# a-Shell — *Local* Unix terminal (& ssh)

> Local Unix terminal emulator for iOS with scripting and programming capabilities. (iPhone/iPad app by Nicolas Holzschuch.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell/id1473805438 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Nicolas Holzschuch](https://appshunter.io/developer/1450994948)
- Category: Developer Tools, Productivity
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 535 App Store ratings · 283 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 14.0 · 1.9 GB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish
- Released: 2019-10-25
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell/id1473805438/reviews.md

## What is a?

a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2. 
Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS.

a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. 

There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. 

a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps...

a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. 

Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc).

a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.

## Key features

- Local Unix terminal emulator
- SSH client
- File transfer (scp, curl)
- Text editing (vim, ed)
- Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS)
- C/C++ compiler
- TeX distribution

## Chart rankings

- #21 in Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

## What do users think of a?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Powerful terminal with Linux commands
- 👍 Useful for programming and development
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 💡 Impressive capabilities for an iOS app
- 👍 Helpful documentation and developer support

**Cons**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Missing some basic terminal features
- 🔍 Compatibility issues with certain packages

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
- Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
- Sourcing certain script files causes crashes

**Most requested features**

- Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
- Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
- Integrate Git for version control
- Allow installing additional packages and libraries
- Improve clipboard and file management integration

## Recent user reviews (10 of 283)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell/id1473805438/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Let me try because I was just searching on Safari so I wanted to use it

*2026-08-26, version 2.1.0*

On Safari, I wanted to use it just to download a vanity mod

### 5/5 — Battle cats

*2026-08-25, version 2.1.0*

I use this for hacking battle cats as it is safer than other methods, it is smooth and works well for iOS. I still suck at battle cats :( this is very helpful though!!!

### 5/5 — amazing

*2026-08-04, version 2.1.0*

used to edit my save file in battle cats absolutely fantastic

### 4/5 — Please enable location tracking so this can run in the BG like termius recently did

*2026-07-11, version 2.1.0*

Flaws: Cant tap to move cursor when using terminal history, does't autoscroll down when using ffmpeg

Trying it out sinch ISH hasn't been 
updated in a while.  SSH and Ffmpeg are installed here by default, the main things I use the phone terminal on ish for, converting media and sshing though a terminal because It feels better than using the "moden" interface terminal apps use, not many extra pkgs available like ish which has thousands since its alpine, but its a very smooth and easy experience here.  Upside here is the file system is always visible, the other app it only shows up when the app is open and if clicked through the app, its much easier to add files to the folder for this app.

You can install nnn to make file browsing easier.  Connecting by sftp/scp works but lacks autofill which is slightly annoying

### 4/5 — Overall amazing

*2026-07-03, version 2.1.0*

This is a really good app. I love it. Just one issue, nano in ssh doesn’t seem to scale properly and it displays weirdly, when I try to delete things where my cursor is isn’t actually where it’s deleting (this is in ssh). Apart from that, this app really push the limits of iOS. I am amazed by the fact that I can just start a python http server and other devices can connect to it. The ssh is really easy to use. I understand that apple has heavy restrictions on code execution so that (full) package management cannot be implemented and we can’t execute UNIX apps. But overall really impressive.

### 4/5 — The battle cats.

*2026-07-03, version 2.1.0*

I’ve seen a tutorial on YouTube that came out like last year on how to hack the game. I copied everything but it was a little different than what he was doing and I couldn’t do anything about it. Just wondering if I could get some help. But overall I like the idea of the app

### 3/5 — New UI is confusing

*2026-06-29, version 2.0.3*

Very confused by the new multi-arrow buttons on iPhone. They don’t seem to do anything. Am I doing something wrong?

### 1/5 — 시발

*2026-06-27*

해킹앱 같네 삭제도 안돼고 시발련아

### 3/5 — 何故なのか…

*2026-06-20*

腹立つわ〜

$ pip check
curl-cffi 0.15.1 has requirement cffi>=2.0.0, but you have cffi 1.17.1.

$ pip install --upgrade cffi
Successfully installed cffi-2.0.0

$ pip check
cffi 2.0.0 is not supported on this platform

**Developer response:** Thanks for raising this issue. Despite what "pip check" says, curl-cffi still works. You should remove the cffi-2.0 that you installed in order to go back to the pre-installed version.

