# a-Shell mini — user reviews

> 87 indexed App Store user reviews of a by Nicolas Holzschuch, rated 4.60/5 from 113 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 95 · 4★ 7 · 3★ 3 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 7

## What do users think of a?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 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

**Cons**

- 🐛 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

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Keyboard icons comically large
- App deletes itself
- Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display
- Pasting text results in strange characters
- App only uses half of the screen when editing files
- Command not found errors for all commands
- App crashes on launch after update
- Cannot get own absolute path
- Cannot execute own programs
- App messes up .txt file association
- Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste
- No module named requests in shortcuts

**Most requested features**

- Option to use old keyboard buttons
- Add openssl support
- Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
- Support telnet command
- Add possibility to compile from source
- Make Ubuntu default
- Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
- Adjustable font size

## Newest reviews (15 of 87)

### 4/5 — What would be the root password?

*2026-05-07*

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

**Developer response:** 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”.

### 3/5 — Bad update

*2026-05-07*

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.

**Developer response:** 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”)

### 5/5 — Amazing

*2025-08-09*

Super happy with this clean interface and super functional app. I replaced an SSL certificate via my iPhone from the middle of the Pacific Crest Trail thanks to a-shell mini. Thank you devs for a great app!

### 4/5 — Add openssl support

*2025-07-18*

Please add local openssl cmd support, thanks.

### 3/5 — Falta Funcionalidades

*2025-05-04*

Aplicativo muito bom mas ainda falta recursos. Creio que a expansão de chaves é algo simples e todo shell tenha mas nesse não tem!

exemplo 

echo {a..z}

E a saida foi

{a..z}

Quando tiver novas funcionalidades basicas do shell dou 5 estrelas

### 4/5 — Rotating iPhone scrambles

*2025-04-12*

Rotating portrait/landscape scrambles the display. 1.15.11/18.3.2

### 4/5 — Deletes itself

*2024-07-21*

Works fine until it decides to delete itself.

**Developer response:** Hi, that is a feature of iOS, not of the app: the system deletes apps that have not been opened for a long time in order to save space on the device. Apparently using Shortcuts do not count. I cannot do anything about it; you can open the app regularly to avoid this feature being triggered.

### 5/5 — 멍청한 유저들아

*2024-05-21*

어플 잘못이 아니라 니네 아이폰에서 설정이 돼 있는 거임 안 쓰는 어플은 지알아서 삭제되게

**Developer response:** I understand what you are saying; to be fair to the users, that is not a very intuitive feature of iOS, and the app is being used (a lot), but somehow it doesn't register when it's started from Shortcuts.

### 5/5 — Great

*2024-05-04*

Great app.  Is it possible to includes libx265 codec for the buildin ffmpeg?  Don’t like hevc videotoolbox

**Developer response:** The latest version (1.15.9) includes h.265 encoding for ffmpeg, using the libkvazaar encoder. Activate it with "-c:v libkvazaar -tag:v hvc1".

### 5/5 — Best shell for me

*2024-03-20*

Tried many other shell apps. This and the full a-shell are now the only ones I use. No fuss, multiple window support… no need to look at any similar apps, this is the shell you need.

### 5/5 — a bug

*2024-02-11*

can't run   'python -c "import requests"' in shortcut, show error "no moduled named requests".

but it work in shell

**Developer response:** Yes, the in-extension Shortcuts are more limited (short computation time, small memory footprint) and do not have access to the files of the main app. The best way to run Shortcuts with Python is to run them "in app". To go back the the Shortcuts app afterwards, call "open shortcuts://".

### 5/5 — Bash

*2023-12-05*

How should I use the bash tool or. / ?

### 5/5 — hope support telnet command

*2023-12-04*

hope support telnet command！

**Developer response:** We do have the telnet command (since a very long time).

### 5/5 — 17.1.1 update가 필요해요ㅠㅠ

*2023-11-23*

17.1.1 update가 필요해요ㅠㅠ

### 5/5 — Very good app to

*2023-11-06*

But it is very difficult and

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — ごみ

*2026-02-28*

かすかな？何もできないんだけど

### 1/5 — 환불

*2025-08-06*

결제하라고 써있지도 않고 무룐줄 알고 깔았는데 갑자기 결제 됐습니다 환불 하려는데 왜 안되는거죠 환불 해주세요

**Developer response:** I don't fully understand your question. a-Shell mini, like all my apps, is entirely free. There is no charge, at all (no charge when downloading, no charges per month). If someone says you were charged for a-Shell mini, it's most likely a scam. You can always contact us at another_shell@icloud.com with more information.

