Bring Herdr spaces and AI coding agents into VS Code. See every project at a glance, switch between their VS Code windows, and jump directly to an active agent.

Features

Separate Spaces and Agents lists in the Herdr Activity Bar.
Live agent status, Git branch names, and the active agent in the status bar.
An overall Herdr status item with links to every agent across all Spaces.
Click a Space to switch to its VS Code window without opening a terminal.
Click an Agent to switch windows and focus its pane in either the full Herdr UI or a dedicated direct-attach terminal.
Direct Agent terminals use Herdr's session-control bridge, so VS Code owns each terminal and no Herdr Ctrl-B prefix is required.
Use a Space's terminal button to attach from that Space's VS Code window.
Start Claude Code, Codex, or custom agents in dedicated Herdr tabs.
Close Spaces from the … menu, with a warning when non-shell processes are running.
Run Herdr on the local host when VS Code is connected to a Dev Container.

Requirements

VS Code 1.96 or later
Herdr 0.8.0 or later, available as herdr on PATH

If Herdr is installed elsewhere, set herdr.executable to its path.

Herdr Switcher is a UI extension: Herdr and configured agents run on the machine where VS Code is installed. Dev Container workspaces are associated with their decoded host path, while navigation still reopens the corresponding container window. Other VS Code remote types are not currently supported.

Getting started

Open a folder in VS Code. The extension creates or associates its Herdr Space.
Open the Herdr icon in the Activity Bar to see all Spaces and Agents.
Select a Space or Agent to navigate. Use the Agents header buttons to choose an agent or start the default one.

Herdr remains the source of truth. Cross-window actions are delivered through short-lived Herdr metadata intents, so each VS Code window can handle navigation for its own Space.

Configuration

herdr.executable: Herdr executable path
herdr.session: optional named Herdr session
herdr.refreshInterval: fallback snapshot interval in milliseconds when Herdr's event stream is unavailable
herdr.createSpaceOnOpen: automatically create or associate Spaces
herdr.terminalLocation: open Herdr in the Terminal view (panel) or as a pinned editor (editor)
herdr.agentTerminalMode: use the full Herdr UI (herdr, default) or a dedicated terminal session control terminal per Agent pane (direct); restart the Extension Host after changing it
herdr.agents: agents available from the Add Agent picker
herdr.defaultAgent: agent launched by the + button

All settings are user-level settings. The default agents are Claude Code and Codex:

The default terminal location is panel. VS Code does not expose a dedicated Secondary Side Bar terminal location, but if you move the Terminal view there, Herdr follows it.

{
  "herdr.agents": [
    { "name": "Claude Code", "command": ["claude"], "kind": "claude" },
    { "name": "Codex", "command": ["codex"], "kind": "codex" }
  ],
  "herdr.defaultAgent": "Claude Code"
}