Herald - The Self Hosted Mcp Bridge Between Claude Chat And Claude Code

What is Herald?

Herald is a self-hosted MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that bridges Claude Chat to Claude Code using Anthropic’s official Custom Connectors protocol. It enables you to dispatch coding tasks from Claude Chat (on your phone, tablet, or browser) to Claude Code running on your workstation, and to push session context back from Claude Code to Herald for remote monitoring and continuation from another device. Your code never leaves your machine—Herald orchestrates the connection.

How to use Herald?

Install the single Go binary via the install script or build from source (Go 1.26+). Configure a YAML file with your server domain, projects, and optional ngrok tunnel. Run herald serve to start the server, then add a Custom Connector in Claude Chat pointing to https://your-domain.com/mcp and authenticate via OAuth. Claude Chat automatically discovers 10 MCP tools for controlling your workstation.

Key features of Herald

• Native MCP bridge using Anthropic’s official protocol
• Async task execution with progress checking and results
• Git branch isolation per task; main branch stays untouched
• Bidirectional bridge: Claude Chat → Claude Code and Claude Code → Herald
• Multi-project support with per-project tool restrictions
• SQLite persistence for task history across restarts
• Single ~15MB Go binary, zero CGO, only 6 dependencies

Use cases of Herald

• Refactor code, run tests, or commit changes from your phone via Claude Chat
• Monitor long-running Claude Code tasks remotely and check progress
• Start a task on your workstation, then continue the session from another device
• Push a Claude Code session from your terminal to Herald for later pickup on mobile

FAQ from Herald

What is Herald and how does it work?

Herald is a self-hosted MCP server that connects Claude Chat to Claude Code. It exposes tools like start_task, check_task, and get_result so Claude Chat can launch and monitor coding tasks on your workstation. Claude Code can also push session context back to Herald via herald_push for remote continuation.

What are the prerequisites to run Herald?

You need Claude Code CLI installed on your workstation and HTTPS access to Herald—either via a domain with a reverse proxy or using the built-in ngrok tunnel (free plan works). No Docker, runtime, or node_modules required.

Is my code safe with Herald?

Yes. Your code never leaves your machine. Herald only orchestrates the connection between Claude Chat and Claude Code; all file operations happen locally on your workstation.

How do I install Herald?

Run the install script: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/btouchard/herald/main/install.sh | sh. Alternatively, clone the repo and run make build (requires Go 1.26+). The binary is about 15MB.

What tools does Herald expose to Claude Chat?

Herald exposes 10 MCP tools: start_task, check_task, get_result, list_tasks, cancel_task, get_diff, list_projects, read_file, herald_push, and get_logs. They are automatically discovered by Claude Chat via the MCP protocol.