define default engines, idle behavior, and cleanup actions.

This is where defaults become policy for new projects. Confirm the selected engines before adding a folder that expects shared services.