Compare Herdr

The agent multiplexer that lives in your terminal.

Herdr gives coding agents the thing tmux gave terminal users: persistent real panes, detach and reattach, remote access, and a control surface. Then it adds agent state and an API the agents can use.

Quick start See the matrix

Herdr combines

tmux persistence, agent awareness, no terminal replacement.

  • Runs inside your existing terminal
  • Owns persistent PTY sessions
  • Attaches locally, over SSH, or directly to one agent
  • Tracks blocked, working, done, and idle state
  • Exposes CLI and socket APIs agents can drive

The stack

Pick the center of gravity.

The question is not whether a tool can run a terminal. Most can. The question is whether it combines terminal-native persistence with agent state and agent-controlled automation.

Capability Herdr tmux / Zellij cmux / Warp Solo Conductor / Emdash / Superset
Runs inside your existing terminal yes yes no, terminal app no, desktop app no, app workspace
Persistent PTY session runtime yes yes session/app restore managed processes embedded terminals
Detach, reattach, and SSH in yes yes partial no remote projects
Direct attach to one agent terminal yes no no no no
Semantic agent state blocked / working / done / idle no attention or native-agent status process status workspace status
Agent-shaped API read, send, wait, split, attach terminal scripting app APIs MCP for processes workflow APIs
Git worktree and diff review flow pairs with it no partial no yes

How Herdr differs

The intersection other tools miss.

Herdr

Persistent terminal runtime, built for agents.

Herdr keeps real terminal panes alive like a multiplexer, but treats agents as first-class runtime objects. You can scan state, jump to blocked work, attach directly to one agent, and let agents read, send, split, and wait through the CLI/socket API.

existing terminal persistent PTYs SSH attach direct agent attach agent state agent API
tmux / Zellij

Classic multiplexers stop at terminals.

They own panes and persistence. They do not know which pane is blocked, working, done, or ready for an agent wait.

cmux / Warp

Terminal apps replace the terminal.

They can add polished desktop UX, but the workflow moves into their app. Herdr stays inside the terminal you already use.

Solo

Dashboards supervise processes.

Process health and auto-restart are useful, but Herdr is about persistent interactive agent panes, not dev-stack supervision.

Conductor / Emdash / Superset

Worktree tools own review flow.

They are for branch isolation, diffs, and PRs. Herdr is the live terminal layer those agents can run inside or alongside.

One-line comparisons

Use this when deciding.

Herdr vs tmuxtmux persists terminals; Herdr persists agent workspaces and understands agent state.
Herdr vs ZellijZellij is a modern terminal workspace; Herdr is an agent multiplexer with state, waits, and orchestration.
Herdr vs cmuxcmux is a Mac terminal app for agents; Herdr is a terminal-native multiplexer that runs anywhere your terminal and SSH do.
Herdr vs WarpWarp is an agentic development platform; Herdr is the local terminal control layer for your existing agents.
Herdr vs SoloSolo manages your dev stack; Herdr manages persistent interactive agent panes.
Herdr vs Conductor, Emdash, SupersetThey orchestrate isolated worktrees and review diffs; Herdr orchestrates live terminals and agent state.

Start with the multiplexer

If your agents live in terminals, put the terminals in Herdr.

Install Herdr, run two agents, split a pane, then detach once. The difference is obvious when the agents keep running.

Install Herdr Quick start