Herdr 0.8.2 makes agent state part of the terminal workspace
Herdr 0.8.2 runs a background server that owns terminal panes. Workspaces contain tabs, tabs contain panes, and recognized agents add status to those processes. One blocked pane can mark the project as needing attention. A client may detach while shells and agents continue, then attach locally or through SSH.
Herdr defines 5 states: blocked, working, done, idle, and unknown. It derives them from processes, integrations, titles, and screen manifests. The CLI and local socket can create panes, send input, prompt an agent, or wait for state. A bundled skill teaches Claude Code and Codex to use that surface.
What happened when we ran it
Our sandbox installed 174 Rust packages in 32 seconds, then the build failed with exit 101 after 49 seconds. Tests failed with exit 101 after 15 seconds. We ran commit 5158ada in an unprivileged Debian container with 3 CPUs and 12 GB of RAM. The 21.5 MB checkout had 1,220 files and roughly 264,532 source lines.
Both failures ended in build.rs. It tried to execute zig build for the vendored libghostty-vt; the operating system returned code 2, No such file or directory, and Rust panicked. The log showed ZIG among the watched environment variables. It showed no later compiler or test result. The measured finding is that an available Zig executable was missing from our image.
Prebuilt v0.8.2 binaries avoid the failed source path
Version 0.8.2 provides binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows x86_64. Installation options include a shell script, Homebrew, mise, Nix, PowerShell, and manual downloads. Direct installs can select stable or preview updates. Stable downloads and remote helper assets have published SHA-256 digests that Herdr verifies.
The README's source path shows cargo build --release, then just test or just check, without mentioning Zig. At commit 5158ada, the build script invokes Zig for its vendored terminal library. Start a trial with the binary. Source contributors should inspect build.rs, supply its external tool, and run just ci.
Detach preserves processes; server restart restores only shape
The v0.8.2 session guide distinguishes 4 cases. Detach preserves processes because the server keeps running. A server restart loses them, then restores workspace and pane shape. Optional history restores recent screen contents, and supported agent integrations may resume conversations. Experimental live handoff attempts to move running panes to a replacement server.
Pane history is off by default because output may hold secrets, tokens, or prompts. When enabled, Herdr saves it beside session state. Remote attach uses OpenSSH authentication. Windows clients can attach to Linux or macOS hosts; Windows cannot be the remote host. Test restart and remote behavior before depending on either.
Five status labels depend on changing agent screens
The 5-state model depends on its status authority recognizing the agent. Lifecycle integrations win where available. Other agents use manifests against the live bottom buffer, and a known agent can fall back to idle when no blocked rule matches. Remote manifest updates can repair rules, while local overrides take precedence.
Open issue 3120 reproduces a v0.8.2 miss. Grok CLI 1.0.4 and 1.0.5 removed braille glyphs expected by bundled working-state rules, so an active [stop] turn appeared idle. The report says waits can be affected too. Run herdr agent explain against a saved screen whenever an agent changes its footer or approval UI.
Plugin v1 runs with the user's permissions
Plugin v1 packages declare commands, actions, events, and panes. A command may be Bash, JavaScript, Rust, or any executable on the host. It inherits the user's environment and can call the full Herdr CLI. Herdr previews install commands and validates manifests, but it neither reviews nor sandboxes plugin code.
The socket is newline-delimited JSON over a Unix socket or Windows named pipe. It can launch processes, move panes, create worktrees, and prompt agents. Plugins receive its location plus workspace and pane IDs. Pin revisions, read executable code, and keep credentials in the plugin config directory rather than its managed source checkout.
Issue 3519 shows a large remote session can become unreachable
Open P1 issue 3519 reports an orphaned SSH client sending an 80x24 resize to a v0.8.2 server with 46 panes across 8 workspaces. Reflow blocked the server for 11 minutes, held the main thread at 100% CPU, and raised reported memory from about 1 GB to 4.4 GB. The panes survived, but clients and management commands could not reach them.
GitHub showed 34,490 stars and 280 combined issues and pull requests. The last push was September 1, 2026, and v0.8.2 shipped August 19. Same-day closures and new work show active maintenance. The P1 report still strikes at the reason for using Herdr remotely, so large scrollback-heavy sessions should reproduce that path or wait for a fix.
Version 0.8.2 restricts implementation pull requests
Herdr closes unsolicited implementation pull requests unless the author is a verified maintainer or approved contributor. Bug reports must cover a personally reproduced problem with a short reproduction and environment. Feature ideas go to Discussions. Outside developers who expect an ordinary fork-and-PR path should choose another project.
Herdr deserves a trial when several agents make terminal tabs hard to supervise. Use the prebuilt 0.8.2 release because our source run stopped at missing Zig. Verify state with agent explain, confirm restart behavior, and test SSH detach with realistic pane history. If status and automation are optional, tmux or Zellij provides persistence with fewer moving parts.