How to get on the beta

[julianoczkowski]

Herdloom is in a private beta. There is no public download yet, and access is handed out a few people at a time so that problems get answered properly rather than piling up.

What you need

A Mac	macOS on Apple Silicon. There is no Windows build, and no Intel build yet.
git	Installed, with your name and email set.
At least one coding agent CLI	Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode or Antigravity — installed and signed in with your own account.
A repository to point it at	A real one you work in. The demo board is there to look around, but the beta is only useful against your own code.

Herdloom drives the agent CLIs you already have, under your own subscriptions. It adds no cost of its own, there is no account to create, and nothing runs through a server of mine.

The GitHub CLI (gh), signed in, is worth having too — the app uses it to check for new builds. Without it the app still works, it just will not tell you when there is an update.

How to ask

Start a new discussion in this category and say:

1. What you would use it for. One real piece of work you would hand to an agent — not "trying it out". This is the part I actually read.
2. Which agent CLIs you have, and which you use most.
3. What your repository looks like — rough size, language, whether it has tests.
4. Your Mac — chip and macOS version.

That is it. No form, no waiting list position, no company email required.

What happens next

I reply in your thread. If it is a fit, I send you the download and how updates work. If the timing is wrong I will say so plainly rather than leave you wondering.

What I ask in return

Tell me when it gets in your way. The most useful thing you can send is a description of the work you were doing and where the tool stopped short — screenshots help, and Settings → Agents → Save a report builds a redacted bundle of logs you can attach.

You are not obliged to use it, write anything up, or be nice about it. If you try it twice and never again, saying why is worth more than politeness.

What it does not do yet

• macOS on Apple Silicon only. No Windows, no Intel.
• It is a beta. It runs coding agents that change files in your repositories. Keep your work in version control and review what lands — the same as you would with any agent.
• Things move quickly and the changelog is the contract.

Before you ask

• What Herdloom is — the shortest honest description.
• The documentation — all of it, written for users.

Security issues go to a private advisory, never a public post.