Your first two weeks with the herd

The five phases

Day 1 through the end of week 2

Read each phase before you start it. What actually happened decides what comes next.

1. 01

   Day 1 · Technical owner

   Stand it up

   Connect one device and one repository, so an agent has somewhere to work.

   Sign-up is invite-only right now. Request access before you start.

   • Sign in and open Set up → Devices.
   • Set up agent isolation, then run ch device-server on a machine that already builds and tests your code.
   • Add one repository under Set up → Repos.

   Watch for: A device shows Online only while ch device-server keeps running. A machine that sleeps goes Offline within about a minute.

   Done when:

   • The device shows Online.
   • The repository appears under Set up → Repos.
   Get started →Where agents run →Agent isolation →Will it work on my codebase? →
2. 02

   Day 2 · The person with the idea

   Hand over one small task

   File one bounded, checkable brief. Watch the herd build it.

   • Pick one small, well-understood job from the starter briefs.
   • Copy the brief. Edit only the parts specific to your repo.
   • File it as a task, then watch it move through plan and into code.

   Watch for: With a vague brief, the agent asks what "done" means. The task then moves to Blocked with a question. Answer it on the task page.

   Done when:

   • The task reaches review with a pull request or merge request attached.
   • The acceptance criteria are checkable against the real result.
   Starter briefs →Writing a brief →
3. 03

   Days 3 to 5 · The approver

   Read the gates before the diff

   Learn what each stage's gate checks for you, before you widen the work.

   • Read the hand-off comment review leaves on the task.
   • Check what an approval gate holds, and what it does not.
   • Read what verify confirms before a task reaches done.

   Watch for: No built-in workflow has an approval gate. Add one to the entry stage (Starter plan or higher). Or turn on a required approval on your git host.

   Done when:

   • You can name what each gate checks before it lets a task through.
   • You know which stage, if any, needs your sign-off before it starts.
   Verification →When it gets it wrong →Approvals & staying in control →How work flows →
4. 04

   Week 2 · Technical owner

   Run three tasks at once

   Route more than one task to more than one agent, without them colliding.

   • Give a second agent a capability label (Starter plan or higher).
   • File three tasks that touch different parts of the repo.
   • Watch each one work in its own isolated git worktree.

   Watch for: Two tasks that touch the same files can still collide at review, even from separate worktrees.

   Done when:

   • Three tasks run at once, each claimed by a distinct agent.
   • Each task's change stays inside the part of the repo it was meant for.
   Use cases →Capabilities →Assigning and claiming work →Isolating agent runs on a device →
5. 05

   End of week 2 · The person with the idea

   Decide on your own numbers

   Read what the first two weeks cost and shipped. Then price the next month from your own data.

   • Read the per-task cost on each task you ran.
   • Estimate next month's spend with the calculator, using your own rate.
   • Pick a plan. On Pro, also set a task budget or a spend cap.

   Watch for: After one send-back, the next code run asks for an Opus-tier agent. Rework costs more for that reason.

   Done when:

   • You can state what the first two weeks cost, in your own numbers.
   • You have a plan for month two, priced from what you actually saw.
   Calculator →Pricing →Understanding costs →

What to measure

Four things CodeHerder already reports

CodeHerder sets no target number and no benchmark. Read your own two weeks. Then decide what good looks like for your team.