Herdr has released native app
Oct 30, 2026. Herdr, a tool for running many terminals and AI coding agents side by side, now has a native desktop app. The release reached the Hacker News front page on Oct. 29 (319 points, 214 comments). Here's what it is and how it works, based on the project's official GitHub repository.
Primary source: https://github.com/herdrdev/herdr-app (official site: herdr.dev)
What Herdr is
The README calls Herdr "a desktop app for terminals and coding agents." The pitch: keep work organized in spaces, see at a glance which agents need you, and keep terminals running after you close the window. In other words, it's an agent multiplexer, like tmux but built around AI coding agents.
Repo facts from the GitHub API (read Oct. 30): Apache-2.0 license, about 790 stars, created Oct. 16, 2026, last pushed Oct. 30.
How it's organized
- Spaces hold work on one machine, usually one repo. An unnamed space follows its first terminal's folder.
- Tabs sit inside spaces and split into panes for terminals or mod panels.
- An agents sidebar pulls agents from all your spaces into one list, including workers started by another agent.
Agents that report status show one of four states:
- Working: still busy.
- Blocked: waiting for you.
- Done: finished while you were looking elsewhere.
- Idle: not working, or done and already seen.
Clicking an agent opens it. A worker without its own pane opens in a peek overlay you can keep as a tab.
The app vs the core
Herdr splits into two parts. The window arranges terminals, and herdr-core runs them. The README says closing the window leaves terminals running, while closing a pane or tab ends its terminals. After a reboot or core crash, kept panes get fresh shells in their last folders, not their old programs.
Remote machines
You can add an SSH machine in Settings → Machines. Spaces on that machine run their terminals there. Per the README, remote work keeps running when your local window closes or your laptop sleeps, as long as the remote machine and its core stay up. Multiple screens can share the same live terminals while keeping their own focus and zoom.
Customizing
Herdr ships layouts (Herdr, Terminals and "Herdr 98"), and its panels, menus and dialogs are drawn by mods, small JavaScript programs. The README warns that mods are trusted code, not sandboxed extensions, so read the project's security doc before installing someone else's mod. Keys are remappable in keys.json, and Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) opens the command palette.
There's also an agent-facing interface: herdr-app --skill prints a guide that lets coding agents drive the window, alongside commands like herdr-app ls and herdr-app status.
Platforms and install
- Linux and macOS: a curl install script. Linux needs a desktop session and a working Vulkan driver, on x86-64 or ARM64. macOS builds are Apple Silicon only, and Intel Macs build from source. A DMG is also offered.
- Windows: a PowerShell install script for x64 Windows 10 1803 or newer.
The README notes that both installers download and run code, links the scripts so you can read them first, and says they install herdr-core if it's missing. Get the commands from the official repo, not from reposts.
Privacy note
Per the README, usage telemetry is on by default in release builds. You can turn it off in Settings → Privacy. Installed releases also check for and download updates in the background. Builds from source don't self-update.
What's confirmed / not confirmed
Confirmed (herdr-app GitHub README and API, read Oct. 30): features, platforms, install methods, the telemetry default, the Apache-2.0 license, star count at time of reading, and the app/core split.
Not confirmed / not covered: the requested comparison with Corgi (HN 50214373). We did not fetch a Corgi primary source this run, so we make no comparison claims. Exactly which coding agents report status to the sidebar isn't listed in the README section we read. We have not tested performance or stability.
Related
Up: AI