# Gopher Client

> Modern Gopher browser for iOS to access Gopherspace data. (iPhone/iPad app by Charles Childers.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gopher-client/id1235310088 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Charles Childers](https://appshunter.io/developer/900749636)
- Category: Utilities, Productivity
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 27 App Store ratings · 19 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 2 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2017-06-07
- Data updated: 2026-06-01
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gopher-client/id1235310088/reviews.md

## What is Gopher Client?

"gopher n. 1. Any of various short tailed, burrowing mammals of the family Geomyidae, of North America. 2. (Amer. colloq.) Native or inhabitant of Minnesota: the Gopher State. 3. (Amer. colloq.) One who runs errands, does odd-jobs, fetches or delivers documents for office staff. 4. (computer tech.) software following a simple protocol for burrowing through a TCP/IP internet."

- From RFC 1436 describing Gopher

Way back in the early 1990's, Gopher was a major part of the internet. Over the years it has waned, but there are still quite a few Gopher servers running.

This is is a modern Gopher browser for iOS. Built from the ground up, it lets you access the wealth of data available via Gopher from your favorite devices. 

What this offers:

- Clean, browser style user interface
- Access to Gopher servers
- Supports text files, images, directories
- Opens WWW links in Safari
- Supports Veronica-2, Contrition, and other search systems for searching the Gopherspace
- Bookmarks
- Adjustable text size & optional "reflow" of text documents for improved readability

Limitations:

- This does not support binary files other than images
- This does not support the non-standard Gopher+ extensions, or CSO selectors

## Key features

- Clean browser interface
- Access Gopher servers
- Supports text files and images
- Opens WWW links in Safari
- Gopherspace search systems
- Bookmarks
- Adjustable text size

## Recent user reviews (10 of 19)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gopher-client/id1235310088/reviews.md

### 5/5 — great free gopherspace app

*2024-07-19*

we are so lucky to have a great free gopher client on iOS. this is fast, puny (less than 2 megabytes), intuitive. thanks to the dev for creating and maintaining this, and making it so easy to dip into gopherspace.

### 5/5 — Fantastica

*2023-10-02*

L’app è sviluppata bene. Peccato che non sia più aggiornata e sia ferma a 5 anni fa.

### 5/5 — Not working as of July 2023

*2023-09-29*

Couldn’t get any pages to load.

Update: working well as of September 2023

### 1/5 — Not working as of July 2023

*2023-07-10*

Couldn’t get any pages to load.

### 3/5 — Out of date

*2023-07-07*

As of July 2023, this app on recent iPhone OS freezes. Will work for awhile but chokes on links and lack of stop feature means it spins in perpetuity trying to do something it cannot get done.

### 5/5 — Yes, it's a gopher client

*2023-06-26*

The internet needs more gopher clients of this quality.  Highly recommended for all mobile users.

### 3/5 — Crashes on iOS 16

*2022-10-10*

Scroll for a while tabs it will crash to Home Screen.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for taking the time to even bother with a Gopher client on iOS 😊.

### 4/5 — 7bit ASCII only

*2022-05-25, version 2018.8*

The original protocol had no international content in mind. An update to support modern UTF-8 encoding is very much appreciated. Some Gopher Server (i.e. Gophernicus) do it already. 
I used Gopher a very long time ago, with Modem and NEC V20 PC. It’s really fun to discover it again.

### 4/5 — Very nice

*2022-04-19*

This Gopher client appears to be one of the few, if not the only available on the App Store.  There isn’t much to compare it to.  It is great to be able to experience Gopherspace, but navigation can be cumbersome.  When loading a text post, going back, loading another text post, then going back again, then once again going back, the first text post then loads a second time.  Each previously-loaded text post will reload when attempting to go back to the parent directory. Otherwise, this app is great!

### 4/5 — Excellent

*2021-09-06*

This is a nice Gopher client that is easy on the eyes and simple to use. I suggest adjusting the text size in settings to match your screen in portrait mode. The ability to display images is terrific, but I can’t seem to download other file types. Add that feature and it will be perfect.

## Frequently asked questions about Gopher Client

### What devices does Gopher Client support?

Gopher Client is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices, offering a way to access Gopherspace across your Apple ecosystem.

### How often is Gopher Client updated?

The latest version of Gopher Client was released on August 22, 2018. While it hasn't seen recent updates, it remains a functional tool for accessing Gopherspace.

### What is the age rating for Gopher Client?

Gopher Client has an age rating of 17+. This is likely due to the nature of internet content that can be accessed through any browser.

### Can I use Gopher Client offline?

Gopher Client requires an internet connection to access Gopher servers. It does not support offline browsing of Gopherspace content.

### What kind of files can I view with Gopher Client?

Gopher Client supports text files and images. It can also navigate directories. However, it does not support binary files other than images or non-standard Gopher+ extensions.

### How does Gopher Client handle external links?

When Gopher Client encounters a WWW link, it will open it in Safari, allowing you to seamlessly transition to the standard web for those resources.

### What search systems are integrated into Gopher Client?

Gopher Client supports Veronica-2, Contrition, and other search systems, enabling you to effectively search the Gopherspace for desired information.

### Is Gopher Client free to use?

Yes, Gopher Client is completely free to download and use. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2018.8 — 2018-08-22

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

This is a small update that improves the display of menus that contain non-standard document types.

### 2018.6 — 2018-06-20

This version fixes a bug causing crashes when loading Gopher indexes with certain invalid line ending. It also corrects some display issues when using certain fonts.

### 2018.2 — 2018-02-23

- fix crashes when searching for non-ASCII characters.
- fix display of directories with servers that do not send the proper line endings
- fix settings display on iPad
- recognizes errors (type 3)

### 2018.1 — 2018-01-01

This release is intended to improve the browsing experience.

- Selectors that do not start with a leading / should work now
- Added a "back" button
- Selectable fonts!
- Ability to view images at actual size or scaled to fit display

### 2017.12.22 — 2017-12-22

One last update before Christmas.

This update fixes an issue that was causing selectors ending with a ? to be sent improperly. It also fixes a bug that was causing some non-traditional port numbers to be parsed incorrectly.

Previously:

- adds a setting to allow toggle of wrapping text in directory view
- further tweaks to line height in directory view
- history is now shown in order from newest to oldest
- history now includes manually entered directories
- visited data files now show in the history as well
- a bug in the text display on the when adjusting font size was resolved
- fixed some issues with line height in the directory view
- info text in directories now wraps instead of cutting off (thanks @apiarian) 
- all standard selectors now recognized (though I don't have viewers for all of them)
- HTML files now convert to text and display w/the text viewer (URL: links w/type h open in Safari as before)
- p for PNG is now recognized (used on Floodgap)
- Telnet links now work if you have a Telnet client installed

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## More apps by Charles Childers

- [Bedside Clock - Digital/Analog](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bedside-clock-digitalanalog/id900749633)
- [Tip Tabulator & Bill Splitter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tip-tabulator-and-bill-splitter/id914270184)
- [Paipera - Bible Reader (KJV)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paipera-bible-reader-kjv/id951477152)
- [RETRO FORTH](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retro-forth/id1170943580)

All apps by Charles Childers: https://appshunter.io/developer/900749636

## Related topics

[gopher](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/gopher) · [gofereats](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/gofereats) · [goffrr](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/goffrr) · [golook](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/golook)

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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 2026-06-01.*