explaingit

vladzima/herd

Analysis updated 2026-07-26

1ShellAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

TLDR

A tool that lets one AI agent manage other AI agents. Give a task to a head agent and it delegates to worker agents in separate terminal tabs, then summarizes their results.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Head agent delegates tasks
      Workers run in terminal tabs
      Collects and summarizes results
    How it works
      Three shell files
      Workers write report files
      Head escalates risky decisions
    Use cases
      Run multi-agent projects
      Compare different AI agents
      Automate task delegation
    Requirements
      Claude Code
      herdr and jq tools
      Shell script install

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Break a large coding task into pieces and have different AI agents work on them in parallel.

USE CASE 2

Compare outputs from Claude, Codex, and Gemini by assigning the same task to each as a worker.

USE CASE 3

Let a head agent coordinate a multi-step project and escalate only risky decisions to you.

What is it built with?

ShellClaude Codejq

How does it compare?

vladzima/herd100/dotfilesabdellaouiamir/palworld-server
Stars111
LanguageShellShellShell
Last pushed2016-11-18
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultymoderateeasymoderate
Complexity3/51/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperops devops

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Claude Code plus herdr 0.7.5+ and jq installed, setup is a shell script but depends on having the right agent tools configured.

In plain English

Herd is a small coordinator that lets one AI agent manage other AI agents for you. You give a task to a "head" agent running Claude Code, and it delegates pieces of that task out to "worker" agents, each running in its own terminal tab. Workers can be Claude, Codex, Gemini, or other agent tools. The head watches their progress, collects their reports, and summarizes the results back to you. The project is just three files. herd-up starts the head tab. herd-spawn creates a new worker tab with a specific task. A skill file acts as the coordinator's playbook, telling the head how to assign work, check on workers, and handle situations where a worker gets stuck. Because the playbook installs as a Claude Code skill, any Claude Code session can become a head by invoking the /herd command. Communication works through report files. Each worker writes its final report to a file in a temporary directory, and the head treats that file as the real signal that work is done, rather than relying on whether the worker process is still running. If a worker hits a routine question, the head answers it automatically. If something risky comes up, the head escalates to you instead of deciding on its own. To use it, you need herdr (version 0.7.5 or later) and Claude Code installed, plus a tool called jq. Installation is a short shell script that copies the files into local directories. You can run herd-up from inside a project, then type tasks directly to the head or send prompts from elsewhere. You can also spawn workers yourself, choosing the agent type and passing custom arguments, if you want to skip the head entirely.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I have Herd installed with Claude Code. Write me a task prompt I can give to the head agent that delegates a bug-fix across three worker agents using different tools.
Prompt 2
Using Herd, I want to spawn workers manually without the head agent. Show me the herd-spawn command to start a Codex worker and a Gemini worker with custom instructions.
Prompt 3
I want to customize the Herd skill file to make the head agent wait longer before checking on stuck workers. How should I edit the playbook?

Frequently asked questions

What is herd?

A tool that lets one AI agent manage other AI agents. Give a task to a head agent and it delegates to worker agents in separate terminal tabs, then summarizes their results.

What language is herd written in?

Mainly Shell. The stack also includes Shell, Claude Code, jq.

How hard is herd to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is herd for?

Mainly developer.

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