Herdr skill: let Claude control your Herdr panes and agents

• Shows the installed CLI's own command list so the agent uses the right syntax

  The agent runs herdr --help and each group (agent, pane, workspace, tab, worktree, terminal, notification, integration, session, machine) without subcommands to read current options. It never runs bare herdr, which opens the interface.

  Runs code · herdr --help and command groups

• Stops the skill unless the agent is running inside a Herdr pane

  First step: test "${HERDR_ENV:-}" = 1. If not set, the agent says it is not inside Herdr and stops, so it cannot drive a session it does not own.

  Runs code · HERDR_ENV check

• Lists your workspaces, tabs and panes with their IDs

  Discovery commands that return JSON with IDs like w1, w1:t1 and w1:p1. The agent reads IDs from these instead of guessing.

  Read · workspace list / tab list / pane list

• Lists the coding agents Herdr sees and their state

  Shows each recognized agent, its pane and state: idle, working, blocked, done or unknown.

  Read · agent list / agent get

• Shows the agent's own pane and its size

  Lets the agent decide whether to split right (wide pane) or down (tall pane) before adding a pane.

  Read · pane current / pane layout

• Opens a new pane next to the agent without moving your focus

  herdr pane split --current --direction right --cwd "$PWD" --no-focus. Keeps the same folder; returns the new pane ID.

  Write · pane split

• Starts another coding agent (e.g. Codex, Claude) in an empty shell pane

  herdr agent start reviewer --kind codex --pane <id>. Returns only when the agent is ready for input; extra native args go after --.

  Try: “Use Herdr to start a Codex agent named reviewer next to me and have it review the current diff.”

  Runs code · agent start

• Sends a task to another agent and can wait until it finishes

  herdr agent prompt reviewer "..." --wait --timeout 120000. Refuses if the agent is stuck at an approval dialog, so you can decide.

  Runs code · agent prompt

• Waits for an agent to become idle, done or blocked

  Standalone wait, or --until blocked for a specific state, with a timeout.

  Read · agent wait

• Reads another agent's recent output

  herdr agent read reviewer --source recent-unwrapped --lines 120 pulls the latest screen text for review.

  Read · agent read

• Presses keys like Esc or Ctrl+C in another agent

  Sends logical keys to an agent's UI; Herdr checks all keys before sending any.

  Runs code · agent send-keys

• Renames an agent or shows why Herdr thinks it is idle or blocked

  agent rename gives a pane's agent a label; agent explain shows the detection rule behind its state.

  Write · agent rename / explain

• Runs a shell command in another pane

  herdr pane run <id> "just test" queues the command and Enter. Success means it was queued, not that it finished.

  Runs code · pane run

• Waits until a pane prints matching text

  --match for plain text or --regex, with --timeout; e.g. wait for "test result".

  Read · pane wait-output

• Reads a pane's screen or recent log text

  Sources: visible, recent, recent-unwrapped (best for logs), detection; --format ansi keeps colors.

  Read · pane read

• Rearranges or closes panes, tabs and workspaces

  The skill only lets the agent close things it created, unless you ask; workspace close --group also closes linked worktree workspaces.

  Delete · pane move / close, workspace and tab create/close

• Creates git worktree workspaces for parallel work

  Only when you ask for one. --trust-repository is allowed only after you have verified the repo.

  Write · worktree commands

• Runs the same commands on a saved SSH machine

  herdr --machine <label-or-id> agent list, pane list, agent prompt. Uses a saved profile, never an arbitrary host; never installs or restarts the remote server.

  Runs code · --machine <label>

• Shows saved SSH machines and diagnoses a failing one

  machine list --json and machine status --json. The skill does not add or remove machines or run machine reconnect for you.

  Network · machine list / status

• Checks client and server versions before using new features

  Used after updates; a missing method is not a reason to stop or upgrade the server.

  Read · herdr status

• Opens Herdr; ctrl+b q detaches and agents keep running

  Main user commands: herdr launches or reattaches; prefix+v split right, prefix+minus split down, prefix+c new tab.

  Runs code · herdr (TUI) and ctrl+b q

• Attaches to Herdr on a server over SSH

  herdr --remote workbox or ssh://you@server:2222; installs Herdr on the host after asking if missing.

  Network · herdr --remote <host>

• Saves an SSH machine so its agents show in your sidebar

  Interactive setup; finds running sessions, asks before installing or replacing a server.

  Network · herdr machine add <host>

• Adds hooks so Herdr can track and resume an agent's session

  For Claude Code it writes ~/.claude/hooks/herdr-agent-state.sh and adds hook entries to settings.json.

  Write · herdr integration install <agent>

• Manages named sessions, stops the server, updates Herdr

  session list/attach/stop/delete; server stop ends all panes (the skill never runs it unasked); herdr update for installer-managed copies.

  Runs code · herdr session / server stop / update

Watch out for

• Can type and run commands in other panes

  pane run, agent prompt and send-keys let the agent run shell commands and prompt other agents in your session. github.com

• Idle state can hide an approval prompt

  Herdr's docs warn that detection may show idle on an unfamiliar approval dialog, so automation that trusts it could type into that dialog. Look at a pane before letting an agent type into it. herdr.dev

• skills.sh: Gen Agent Trust Hub, Socket and Snyk all pass

  All three audits on the skills.sh listing show Pass. skills.sh

• Only runs inside a Herdr pane

  The skill checks HERDR_ENV=1 first and stops if it is missing, so an agent outside Herdr cannot drive your session. Maintainers closed requests to relax this. herdr.dev

Security advisories

In their words