Get started with Orbit Local

Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate
Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
Status: Experiment

Orbit Local runs on your machine. Install the orbit binary, pick the access method that matches how you work, then run your first query.

Install

Install the orbit binary directly with the one-line installer, or through the GitLab CLI (glab) if you already use it.

curl -fsSL "https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/orbit/knowledge-graph/-/raw/main/install.sh" | bash

Open a new terminal, then verify:

orbit help

irm https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/orbit/knowledge-graph/-/raw/main/install.ps1 | iex

Open a new terminal, then verify:

orbit help

If you already have glab installed:

glab orbit local --install

Verify:

glab orbit local help

See the glab orbit local reference for details.

Pick an access method

Method	Best for	Setup
The Orbit CLI (`orbit`)	Direct CLI use, scripting, indexing tasks	Build the binary from source
The GitLab CLI (`glab`)	Anyone already using `glab`; one-command AI agent setup	`glab orbit local` (planned) - today, use `orbit` directly
MCP	Claude Code, Codex, and other AI agents	Manual MCP config; `glab orbit setup` planned

The query language is identical across all three. Whatever you learn in one transfers directly to the others, and to Orbit Remote.

60-second quickstart

glab orbit local is the planned packaging path. Until it ships, use the orbit binary directly - see Use the orbit CLI directly. The shapes shown below match what glab orbit local will support.

Index a repository and inspect what Orbit found:

glab orbit local index /path/to/your/repo
glab orbit local schema

That builds a local DuckDB graph at ~/.orbit/graph.duckdb and prints the node types: Definition, File, Directory, ImportedSymbol.

Run a real query: Use Orbit Local with glab.
Wire it into your AI agent: see Connect via MCP for the manual config. (glab orbit setup is planned to automate this.)
Browse the table layout: Schema reference.

Billing

Orbit Local does not consume GitLab Credits. All processing is local.

What to try next

What Orbit Local indexes - language and coverage scope.
Schema reference - the four node types in the local graph.
Cookbook - copy-paste queries (code-only ones apply to Local).
Get started with Orbit Remote - query your full GitLab instance.