Herdr Desktop App Release Notes

Overview

Herdr has released a native desktop application designed to act as a centralized workspace for terminal sessions and coding agents. The application allows users to maintain persistent work environments, monitor agent status, and manage remote SSH connections through a unified interface. Unlike traditional terminal multiplexers, Herdr is built to keep processes running even when the window is closed, providing a persistent "space" for development tasks.

Core Functionality

Herdr organizes work into "spaces," which typically correspond to a specific repository or project. Within these spaces, users can create tabs and split panes to manage terminals and agent panels. Key features include:

  • Persistent Sessions: Terminals and agents continue to run in the background after the desktop window is closed.
  • Agent Monitoring: A dedicated sidebar tracks the status of active agents, categorizing them as Working, Blocked, Done, or Idle.
  • Remote Management: Users can connect to remote machines via SSH, allowing them to run and manage terminal sessions on remote servers directly from the local Herdr interface.
  • Customizable UI: The application supports "layouts" and "mods"—JavaScript-based configurations that allow users to customize the appearance and behavior of the interface, including support for themes like "Herdr 98."

Installation and Setup

Herdr provides native installers for Linux, macOS, and Windows:

  • Linux and macOS: Users can install via a shell script: curl -fsSL https://releases.herdr.dev/app/install.sh | sh.
  • Windows: Users can install via PowerShell: irm https://releases.herdr.dev/app/install.ps1 | iex.

The application also installs herdr-core, which handles the execution and coordination of the underlying terminal processes.

Community Insights and Discussion

Since its release, the community has actively compared Herdr to existing tools like tmux, Orca, and Rex. While many users appreciate the shift toward a native GUI for agent-based workflows, several common themes emerged in the discussion:

  • Agent Integration: Some users reported difficulty integrating existing agent setups, such as Claude Code, into the new app compared to the previous TUI version.
  • Feature Requests: A significant portion of the user base expressed a desire for a mobile application to complement the desktop experience, noting that current remote access relies on desktop-to-desktop or desktop-to-server workflows.
  • Privacy and Security: The application includes telemetry by default, which can be disabled in the Privacy settings. Some users raised concerns regarding automatic updates in the context of supply chain security.
  • Comparison to Alternatives: Users noted that the space for "agentic workspaces" is becoming crowded, with competitors like Orca, Tern, and Mjolnir offering similar multiplexing or agent-orchestration features.

"I switched to herdr this year after a decade of using tmux, and I haven't looked back since. Herdr is wonderful, not only because of the coding agent integrations, but also because it uses libghostty under the hood. So no terminal-emulator-inside-another-terminal-emulator shenanigans." — @flippant

"The one surprising bit that nobody seems to be talking about (yet) is the entire UI looks like its controlled via 'recipes', so you can customize the UI in ways that you couldn't with traditional software." — @shepherdjerred

Technical Considerations

For developers interested in contributing, the project is built using Rust and Zig. The repository includes a just file for build recipes and provides scripts for benchmarking performance across different platforms. The application is designed to be extensible, allowing users to write custom JavaScript mods to alter the UI, though users are advised to review the security documentation before installing third-party mods.

Sources

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