The greatest AI engineering workflow of all time revealed (Herdr)

Summary

Alex Finn introduces Herdr, a free and open-source terminal application designed to streamline workflows with autonomous AI coding agents. Finn explains that he has abandoned standalone desktop wrappers for Claude Code and Codex in favor of Herdr. The tool serves as an interactive, clickable terminal manager that orchestrates multiple autonomous agents running concurrently across different local and remote devices, allowing users to sustain high development throughput without remaining actively tied to a single command-line session.

The Herdr interface organizes work into a hierarchy of machines, spaces, and agent tabs. Finn shows his setup connected to a Mac Studio and a remote laptop, with separate spaces designated for individual software repositories, including newsletters and game prototypes. Inside any selected space, users can open individual tabs representing distinct agents. Finn demonstrates this by assigning one agent to core mechanics, another to user interface design, and others to audio or progression systems. These tabs can independently host different agent backends, such as Codex, Claude Code, or Gemini. On the left side of the screen, Herdr maintains a unified, chronological list of active agents across all devices. When an agent finishes running commands or code modifications, it jumps to the top of the list with a status indicator, alerting the developer to review output and issue the next prompt.

Installation requires running a single shell script from the project repository, after which launching the herdr command opens the terminal interface. To demonstrate a build from scratch, Finn creates a new directory space and initializes a top-down Three.js roguelike game inspired by Diablo. He prompts an initial Codex agent to produce the baseline combat arena, player movement, enemy waves, and stat upgrades. Once the basic build runs successfully in the browser, Finn branches out work to parallel agents. He opens separate tabs for loot drops, additional enemy classes, larger map geometry with hidden chests, and character class abilities. Because Herdr allows agents to run simultaneously, each sub-system is developed concurrently without blocking the main terminal session.

Finn then details Herdr HUD, an open-source companion overlay he developed to keep agents accessible during other desktop activities. The HUD appears as a minimal floating badge that stays on top of all windows, including fullscreen video games. As background agents finish build steps, the badge increments a notification count. Clicking the badge slides open a modal that displays recent agent logs, interactive terminal views, and prompt input boxes, enabling prompt dispatch without leaving the active game or application. Finn concludes by demonstrating mobile and Apple Watch interfaces tied into the same Herdr backend, allowing users to monitor compilation progress and reply to agent prompts away from their desks.