# Brainf*ck — Development Tool

> Esoteric programming language IDE for minimalist coding challenges. (iPhone/iPad app by macflash.ru.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brainfck/id493926421 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [macflash.ru](https://appshunter.io/developer/493926424)
- Category: Developer Tools, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 2.90/5 from 10 App Store ratings · 10 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 8 MB
- Languages: American English, Russian
- Released: 2012-01-13
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: freemium
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brainfck/id493926421/reviews.md

## What is Brainf*ck?

Brain***k IDE is an esoteric programming language created in 1993 by Urban Müller, and is notable for its extreme minimalism.

The language consists of only eight simple commands and an instruction pointer. While it is fully Turing complete, it is not intended for practical use, but to challenge and amuse programmers. Brain***k simply requires one to break commands into microscopic steps.

The language's name is a reference to the slang term Brain***k, which refers to things so complicated or unusual that they exceed the limits of one's understanding.

History

In 1992, Urban Müller, a Swiss physics student, took over a small online archive for Amiga software. The archive grew more popular, and was soon mirrored around the world. Today, it is the world's largest Amiga archive, known as Aminet.

Müller designed Brain***k with the goal of implementing it with the smallest possible compiler, inspired by the 1024-byte compiler for the FALSE programming language. Müller's original compiler was implemented in machine language and compiled to a binary with a size of 296 bytes. He uploaded the first Brain***k compiler to Aminet in 1993. The program came with a "Readme" file, which briefly described the language, and challenged the reader "Who can program anything useful with it? :)". Müller also included an interpreter and some quite elaborate examples. A second version of the compiler used only 240 bytes.

As Aminet grew, the compiler became popular among the Amiga community, and in time it was implemented for other platforms. Several Brainf*ck compilers have been made smaller than 200 bytes, and one is only 100 bytes.

Language design

The language consists of eight commands, listed below. A Brain***k program is a sequence of these commands, possibly interspersed with other characters (which are ignored). The commands are executed sequentially, with some exceptions: an instruction pointer begins at the first command, and each command it points to is executed, after which it normally moves forward to the next command. The program terminates when the instruction pointer moves past the last command.

The Brain***k language uses a simple machine model consisting of the program and instruction pointer, as well as an array of at least 30,000 byte cells initialized to zero; a movable data pointer (initialized to point to the leftmost byte of the array); and two streams of bytes for input and output (most often connected to a keyboard and a monitor respectively, and using the ASCII character encoding).

Privacy policy: https://static.macflash.ru/PRIVACY_POLICY_EN
Terms of use: https://static.macflash.ru/TERMS_OF_USE_EN

## Key features

- Minimalist command set
- Turing complete language
- Instruction pointer execution
- Byte cell array
- Data pointer movement
- Input/Output streams

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium year | $4.99 | per year |
| Premium month | $1.49 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium unlimited | $9.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 10)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brainfck/id493926421/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Не работает просит подписку

*2025-05-12*

Не работает, просит подписку

### 4/5 — this is great

*2025-04-10*

I have not figured out how to save my stupid code other than to copy/paste to notepad. I just discovered the language, and it is brilliant.

I’d write a question through the application, but it seems to use my personal ID.

Anyway, I’ve got a wonky work around for a wonky language. I’m super glad I can play with this on my phone. 👍

### 1/5 — ネタ言語に金払うやついる？？？？

*2024-12-16*

こんなネタ言語に金払いたくないです　実行するだけでお金いるとかふざけてます

### 3/5 — Why are you charging people

*2021-08-14*

Why are you charging $15, it’s a programming language designed to be as bad as possible.

### 1/5 — Need time

*2021-02-05*

You're going to have to 30 seconds to evaluate. Until then-delete.

### 5/5 — Лучший редактор

*2020-08-21*

Все диалекты, купил полную версию! Снос башки!

### 5/5 — When your tired - this is fun!

*2019-01-17*

Just copy and paste this in!

++++++++[>++++[>++>+++>+++>+<<<<-]>+>+>->>+[<]<-]>>.>---.+++++++..+++.>>.<-.<.+++.------.--------.>>+.>++.

Hello World!

**Developer response:** Please check new version and write me from application.

### 1/5 — Not working on ios 10

*2017-01-22*

Code won't run.

**Developer response:** Please check new version and write me from application.

### 5/5 — Finally a BF interpreter for the iPad!

*2016-08-16*

I thought I was going to have to make myself. I will suggest a few things on the developer website. Fantastic start!

### 2/5 — Looks swell, but..?

*2015-02-04*

The app looks and runs brilliantly, I really dig the UI. However, I have been unable to find out how to run the code I write, and there is no help section for how to use the app it seems. Please, how do I run the code I have written? Also, it would be nice if there was an enter key so code could be formatted nicer across multiple lines. With these features (being able to run code + having a hard return key) is easily rate this app a 5/5.

**Developer response:** Please check new version and write me from application.

## Frequently asked questions about Brainf*ck

### What is Brainf*ck?

Brainf*ck is an esoteric programming language created in 1993 by Urban Müller. It is known for its extreme minimalism, using only eight simple commands.

### What are the main commands in Brainf*ck?

The eight commands are: '>' (increment data pointer), '<' (decrement data pointer), '+' (increment byte at data pointer), '-' (decrement byte at data pointer), '.' (output byte at data pointer), ',' (input byte and store at data pointer), '[' (jump forward past matching ']' if byte at data pointer is zero), and ']' (jump backward to matching '[' if byte at data pointer is non-zero).

### Is Brainf*ck suitable for practical use?

No, Brainf*ck is not intended for practical use. Its design is meant to challenge and amuse programmers by requiring them to break commands into microscopic steps.

### What are the subscription plans for Brainf*ck?

Brainf*ck offers a 'Premium month' for $1.49 and a 'Premium year' for $4.99. These plans likely offer enhanced features or an ad-free experience, though specific details are not provided.

### What devices does Brainf*ck support?

Brainf*ck is available on macOS, iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It is designed to run across Apple's ecosystem.

### How often is Brainf*ck updated?

The latest version, 2.5, was released on July 17, 2021. The update frequency for Brainf*ck is not explicitly stated, but this indicates it receives periodic maintenance.

### What is the age rating for Brainf*ck?

Brainf*ck has an age rating of 12+. This suggests it is suitable for users aged 12 and above.

### What is the user sentiment for Brainf*ck based on ratings?

Brainf*ck has an average rating of 2.9 stars from 10 ratings. This indicates a mixed to slightly negative user reception.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.5 — 2021-07-17

Scheduled library updates

### 2.4.1 — 2020-07-20

Bugfix for retry restoring purchases.

### 2.4 — 2020-07-08

Remove YandexMetrika;
Add AppHud.

### 2.3 — 2020-06-26

Fixed bugs related to purchases

### 2.2.1 — 2020-06-21

In this update, a bug was fixed leading to an unexpected termination of the program if the config file was not accessible for some reason (for example, the lack of Internet).

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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 2026-08-24.*