A new terminal tool called Herdr aims to bridge the gap between traditional multiplexers and AI agent management. Built as a single Rust binary with no dependencies, it runs entirely within existing terminal environments rather than requiring separate GUI applications or Electron wrappers. The project positions itself as a modern alternative to tmux for developers working with AI coding assistants.

Herdr provides persistent sessions with true workspace isolation, supporting tabs, panes, and mouse-native interactions like click-to-focus and drag-to-split. Unlike GUI-based agent managers, it displays actual terminal output rather than interpreted views, maintaining native terminal fidelity while adding agent state awareness. The sidebar tracks whether agents are blocked, working, or completed without requiring configuration or hooks.

The tool works over standard SSH connections and supports remote attachment, making it suitable for cloud-based development workflows. Named sessions provide separate runtime namespaces, while the socket API enables programmatic control for automation. Official integrations cover major agents including Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and Cursor Agent CLI.

Compared to tmux's agent-naive design or GUI managers that force context switching, Herdr combines terminal-native operation with intelligent agent state detection. This addresses the growing need for developers to orchestrate multiple AI assistants while maintaining their existing terminal-centric workflows.