# brainplane and herdr compared

herdr is a free, open source runtime that keeps your coding agents' terminals alive, marks each pane working, blocked or idle, and lets agents drive each other. brainplane works with herdr and adds 1 shared brain per topic, checked handoffs and 1 Inbox. herdr owns the terminals; brainplane owns the context and the questions.

Canonical: https://brainplane.app/compare/herdr/

## The short version

| | herdr | brainplane |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | "The runtime your coding agents live on" | A Mac app that gives your agents 1 shared brain per topic and 1 Inbox |
| Main job | Keep terminals running in a background server, restore layouts, show which pane is blocked | Share context between agents, hand work over with checks, gather the questions that need you |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Grok and more, in their own terminals | Claude Code, Codex, Grok and 11 more agent tools |
| Agent to agent | Agents spawn panes, prompt each other and wait through its CLI and socket API | Handoffs under a contract: goal, context pack, budget and acceptance checks |
| Machines | Local and saved SSH machines in 1 window | The Mac, plus Linux servers over SSH with `bp node` |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS 26 or later on Apple silicon |
| License and price | Apache-2.0, free | Proprietary, 14 days free; then $12 a month or $99 a year once checkout opens |

herdr facts come from its GitHub README and herdr.dev, read on 9 October 2026 (about 43,000 stars).

## How they fit together

They sit at different layers. herdr owns the terminals: it keeps sessions alive when you close the window or lose SSH, and tells you which pane waits. brainplane does not keep terminals alive. It names tmux windows and herdr panes and can type an approved answer into a session you pick. It connects to the agents through MCP and hooks and keeps what they know: the topic's state, decisions and answered questions.

brainplane works with agents where they already run, herdr included. It can type your answer into a live session in a herdr pane, after checking that the session is still the one you picked and that the same question is still on screen. Each session's crew name shows on its herdr pane.

## When herdr alone is enough

- You want sessions that keep running after you close the herdr client or lose an SSH connection.
- You want to see at a glance which agent is blocked.
- You want free and open source, on macOS, Linux or Windows.

## When to add brainplane

- Your agents need the same context and you are tired of repeating it.
- You want handoffs with acceptance checks, and reviews by another model family.
- You want repeat questions answered from your saved decisions, and 1 Inbox for the rest.
- You want sending, paying, deleting and deploying to always wait for you.

## Questions

### Does brainplane replace herdr?

No. Keep herdr as the runtime. brainplane adds the shared brain and the Inbox on top.

### Does brainplane change my herdr setup?

It leaves your herdr configuration as it is. brainplane changes only the MCP server entry of each agent it connects, with a backup. It also shows each session's crew name on its pane.

### Is herdr free?

Yes. herdr is open source under the Apache-2.0 license.

Sources: [github.com/herdrdev/herdr](https://github.com/herdrdev/herdr) and [herdr.dev](https://herdr.dev), read on 9 October 2026. brainplane facts: [docs](/docs/agents/) and [FAQ](/faq/). brainplane has no link with herdr or its maker.