head to head · open source
herdr vs Zellij
herdr has 47,915 GitHub stars, 3,844 forks, 337 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Zellij has 35,936 stars, 1,519 forks, 1,915 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. herdr leads on adoption by 33% (47,915 vs 35,936 stars). herdr is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Zellij is written in Rust under MIT. herdr has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Zellij 4%. Zellij was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (multiplexer), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| herdr | Zellij | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 36K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick herdr if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Zellij if
- You want the Zellij feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Zellij fits your workflow better
About herdr
herdr herdr.dev · install · quick start · docs English · 简体中文 the runtime your coding agents live on. detach without stopping work — herdr keeps terminals running in a background server when you close the client or lose your SSH connection. after a server or machine restart, herdr restores the saved layout and can resume supported agent sessions; the original processes do not survive. session state → several machines, one window — keep local work and saved ssh machines together, with a combined agent list and independent reconnects. remote machines → never hunt for the stuck one — every pane is marked working…
read the full herdr overview →
About Zellij
Zellij [ Installation ] [ Screencasts & Tutorials ] [ Configuration ] [ Layouts ] [ FAQ ] What is this? Zellij is a workspace aimed at developers, ops oriented people and anyone who loves the terminal. Similar programs are sometimes called "Terminal Multiplexers". Zellij is designed around the philosophy that one must not sacrifice simplicity for power, taking pride in its great experience out of the box as well as the advanced features it places at its users' fingertips. Zellij is geared toward beginner and power users alike allowing deep customizability, personal automation through layouts, true multiplayer…
read the full Zellij overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is herdr or Zellij more popular?
herdr has 47,915 GitHub stars and Zellij has 35,936. herdr has the larger community by that measure.
Are herdr and Zellij free?
Both are open source. herdr is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zellij under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between herdr and Zellij?
herdr is written in Rust and Zellij in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, herdr or Zellij?
Choose herdr if you want the larger community (47,915 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Zellij if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.