Suppose Claude Code is open in iTerm2 on your Mac, while Codex is still running in tmux on a Linux machine. Before you leave your desk, you want to know which session needs an answer and how you will check it from your phone. The first question is where those sessions already live. The next is which way of returning to them fits your work.
This comparison uses Herdr’s documentation and Clawdline’s public source, checked on 8 October 2026. Both products change; the distinction between available and planned features matters here.
Both keep work on your machines and show agents waiting for you
Neither requires you to move a project to a hosted agent machine. Herdr’s background server keeps its terminal panes and processes running on the machine where you started them; a client can detach and reconnect. Herdr explains that local workflow. Clawdline reads supported terminal sessions while Claude Code or Codex continues to run on its original machine. Why Clawdline starts with existing sessions explains that choice.
Both also spare you from opening every terminal to find the one that needs attention. Herdr recognizes Claude Code, Codex and other CLI agents, then rolls their working, blocked or done states up through panes and workspaces. Its agent documentation shows how that list works. Clawdline puts the Claude Code and Codex sessions it finds into one list and marks work that is active or needs you; its session status guide explains what the list can tell you.
Both have a way to look across machines, though the entry points differ. Herdr can put Local and saved SSH machines in one TUI, with each machine keeping its own server and processes. Its current multi-machine documentation also covers directing CLI commands to a saved machine. The optional Clawdline Cloud preview lists connected machines in one browser console after Cloud is enabled and the browser is paired; see the Cloud guide. In either case, the agents keep running on their respective machines.
Your sessions already run in iTerm2 or tmux. Which tool can pick them up?
Clawdline starts with sessions you already opened. On macOS it finds Claude Code and Codex in iTerm2 or tmux; on Linux it uses tmux. You do not have to relaunch an assistant through Clawdline to put that session on its list. The release installation guide covers the supported platforms. Other terminals and agents are outside this stated scope.
Herdr starts with a terminal workspace of its own. Run shells, tests and agents in Herdr panes, then detach while its background server keeps them alive. That is the flow in Herdr’s work guide. If you want Herdr to manage that terminal, its automation commands can create layout, start an agent, send a prompt and wait for its state. Herdr is a working terminal environment as well as an agent status view.
How do you reconnect from another computer or a phone?
Herdr’s available route between machines is SSH, which encrypts the connection. Add a host with herdr machine add workbox to see its workspaces alongside Local, or use herdr --remote workbox from another computer to attach to that machine’s session. The remote host must already be reachable over SSH; Herdr’s machine setup walks through it. On a phone, use an SSH client, connect to the machine running the agents and start herdr there. The phone instructions describe its TUI on a narrow screen; this is not a Herdr phone app or web dashboard.
Clawdline’s local console is a browser page, reachable from another computer through SSH port forwarding. For a phone browser and several machines in one view, its optional Cloud preview uses an outbound machine connection and a separately paired browser. A paired device can read; sending commands requires another switch. The browser guide separates those steps. Herdr Cloud, by contrast, is still planned: the multi-machine announcement distinguishes the SSH feature that shipped from its Cloud waitlist.
What does each tool do for dispatch, review, installation and updates?
Herdr can organize terminal panes, launch agents, send prompts and wait for their state. Its saved SSH machines can also be targeted from the CLI with --machine, as the current automation and machine guides show. An agent becoming idle or done says nothing by itself about whether anyone reviewed or merged its code.
Clawdline can dispatch a task with a declared write scope to another session and keep delivery, review and integration separate. An assistant reporting completion does not mean its changes have landed. Delivered is not landed explains the evidence behind those states. This does not imply that cross-machine child dispatch is available.
The install instructions differ as of this check. Herdr documents direct one-line installation for Linux and macOS, a Windows installer, and package-manager routes. Direct installs use herdr update; Homebrew, mise and Nix installs update through their respective managers. Its install and update guide gives the commands. Clawdline’s public v0.10.0 release now contains macOS and Linux archives, a signed release manifest and SHA-256 checksums for its one-line installer; the release installation guide explains installation and updates. This route starts with a terminal command. A signed and notarized Mac DMG for direct browser download has not been published, and the guided phone and second-machine first-run flow is still being integrated and verified. Check the current release assets before trying it.
Return to your own work: which entry point fits it?
If you want a persistent terminal workspace whose panes you can revisit over SSH, including from a phone, Herdr has that route today. If Claude Code and Codex are already running in iTerm2 and tmux and you want to find those sessions without moving them, Clawdline fits that starting point. Its task record also helps when you need to distinguish delivery from review and merging. Its phone-browser route is still a Cloud preview.
For the Mac and Linux sessions in the opening example, decide what you need to reopen: the same terminal panes, or a list of existing sessions and the next task awaiting you. Start with Herdr’s work guide for the former, or Clawdline’s Stations guide for the latter. If you want to try Clawdline, follow its release installation guide.