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a-Shell mini

a-Shell mini

*Local* Unix terminal (& ssh)

113 ratings
87 reviews
#61 in free Developer Tools
📚 Education
🛠️ Developer Tools
Free

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • December 9, 2020
  • July 2, 2026

Features

Developer

Nicolas Holzschuch
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a-Shell mini screenshot #1 for iPhone
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iphone
ipad
📈no. 61
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📌Ready
Reviews summary↘︎
⭐87
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📝14+ tags
Tags↘︎
🔄6+ apps
Alternatives↘︎
❓5 answered
FAQ↘︎
📦~ in 2 weeks
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About

Run Unix commands locally on your iOS device with a powerful terminal emulator. Supports file transfer, editing, scripting with Python and Lua, and network utilities. Integrates with Shortcuts and supports multiple windows for multitasking.

✓Local Unix terminal emulator
✓SSH client
✓File transfer (scp, curl)
✓Text editing (vim, ed)
✓Scripting (Python, Lua, JavaScript)
✓Network utilities (nslookup, ping)
✓Shortcuts integration
✓Multi-window support
Show original description

What users say

Summarized from real user reviews of a. Based on 113 reviews and a 4.6/5 average, it highlights the 20 positives and 13 negatives reviewers mention most about this Developer Tools app.

Positive things

  • 👍Great app for shortcuts
  • 🚀Efficient and functional
  • 💡Useful for IT tasks
  • ✨Free and awesome
  • 💻Good for remote server connection
  • 🔧Lightweight and easy to use
  • 🌟Amazing minimal version
  • 👍Swiss army knife on iOS
  • 🚀Fast response from developer
  • 👍Works perfectly with shortcuts
  • 💻Useful for Vim editing
  • 👍Great GUI and ease of use
  • ⌨️Easy to type and use arrow keys
  • ✅Does what it's supposed to
  • 👍Perfect complement to a-shell
  • 🚀Fast load times
  • 💯Absolutely fantastic
  • 👍Great for Git CLI
  • 💻Useful for SSH
  • ✨Innovative functionality

Negative things

  • 🐛Font size not adjustable
  • 🐛Keyboard icons too large
  • 🐛App deletes itself
  • 🐛Rotating screen scrambles display
  • 🐛Pasting text shows strange characters
  • 🐛Only uses half the screen
  • 🐛Command not found errors
  • 🐛App crashes on launch
  • 🐛Cannot get absolute path
  • 🐛Cannot execute own programs
  • 🐛File association issues
  • 🐛Copy/paste selection issues
  • 🐛No module named requests in shortcuts
See all reviews

What's New in a

2.1.0

July 2, 2026

- fixed a major cause of crash at startup - $TERM is now xterm-256colors (it enables many more options in curses) - store bookmarks for already accessible directories - get the volume name as a bookmark when you select a mounted device with pickFolder - fixed issues with reloading in internalbrowser - added more optional entitlements for interacting with the system using pyobjc

More

Charts

Top Free

📈 61+1

Developer Tools

This app rose +1 position in Developer Tools chart.

Last updated on August 8, 2026.

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

use "unset PKG_SERVER"

it will make pkg command work
VellaLomda!VellaLomda!

字体

字体大小没法调节
Anonymousl234Anonymousl234

Response from developer

Try "config -s " followed by the new size.

Bad update (temporarily, it's fixed!)

Edit: Great developer, it's fixed! 5 stars 🤩

This app and the full a-shell are amazing. The recent update to version 2 makes the keyboard icons comically large on the left side and unusable on the right side. Of course apple doesn't allow us consumers to install a previous version of the app so I'm stuck with this unwanted change. Please add option to use old keyboard buttons, the new ones are such a disaster.
Show more
brucebruce10brucebruce10

Response from developer

I don’t understand the issue that you describe (and it doesn’t happen on my test devices). If you could send a more detailed description with screenshots to another_shell@icloud.com? (Or using any of the bug reporting methods detailed in “help”)

What would be the root password?

It doesn’t know what is “sudo”. How can I install something with “sudo apt-get install”?
rsumon26rsumon26

Response from developer

There is no way to sudo here. a-Shell is using your iPhone filesystem. Sudo would give you the ability to destroy your phone. You can install packages with “pkg”.

Bad update

This app and the full a-shell are amazing. The recent update to version 2 makes the keyboard icons comically large on the left side and unusable on the right side. Of course apple doesn't allow us consumers to install a previous version of the app so I'm stuck with this unwanted change. Please add option to use old keyboard buttons, the new ones are such a disaster.
Show more
brucebruce10brucebruce10

Response from developer

I don’t understand the issue that you describe (and it doesn’t happen on my test devices). If you could send a more detailed description with screenshots to another_shell@icloud.com? (Or using any of the bug reporting methods detailed in “help”)

See 82 more reviews

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User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

12 issues

Keyboard icons comically large

Bug

App deletes itself

Bug

Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display

Bug

Pasting text results in strange characters

Bug

App only uses half of the screen when editing files

Bug

Command not found errors for all commands

Bug

App crashes on launch after update

Bug

Cannot get own absolute path

Bug

Cannot execute own programs

Bug

App messes up .txt file association

Bug

Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste

Bug

No module named requests in shortcuts

Bug
✨

Requested Features

8 requests

Option to use old keyboard buttons

Feature

Add openssl support

Feature

Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg

Feature

Support telnet command

Feature

Add possibility to compile from source

Feature

Make Ubuntu default

Feature

Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})

Feature

Adjustable font size

Feature

FAQ

What is a-Shell mini?

a-Shell mini is a local terminal emulator for iOS devices that allows you to run most Unix commands directly on your device. It supports file transfers, text editing, scripting with languages like Python and Lua, and various network utilities.

What are the key features of a-Shell mini?

Key features include a local Unix terminal, SSH client, file transfer capabilities using scp and curl, text editing with vim and ed, scripting support for Python, Lua, and JavaScript, network utilities like nslookup and ping, integration with Shortcuts, and multi-window support for multitasking.

How much does a-Shell mini cost?

Based on the provided information, a-Shell mini is a paid application. It does not have in-app purchases or ads, indicating a one-time purchase model.

What are some common use cases for a-Shell mini?

Common use cases include running Unix commands for development or system administration tasks on the go, editing files locally, scripting automation with Python or Lua, transferring files securely via SSH, and utilizing network diagnostic tools directly from your iOS device.

What are the compatibility requirements for a-Shell mini?

a-Shell mini requires iPadOS 13 or later to utilize its multi-window capabilities. It is designed to run efficiently on iOS devices, with commands compiled for native Arm64 format.