herdrdev/herdr

herdr – a terminal‑based runtime for AI coding agents

What it is – herdr is a single‑binary, Rust‑written terminal application that lets you run AI‑powered coding agents (Claude, Codex, Cursor, Grok, etc.) inside persistent, tmux‑like panes. It keeps those panes alive in a background server, so you can detach, close your SSH session, or reboot a machine and later re‑attach to the same layout and continue where you left off.

Key features

• Detachable sessions – panes keep running after the client disconnects; on re‑attach the layout is restored. The original processes themselves are not persisted, only the terminal state.
• Multi‑machine windows – mix local and remote SSH hosts in one window, each with its own agent list and independent reconnects.
• Agent awareness – panes are marked working, blocked, or idle; agents can query the socket API to spawn new panes, prompt each other, and wait for a blocked agent to become ready.
• Keyboard‑first (tmux‑style) and mouse‑first – use familiar prefix keys (Ctrl‑b) or click‑drag to split, resize, and navigate panes.
• Plugin marketplace – extend pane behavior or workflow via community plugins.
• No heavyweight UI – runs as a plain terminal program, no Electron or GUI dependencies.

Installation

# one‑liner installer
curl -fsSL https://herdr.dev/install.sh | sh
# or via Homebrew, mise, or direct binary download
brew install herdr

After installing, start the server in the directory where you want to work:

herdr   # launches the background server and opens the UI

Detach with Ctrl‑b q; later run herdr again to re‑attach.

Typical workflow

1. Launch herdr on your workstation or a remote server.
2. Open panes for the AI agents you use (e.g., claude, codex).
3. Let the agents generate code, run commands, or ask each other for input.
4. Walk away – the server keeps the panes alive. When you return, re‑attach and see which agents are blocked or idle.
5. Add plugins to customize pane handling or integrate other tools.

Who it’s for – software developers who rely on LLM‑based coding assistants and want a reliable, persistent terminal environment that can survive disconnections and machine restarts, especially when working across several remote hosts.

Docs & resources – Full documentation, quick‑start guide, API reference, and plugin marketplace are hosted at https://herdr.dev/docs.

License – Apache‑2.0.