### 1/5 — 一坨大的

*2026-06-14, version 2.0.3*

想要搞啥命令都没有，比原来的系统少了一堆东西，还不如用ish

## Frequently asked questions about a

### What is a-Shell?

a-Shell is a powerful local terminal emulator for iOS devices. It allows you to run a Unix-like command-line environment directly on your device, enabling you to execute a wide variety of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers.

### What programming languages and tools are included?

The app includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, and C++ for programming. It also features a TeX distribution (texlive 2025) for text processing, along with network utilities like nslookup, ping, and ifconfig.

### How much does a-Shell cost?

a-Shell is a paid application. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements within the app.

### What are the system requirements for a-Shell?

a-Shell requires iOS 13 or later. It leverages iOS 13+'s 'multiple windows' ability, allowing you to run multiple terminal sessions simultaneously.

### Can I use a-Shell with Shortcuts?

Yes, a-Shell integrates with iOS Shortcuts. You can create custom workflows to run commands, process files within a-Shell, and transfer results to other apps or receive files from them.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.1.0 — 2026-07-01

- moved to texlive-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

### 2.0.3 — 2026-05-27

- fixed an issue with "cd -" in dash
- fixed an issue with Thai keyboards
- removed automatic autocomplete after completing a directory

### 2.0.2 — 2026-05-15

Multiple improvements over versions 2.0.0 and 2.0.1:
- single-arrow buttons by default for iPhones that don't have LiquidGlass (iOS 18 and below)
- brought back the ability to have the old toolbar on iPads (a fix for iPads where the standard toolbar does not appear)
- fix for pickFolder inside other commands
- fix for ffmpeg and control-C
- fix for escape sequences (\033) in prompt definitions
- several fixes for ssh and ssh-agent inside dash
- openurl does not percent-encode urls that are already percent-encoded 
- openurl checks that is has a valid URL

### 2.0.1 — 2026-05-06

- Fixes three bugs that were present in version 2.0.0, plus everything that was already present in version 2.0.0:
- new terminal rendering system (SwiftTerm), much faster than the previous one, but with incompatible changes
- better integration with VoiceOver
- better autocomplete
- new config options, for blinking cursors
- multi-arrow buttons on iPhones
- better user interface for the internal browser
- added Python package: curl-cffi

### 2.0.0 — 2026-05-01

- new terminal rendering system (SwiftTerm), much faster than the previous one, but with incompatible changes
- better integration with VoiceOver
- better autocomplete
- new config options, for blinking cursors
- multi-arrow buttons on iPhones
- better user interface for the internal browser
- added Python package: curl-cffi

## Apps similar to a

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Termius - Modern SSH Client](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/termius-modern-ssh-client/id549039908) | 4.7 (18,903) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [NeoServer SSH Mosh Terminal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/neoserver-ssh-mosh-terminal/id6448362669) | 4.8 (289) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [WebSSH - Sysadmin Toolbox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/webssh-sysadmin-toolbox/id497714887) | 4.7 (2,515) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [SSH Client - Terminal & Termux](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ssh-client-terminal-and-termux/id1475741280) | 3.6 (406) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [SSH Client - Secure ShellFish](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ssh-client-secure-shellfish/id1336634154) | 4.8 (1,468) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [GitHub](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/github/id1477376905) | 4.8 (36,037) | Free | Developer Tools |

## More apps by Nicolas Holzschuch

- [Carnets - Jupyter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carnets-jupyter/id1450994949)
- [a-Shell mini](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943)
- [Carnets - Jupyter (with scipy)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carnets-jupyter-with-scipy/id1559497253)

All apps by Nicolas Holzschuch: https://appshunter.io/developer/1450994948

## Related topics

[nicolas holzschuch](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nicolas-holzschuch) · [terminal emulator plus](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/terminal-emulator-plus) · [linux shell](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/linux-shell) · [unix terminal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/unix-terminal) · [unix](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/unix) · [terminal master](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/terminal-master) · [cpcemu](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cpcemu) · [tamtam terminal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/tamtam-terminal) · [terminal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/terminal) · [terminal emulator](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/terminal-emulator) · [emacs](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/emacs) · [ostconf](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ostconf) · [blink shell](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/blink-shell) · [terminal app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/terminal-app) · [utm se qemu](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/utm-se-qemu) · [ish sheel](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ish-sheel) · [issh](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/issh) · [shell](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shell) · [linux terminal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/linux-terminal) · [xterminal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/xterminal)

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*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 2026-08-27.*