Herdr for AI Agents: NetworkChuck's Terminal Walkthrough

NetworkChuck's Herdr walkthrough shows why a terminal multiplexer becomes more useful when several AI agents are running at once: you can leave their panes alive, see which one needs you, reconnect to another computer and let one agent ask another for help. The important distinction is that Herdr manages terminal sessions; it does not supply the models, make the agents safe, or guarantee their work is correct.

Watch NetworkChuck's Herdr Walkthrough

The video includes an HPE Networking sponsorship segment at 00:52. The setup below is based on Herdr's own documentation, not the sponsor message.

Source Note: Video Versus Current Documentation

Checked on 8 November 2026 against NetworkChuck's supplied transcript, the Herdr repository, the terminal UI docs and the newer graphical app download page. We did not install Herdr on three operating systems or reproduce NetworkChuck's cross-agent demo. Commands below are the project's published instructions; verify the current release and inspect scripts before running them on your machine. Our earlier Herdr crash course covers the core multiplexer concepts in more depth; this article focuses on NetworkChuck's cross-machine and agent-to-agent examples.

Which Herdr Do You Want?

The product has moved since older tutorials. Herdr's front page now leads with a graphical app, while the Herdr TUI remains the terminal multiplexer shown here. herdr-core is a runtime and hc CLI for persistent terminals and agent handoffs. The three surfaces overlap in purpose but have different install commands and interaction patterns.

Install the Terminal UI on Mac, Linux or Windows

For the video experience, start with the official TUI install page. Review the release assets or installer source before running a piped script, especially on a work computer. Herdr publishes binaries for Linux x86_64/aarch64, macOS Intel/Apple silicon and Windows x86_64. The graphical app's separate download page currently lists its own supported platforms and commands; do not mix its installer with the TUI steps.

1. Mac: if you use Homebrew, the TUI docs give brew install herdr. Otherwise follow the documented TUI installer or choose the matching release asset. The graphical app offers a separate Apple-silicon download.
2. Linux: choose the matching release binary, or inspect and run the official https://herdr.dev/install.sh script. Put the binary on your PATH.
3. Windows: the TUI docs provide herdr-windows-x86_64.zip and a PowerShell installer at https://herdr.dev/install.ps1. For a manual install, keep herdr.exe with its bundled ConPTY runtime; do not copy just the executable. Read the Windows support notes before relying on it for production work.
4. Open a fresh terminal in a project directory, run herdr, complete first-run setup and install only the agent integrations you need. Use herdr --help and the in-app key guide to confirm your installed version's commands.
5. Test persistence with a harmless command: detach with ctrl+b q, then run herdr again. Confirm the process is still running before adding agents or remote access.

Herdr is free and Apache-2.0 licensed. The model subscriptions or APIs used by Claude, Codex, Gemini, Grok or Hermes are separate. Installing Herdr does not install or pay for those agent CLIs.

The Mental Model: Panes, Tabs, Workspaces

A pane holds one terminal process. A tab groups related panes, such as an implementer beside a test runner. A workspace groups tabs for one project. NetworkChuck demonstrates splits, renames and resizing at 04:14, tabs at 05:18 and workspaces at 05:52. The quick start confirms that mouse clicks, drag-resizing and right-click menus work alongside keyboard shortcuts.

Our preferred small layout: one workspace per repository, a tab named build for the agent, a tab named verify for tests and review, and no more panes than you can assign a clear job. Herdr's ctrl+b prefix and in-app help are faster than memorizing a long shortcut list from a video that may show a different version.

Agent Status and Notifications

NetworkChuck's favorite view is the agent panel: jump to the pane that finished, is working or is blocked and waiting for an answer. He turns on sounds and in-app toast notifications at 07:20, then filters the agents at 08:57. The TUI agent docs explain that supported agents can report or be detected as idle, working and blocked; other programs still run, but may appear only as ordinary terminal panes.

Status is a routing signal, not a quality check. Done does not mean correct. Require the agent to show changed files, test results and unresolved questions. If a notification says “needs you,” inspect the pending action before approving a command, network request or credential use. The configuration guide documents notification and sound settings.

Bring Another Machine Into the Sidebar

At 10:20, NetworkChuck connects his laptop to a Herdr session on a Mac Studio. The official machine guide says to verify ordinary SSH access first, then add the host with herdr machine add workbox or a documented user@host target. Herdr may ask before installing or replacing software on the remote host. Each host keeps its own server and running processes; a dropped SSH connection does not mean those remote processes stop.

1. Install the supported Herdr edition on both machines and verify ssh workbox works with the expected host key and account.
2. Run herdr machine add workbox interactively, review the remote session it finds and approve only the setup you intend.
3. Open Herdr and confirm the remote workspace appears. Run a read-only command there first, then disconnect and reconnect to check the behavior.
4. Give remote agents the least access needed. A shared sidebar is not an authorization boundary between machines or agent accounts.

How Agents Can Ask Other Agents

The showpiece at 12:39 has Claude Code launch other agent CLIs, receive their responses and coordinate a quick terminal-art task. Herdr exposes a CLI and socket automation layer, and a reusable skill that teaches supported agents how to inspect panes, start helpers, read output and wait. The skill checks that the agent is inside a Herdr-managed pane; it is not a blanket permission to control every terminal on your computer.

The newer core runtime offers a related but distinct hc flow: start a helper, wait for it and receive its report. Do not paste hc examples into the TUI expecting identical commands. For code, put each agent on a separate Git worktree; NetworkChuck shows this at 14:37. Worktrees prevent simultaneous edits to one checkout, but still require a human merge and review.

Detach Is Not a Reboot

That last row is the important correction to the video's shorthand about sessions “resurrecting” at 16:09. Herdr's state matrix says the original processes do not survive a server restart. Layout restoration and supported agent-session resume can make it look continuous, but they are different mechanisms.

A First Workflow Worth Trying

Give one agent a tiny, bounded change in a repository you control, and give a second pane the test command. Once that works, add a reviewer agent in another worktree. Compare the result with a single-agent run: did the second agent find anything useful, how much time and model usage did it add, and did Herdr make handoffs easier? If the task is too small for a reviewer, a test pane alone may be the better workflow.

Copyable Two-Agent Setup Brief

This brief is for planning inside an existing agent session. It deliberately pauses before installs, paid agent launches, remote access or repository changes.

Resources by Role

Watch Next

The companion videos cover the two neighboring ideas without repeating this walkthrough: tmux fundamentals and Hermes agent setup. Neither is required to install Herdr.

Video Chapters

Setup and navigation

Agents and remote work

Parallel work and closing