🐏 Install Latest Herdr Desktop App on Debian

What is Herdr?

Herdr is a desktop app for terminals and coding agents. Work is organised into spaces, usually one per repository, and each space has tabs split into panes, so a shell, an editor and two coding agents can sit side by side in one window. An agents sidebar lists every agent across all your spaces with its status (Working, Blocked when it is waiting for you, Done or Idle), so you see at a glance which one needs an answer. Closing the window does not stop anything: the terminals run in herdr-core (hc), a small background process, and are still there when you open Herdr again. It is written in Rust, Apache-2.0 licensed, and lives at herdr.dev.

⚡ Key Features of Herdr

📦 Installation from deb.griffo.io

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(. /etc/os-release; echo ${DEBIAN_CODENAME:-${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}}) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update

install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(. /etc/os-release; echo ${DEBIAN_CODENAME:-${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}}) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt update

sudo apt install extrepo
sudo extrepo enable griffo
sudo apt update

# Install latest Herdr (package and command are both herdr-app)
sudo apt install herdr-app

# Verify installation
dpkg -s herdr-app | grep Version

# Install latest Herdr (package and command are both herdr-app)
apt install herdr-app

# Verify installation
dpkg -s herdr-app | grep Version

# Start Herdr from your application menu, or from a terminal
herdr-app

# The first time it opens, Herdr offers to install herdr-core (hc)
# into ~/.local/bin. Accept: the package does not ship hc, and it is
# what keeps your terminals running after the window closes
ls -l ~/.local/bin/hc

# Herdr draws with Vulkan and needs an X11 or Wayland desktop session;
# check that the driver the package recommends is installed
apt policy mesa-vulkan-drivers

🎯 Basic Usage Examples

Working with spaces and agents:

# 1. Create a space for a repository and open a tab in it
# 2. Split the tab into panes: a shell, an editor, a coding agent or two
# 3. Watch the agents sidebar: Working, Blocked, Done or Idle
# Ctrl+Shift+P opens the command palette for everything else

# Closed the window? The terminals kept running; open it again
herdr-app

Checking the graphics stack:

# Which session you are in: x11 or wayland (a desktop session is required)
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

# Install the Vulkan tools and confirm a driver sees your GPU
sudo apt install vulkan-tools
vulkaninfo --summary
# No GPU listed? Install mesa-vulkan-drivers, then log in again

# Which session you are in: x11 or wayland (a desktop session is required)
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

# Install the Vulkan tools and confirm a driver sees your GPU
apt install vulkan-tools
vulkaninfo --summary
# No GPU listed? Install mesa-vulkan-drivers, then log in again

Keeping it current:

# Herdr updates with the rest of the system (its self-updater is off here)
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

# Which version is installed, and which is the newest available
apt policy herdr-app

# Remove it again
sudo apt remove herdr-app

# Herdr updates with the rest of the system (its self-updater is off here)
apt update && apt upgrade

# Which version is installed, and which is the newest available
apt policy herdr-app

# Remove it again
apt remove herdr-app

🚀 Why Choose deb.griffo.io?

• ✅ The Only apt Source: Herdr is in neither the Debian nor the Ubuntu archives; this repository packages the official upstream release
• ✅ One Name Everywhere: the package is herdr-app and so is the command: sudo apt install herdr-app, then herdr-app or the launcher entry
• ✅ Updates Through apt: the in-app self-updater is switched off in this build, so the version on disk is always the one apt installed and nothing rewrites it behind the package manager's back
• ✅ Complete Package: the Herdr desktop app with its dependencies declared so it installs on every supported suite and the Vulkan driver recommended; herdr-core is set up by the app itself on first run
• ✅ Automatic Updates: packages updated within hours of upstream releases
• ✅ Two Architectures: amd64 and arm64 on Bookworm, Trixie, Forky and Sid alike; there is no i386, armhf or riscv64 build
• ✅ Multi-Distribution: works on Bookworm, Trixie, Forky and Sid
• ✅ Easy Maintenance: standard apt commands for updates

📦 Package Build Repository

The Debian packages are automatically built and maintained in this GitHub repository:

• 🐏 herdr-app-debian - Latest release builds

🔗 Related Packages

Also available from deb.griffo.io:

• herdr - The terminal agent multiplexer, for when you live in a terminal instead of a window
• Neovim - An editor to keep in the pane next to your agents
• lazygit - A terminal UI for reviewing and committing what the agents changed
• kitty - A GPU terminal for the work that stays outside Herdr
• Ghostty - A native GTK terminal, same story