herdr alternative with a native macOS interface

herdr is a terminal multiplexer made for coding agents: one Rust binary, a background server that keeps terminals alive, panes marked working, blocked or idle, and a socket API that lets agents spawn and wait on each other. It runs in whatever terminal you already use, on several machines at once.

omux solves the same visibility problem with a window instead of a TUI. It's macOS only and has no server or API, but it shows status, permissions, subagents, diffs and pull requests for Claude Code and Codex sessions in a sidebar and panels you click. Which one fits depends on where your agents run and how you like to look at them.

Download omux for macOS About herdr

At a glanceomuxherdr

Native macOS window✓✕

Linux, Windows and remote machines✕✓

Agent status✓✓

Allow/Deny buttons✓✕

Subagent transcripts✓✕

Detach and reattach✕✓

Agents controlling the tool via API~✓

Worktrees and pull requests✓✕

Free and open source✓✓

5 MBnative Swift app, no Electron
0accounts, credits or telemetry
6sessions side by side per project
MITfree and open source

omux with eight projects in the sidebar, a Claude Code conversation in the transcript view, a Codex session waiting on Allow or Deny, and the Changes panel showing a diff — omux: projects and sessions on the left, the agent in the middle, its diff on the right. The session that needs you shows Allow and Deny.

Where the agent lives

herdr

Any terminal, as a TUI

↓

herdr server, local and SSH machines

↓

Your own agents

omux

The native agentic development platform for the Mac, about 5 MB

↓

Claude CodeClaude CodeCodexCodexshell

↓

The real Claude Code and Codex, on your own plans

working needs you done

Side by side

	omux	herdr
Runs on	macOS, as a native app	macOS, Linux and Windows, inside any terminal
Interface	Sidebar, session header and side panels	Terminal UI with keyboard and mouse
Agents supported	Claude Code and Codex, with provider-specific integration; plain shells too	Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Grok and others
Agent status	Working, needs you, done, plus what it's doing and its subagents	Working, blocked or idle per pane
Answer a permission prompt	Allow and Deny buttons without switching	Switch to the pane
Conversations after a restart	Each session resumes its exact conversation	Layouts restored; supported agent sessions resume
Detach and reattach	✕	✓ terminals persist in a background server
Remote machines	✕	✓ local and SSH machines in one list
Agents controlling the multiplexer	✓ the omux CLI lets a session start, send to and wait on its own child sessions	✓ CLI and socket API; agents can spawn panes and wait on each other
Git worktrees and pull requests	One worktree per session, PR status, merge and clean up	Not built in
Diff, files and browser	Built-in panels, review notes sent to the agent	Other tools
Usage limits	Claude and Codex plan limits in the sidebar	✕
License	MIT	Apache-2.0

A closer look at omux

A Codex session asking to run npm outdated, with Allow and Deny in the transcript and in the sidebar — Every approval is a card. Allow or Deny from the transcript or the sidebar, or tell the agent what to do instead.

A Codex session's reply with a code block, next to the file it changes — Codex replies stream in as they're written, with code blocks you can copy and files you can open.

A Claude Code session and a Codex session side by side in one project, with the diff on the right — Sessions side by side: drop one onto another to split the pane.

The Files panel editing server.ts next to the conversation, with ⌘S to save — Edit files in the Files panel, with syntax colors and ⌘S to save, while the agent keeps working.

The agent and model picker: Claude Code models and Codex models in one menu — Switch a session between Claude Code and Codex, or change the model, from the compose box. The conversation is handed over.

Pick herdr if

Your agents run on Linux or remote machines, or you need to detach and reattach.
You want agents on different machines orchestrating each other through one API.
You run a mix of agent CLIs beyond Claude Code and Codex.

Pick omux if

You work on a Mac and prefer a window with a sidebar, notifications and panels to a TUI.
You want Allow and Deny buttons, subagent transcripts and the diff next to the session.
You want worktrees and pull request status handled for you.

What omux does for every session

Projects with sessions under them, in a sidebar
Shows whether each agent is working, needs you or is done
Allow or Deny an agent's permission request without switching to it
Lists a session's subagents and opens their transcripts
Resumes each Claude Code and Codex conversation after a relaunch
Git worktree per session, with pull request status and merge
Files, Changes (diff with review notes) and Browser panels
Claude and Codex plan usage limits in the sidebar
Split panes: up to six sessions side by side per project, layouts saved
An omux command line: list, status, send, new, close and wait on sessions
macOS notifications with sound

Questions

Can I run herdr inside omux?

Yes, in a plain shell session, though you'd then have two layers doing similar jobs. Use omux's own sessions for Claude Code and Codex to get its status and permission buttons.

Does omux work over SSH?

No. Sessions run locally. herdr is a better fit for remote machines.

Which has fewer moving parts?

omux: it's one app with no server and no API. herdr runs a background server so terminals outlive the client.

Also compared: Terminal alternative, tmux alternative, cmux alternative, Warp alternative, T3 Code alternative, VS Code alternative, Cursor alternative, Antigravity alternative, Devin alternative. Facts about herdr come from its public documentation as of 2026-11-06; if something is out of date, open an issue.