Install Herdr

Stable Herdr binaries are published for Linux and macOS on x86_64 and ARM64. Native Windows support remains preview-only beta.

Direct install

On Linux or macOS:

curl -fsSL https://herdr.chefgroep.nl/install.sh | sh

The installer reads the selected channel manifest, requires a 64-hex SHA-256 for the platform asset, downloads into the destination directory, verifies the binary, and only then atomically replaces herdr. A failed download or checksum leaves the existing binary untouched.

On Windows preview beta:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://herdr.chefgroep.nl/install.ps1 | iex"

Windows uses versioned install folders and a current junction so an update does not overwrite a running herdr.exe.

Homebrew

Use the GroepOnline tap for the release synchronized with Herdr’s manifest:

brew tap GroepOnline/tap
brew install GroepOnline/tap/groeponline-herdr

The formula supports Linux and macOS on Intel and ARM. Update with:

brew update
brew upgrade GroepOnline/tap/groeponline-herdr

npm or Bun

The npm package supports Linux and macOS on Intel and ARM. Its postinstall downloads the matching release binary and verifies it against SHA256SUMS before installation.

npm install --global groeponline-herdr
# or
bun add --global groeponline-herdr

Update with:

npm install --global groeponline-herdr@latest

mise

mise use -g herdr

If mise reports herdr not found in mise tool registry, update mise and retry. Older mise versions can temporarily use:

mise use -g github:GroepOnline/herdr

Update with mise upgrade herdr.

Nix

Herdr provides a flake that builds from source:

nix run github:GroepOnline/herdr/v0.x.y
nix build github:GroepOnline/herdr/v0.x.y
nix profile install github:GroepOnline/herdr/v0.x.y

Replace v0.x.y with the intended release tag. For profile installs, use nix profile list followed by nix profile upgrade <index-or-name>. For flake inputs, update the Herdr input and rebuild the owning system or environment.

Cargo

If you already use Cargo:

cargo install --git https://github.com/GroepOnline/herdr.git

This builds the current main branch. For a release build, pass the tag:

cargo install --git https://github.com/GroepOnline/herdr.git --tag v0.8.1

Building from source requires the Rust and Zig toolchains and takes longer than the direct or package-manager installs. Update a Cargo install by re-running the same command.

Manual download

Download the binary and SHA256SUMS from GitHub releases, verify the selected asset, then place it on your PATH.

System	Asset
Linux x86_64	herdr-linux-x86_64
Linux aarch64	herdr-linux-aarch64
macOS Intel	herdr-macos-x86_64
macOS Apple silicon	herdr-macos-aarch64

Example:

sha256sum --check --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS
chmod +x herdr-linux-x86_64
mv herdr-linux-x86_64 ~/.local/bin/herdr

On macOS, use shasum -a 256 --ignore-missing --check SHA256SUMS when sha256sum is unavailable.

Direct-install update channels

herdr update updates the binary that is first on PATH. Direct installs download from the configured channel. Homebrew, npm, and mise installs run their package-manager upgrade instead of failing. Nix prints the Nix upgrade path and exits 1.

If a leftover ~/.local/bin/herdr is first on PATH and a Homebrew, npm, or mise herdr is later on PATH, herdr update runs that package-manager upgrade first, then renames the leftover to herdr.direct.bak. A later Nix store path from nix shell is noted on --version but does not retire the leftover. Use herdr update --force-direct only when you want to keep updating that leftover file.

herdr --version prints the version on stdout and the binary path plus install kind (direct, homebrew, npm, mise, or nix) on stderr. herdr channel with no subcommand prints the configured channel. herdr channel set writes the channel only; run herdr update afterwards to refresh the binary.

Linux and macOS direct installs use stable by default:

herdr update
herdr channel
herdr channel set preview
herdr channel set dev
herdr channel set stable

Preview and dev are direct-install channels. Windows beta defaults to preview and cannot switch to stable until stable Windows assets exist.

A running server continues using its current process after the binary changes. Restart the default session with herdr server stop followed by herdr; restart a named session with herdr session stop <name> followed by herdr session attach <name>. herdr update --handoff remains experimental.

Verify

herdr --version
herdr

If the shell cannot find herdr, restart it or add the selected install directory to PATH.