agentists-quickstart

August 24, 2026 · View on GitHub

Turns a bare Debian/Ubuntu VPS into a working Claude Code/Codex + herdr coding environment. Two scripts, nothing else required.

Quick start

On a fresh headless server (not your laptop/desktop — see below):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jedarden/agentists-quickstart/main/bootstrap.sh | bash

The very first time, run source ~/.profile (or just reconnect over SSH) once — ~/.local/bin didn't exist yet when this shell logged in, so it isn't on PATH until the next login. bootstrap.sh will tell you if this applies. After that, any time you want to start or rejoin a session, from any shell:

start.sh

This prompts for Claude Code or Codex. To skip the selection prompt, specify the agent explicitly:

start.sh --agent claude
start.sh --agent codex

--claude and --codex are equivalent shortcuts. The selected agent also becomes the default for new Herdr panes.

What each script does

  • bootstrap.sh — one-time setup. Installs Claude Code, Codex, and herdr, wires up both Herdr agent integrations, and sets up start.sh + a passwordless-sudo rule it needs for OOM protection. Safe to re-run — every step is idempotent.
  • start.sh — selects an agent and launches a session. Run from a plain terminal, it launches/attaches Herdr and the selected agent runs inside it automatically.

Not for your personal computer

bootstrap.sh runs the agents with their approval and sandbox checks bypassed. That's fine on a dedicated VPS; it's not something you want on a machine with your own files, browser sessions, or SSH keys on it. bootstrap.sh checks for signs it's running on a laptop/desktop (chassis type, battery, an active display) and asks for explicit confirmation before proceeding if so.

Prerequisites

  • A Debian or Ubuntu VPS (apt-based — other distros aren't supported yet)
  • A user with sudo access

Part of jedarden.com · Read the write-up: jedarden.com/guides/workflow/

This GitHub repo is a read-only mirror of git.ardenone.com/jedarden/agentists-quickstart — issues and PRs are welcome here either way.