### 1/5 — ?

*2024-12-06*

왜 자꾸 삭제됨??????

**Developer response:** Hi, that is a feature of iOS: it deletes apps that have not been opened for a long time in order to save space on the device. Apparently using Shortcuts do not count. I cannot do anything about it; you can open the app regularly to avoid this feature being triggered.

### 1/5 — 에휴

*2024-02-29, version 1.12.9*

지 혼자 삭제되고 지럴

### 1/5 — 왜 자꾸 지혼자 삭제되노

*2023-10-23*

왜이러노

**Developer response:** I think it's an iOS feature named "automatic offloading", where an app gets deleted by the system if it is never opened, to save space on the device. It seems they don't count when you use it for Shortcuts.
You can turn this feature off in the Settings app.

### 1/5 — 저절로 사라져서 미치겠다 진짜

*2023-10-17*

ㅋㅋ어이없어

**Developer response:** I think it's an iOS feature named "automatic offloading", where an app gets deleted by the system if it is never opened, to save space on the device. It seems they don't count when you use it for Shortcuts.
You can turn this feature off in the Settings app.

### 1/5 — 업데이트도 안 되고 지혼자 삭제되고

*2023-10-05*

버그 고친거 맞음?

**Developer response:** I have problems understanding exactly what the issue is here. The language barreer might be the cause. Would you mind sending a more detailed description using either e-mail (another_shell@icloud.com) or Discord ( https://discord.gg/cvYnZm69Gy)? Thank you so much.

### 1/5 — Vermurkst die App-Zuordnung von .txt-Dateien

*2023-08-12*

Unbrauchbar, vermurkst systemweit die Zuordnung von .txt-Dateien (und vermutlich andere).
Nach Installation dieses Programms öffnet das iPad Alle .txt-Dateien immer im vim-Editor. Geht natürlich gar nicht.

Da es im iPad-System keine Möglichkeit gibt, diese Zuordnung wieder aufzuheben, muss diese App leider wieder weg.

### 1/5 — 아니 왜 안깔려요

*2023-02-12*

깔고 싶어요ㅜㅜㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠ
왜자꾸 지혼자 지워져요ㅜㅜ

### 1/5 — 자꾸 혼자 삭제돼요

*2022-12-29*

왜 자꾸 혼자 삭제 되냐고요;;;;;;
진짜 짜증나 죽겠어요

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — use "unset PKG_SERVER"

*2026-07-17*

it will make pkg command work

### 5/5 — 字体

*2026-06-11*

字体大小没法调节

**Developer response:** Try "config -s " followed by the new size.

### 5/5 — Bad update (temporarily, it's fixed!)

*2026-05-15*

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.

**Developer response:** 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”)

### 5/5 — Ich bin absolut begeistert

*2026-03-20*

Seit einiger Zeit benutze ich die App und bin als Programmierer seit mehr als 40 Jahren auf den verschiedensten Systemen aktiv: MS DOS, Windows, macOS und Linux.

Jetzt kann ich auf Reisen ohne mein MacBook, Fotos und Videos von verschiedenen Geräten auf meinem iPad sammeln und daraus Diashows erstellen, diese als mp4-Videos generieren und auf github publizieren.

Zwei selbstentwickelte Python-Skripte erledigen das Ganze in a Shell mit wenig Aufwand, kurzer Durchlaufzeit und toller Qualität. 

Die Tools ffmpeg, magick und git sind genial.

Meinem allergrößten Respekt.

### 5/5 — Must have app for shortcut poweruser

*2026-01-07*

You can make shortcut do what apple haven’t implemented using this app

### 5/5 — Straordinaria

*2025-12-15, version 1.17.3*

Complimenti allo sviluppatore, ha fatto un lavoro straordinario, e soprattutto un grande grazie per aver fatto un lavoro del genere e averla lasciata gratis. imperdibile!

### 5/5 — Can you make Ubuntu default

*2025-12-06*

I need it for Ubuntu

### 5/5 — Hacks lol)

*2025-12-06*

App using for nugget/misaka26, apple lol

### 5/5 — 이거 환불

*2025-11-30*

이거 환불어케 해요  결제되는지 몰랐는데 결제됐어여 하

### 5/5 — Works

*2025-11-26, version 1.17.3*

Misaka26 works

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*