Why I use the CLI with Herdr instead of desktop apps and orchestrators

I've used the Codex, Claude Code and OpenCode desktop apps, and I've tried t3 code. I always go back to the CLI. Herdr lets me see every agent in one place, and it just works.

I've looked at Orca too, but I haven't used it for real work, so I'm leaving it out of the comparison.

What I want

I use Codex, Claude Code and OpenCode. I want to switch between them easily, and I want to see everything that's running without opening three windows.

The desktop apps

Each desktop app only runs its own harness. If I want Codex for one task and Claude Code for the next, I'm in two different apps.

I also found them less reliable than the CLI. I can't point to a specific failure for each one, so I won't make any up.

t3 code

t3 code runs the harnesses for you, but I kept getting random errors. This is one of them:

Text

ProviderAdapterProcessError:
Provider adapter process error
(codex) for thread
10a4d0db-d547-4d69-8c4c-4122dfd0e77b:
thread
01a1066d-03ba-7093-904c-c30ce75dcc4d
already has an active writer at...

The t3 code error toast reading ProviderAdapterProcessError, Provider adapter process error (codex), thread already has an active writer

I haven't traced it. My guess is that the CLIs change and t3 code doesn't keep up. Codex, Claude Code and OpenCode all move quickly, and a tool built on top has to follow all three.

The error names a provider adapter, so t3 code is going through a layer between me and the harness:

flowchart LR t3[t3 code] --> adapter[Provider adapter] adapter --> codex1[Codex CLI]

Herdr just runs the CLIs:

flowchart LR herdr[Herdr] --> codex2[Codex CLI] herdr --> claude[Claude Code CLI] herdr --> opencode[OpenCode CLI]

Herdr

I get one view of every agent, and I can start a Codex session next to a Claude Code one without leaving it.

Herdr with a sidebar listing two agents and their state, idle and working, next to two terminal panes running side by side

That's Herdr's own screenshot from its GitHub repository, not my setup. It shows the same idea: the agents side by side, with their state in the sidebar.

It runs on the same machine as the agents, so I can reach it over SSH and from my phone. Sessions carry on when I disconnect. That's what makes the setup in moving my coding agents to a VPS work.

What the CLI is worse at

Reviewing diffs is harder in a terminal than in a desktop app. Images and rich output are harder too.