# Helmrig Shell — The terminal that never drops

> The terminal that never drops (iPhone/iPad app by Nikita Kislitsin.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helmrig-shell/id6776371335 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Nikita Kislitsin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1501306595)
- Category: Developer Tools, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 39 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-06-13
- Data updated: 2026-08-30
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helmrig-shell/id6776371335/reviews.md

## What is Helmrig Shell?

The terminal from your desk, now on iPhone and iPad.

Helmrig Shell is a native terminal — btop, tmux, vim, true color, ligatures, full escape-sequence support, rendered natively. Not a web view, not a cut-down mobile shell. A real desktop terminal that feels like the one you already use.

Your sessions run on your own Mac or server. The iPad or iPhone is just the window — so they never drop. Lock the screen, lose signal, switch to another app, come back hours later: every tab, every running process, your full scrollback, exactly where you left it. No reconnect dance, no lost output.
Drop a file onto the terminal and it uploads to your machine, with the full path dropped straight into your command line. Hand a screenshot to a CLI tool, attach a file to a running command — it just works, as if the file were already there.

Built on libghostty for the rendering you'd expect from a desktop terminal. Hardware keyboard shortcuts, split panes, tabs that name themselves after what's running. Designed for iPad first, not ported from somewhere else.
Works anywhere over an end-to-end encrypted connection — at your desk, on the couch, or across the world. Not limited to your local network.

Helmrig Shell requires a subscription to use. A free trial is available, after which continued access requires Helmrig Shell Pro at $8.99/month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings.

WHAT IT IS
A window into your own machine. Your shell, your tools, your environment — running where they always have, now reachable from your iPad.

WHAT IT NEEDS
A Mac or Linux machine you control, running the Helmrig server. Setup takes one command.

PRIVACY

No third-party SDKs. No analytics. No crash reporting. Helmrig Shell servers never see terminal output. Full policy at helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html

CONTACT

hi@helmrig.app

Support Link: https://helmrig.app/support
Privacy Policy: https://helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html
Terms of Use (EULA): https://helmrig.app/shell-terms.html


## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.2 — 2026-07-09

- Now on iPhone — Helmrig Shell runs on your phone too, with a redesigned keyboard
  accessory bar: a scrolling key row with arrows, modifiers, and hold-to-repeat, plus
  a tap-to-switch tabs menu
- Waking the iPad no longer garbles the terminal — the screen repaints cleanly after
  sleep, lock, or Stage Manager, with no manual resize to fix the picture
- Rename any tab with ⌘⇧R — custom names stick around

Also:
- Arrow and navigation keys no longer double-fire when held
- Backspace now repeats properly on the on-screen keyboard
- Reconnecting after a long sleep re-validates and restores the live session

### 1.1 — 2026-06-15

- Terminal sessions are now compressed on the wire — noticeably less data over the connection and a snappier feel on slow or mobile networks
- Reconnecting no longer wipes your terminals — drop Wi-Fi or sleep the iPad and your open tabs come back exactly as you left them, with no flicker
- New Top offset slider in Settings nudges the bar and tabs clear of the notch

Also:
- Full VoiceOver and accessibility pass — sliders, the sidebar, selected rows, and keyboard-shortcut chords are all spoken and labeled now
- Sidebar restyled to match iPadOS Settings: lighter, clearer rows
- Fixed a crash when scanning certain pairing QR codes

### 1.0 — 2026-06-13

No release notes.

## More apps by Nikita Kislitsin

- [Helmrig Agents](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helmrig-agents/id6762804522)

All apps by Nikita Kislitsin: https://appshunter.io/developer/1501306595

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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 2026-08-30.*