# MuffinTerm — For the classic BBS experience

> Retro BBS terminal emulator with authentic display modes and nostalgic effects. (iPhone/iPad app by Molly Black.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/muffinterm/id1583236494 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Molly Black](https://appshunter.io/developer/1561283027)
- Category: Utilities
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.87/5 from 38 App Store ratings · 30 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.0 · 3 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2022-09-23
- Data updated: 2026-07-06
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/muffinterm/id1583236494/reviews.md

## What is MuffinTerm?

MuffinTerm: A terminal crafted for the classic BBS experience.

Dive back into the glory days of dial-up bulletin board systems… just, without the dialing up. (Though we’ll always miss that modem sound.)

BBSes were once the way that almost anyone “online” got online. The modern Internet might have stolen a bit of the spotlight, but BBSes are still around if you know where to look—and MuffinTerm can take you there.

Connect to telnet-enabled BBSes from around the world, with a terminal that’s designed to bring the classic experience to devices of today. (And no more busy signals!)

Select from among text modes and terminal hardware of the DOS and home computer era, with pixel-accurate CP437, PETSCII, and ATASCII support for the popular systems of the day, reproduced in exacting detail to help you really feel at home. (All rendered with a custom Metal shader—it is the 21st century, after all.)
  • MDA with white (P4), green (P31), or amber (P3) phosphor
  • CGA in 40- or 80-column mode
  • EGA in 25- or 43-line mode
  • VGA in 25- or 50-line mode
  • VIC-II (C64/PETSCII) in NTSC, PAL, or borderless mode
  • ANTIC (ATASCII) in NTSC, PAL, or borderless mode

Fuel your nostalgia further by enabling various aesthetic effects:

  • Simulated modem speed — from the 110cps teletype crawl of the 1970s to the “blazing fast” 56K of the awesome ’90s. Slow down that ANSI animation to look the way it was originally intended, or just relive the feel of watching the bytes roll in. (Fortunately, without the cross-town toll charges this time around.)

  • CRT curvature — Turn your flat-screen device into the spitting image of a classic ’tube.

  • Scan lines — Reject the modernity of your perfect high-DPI display and embrace the scanlines that once reigned supreme.

  • Warm tube tint — Harken back to an era of dubiously calibrated picture tubes and iffy RF adapters.

  • VIC-II luma bars — Relive the experience of poorly isolated clock lines (and the resulting visual artifacting).

  • Overscan borders — View the terminal as it would appear on a typical TV, or flout the factory calibration and show the full borders of the display field.

  • Select a custom app icon from among several inspired by modems of the BBS era (plus a couple of floppy disks).

Some features are functional as well as fun. For example, who hasn’t stuck a sticky note or two to the side of their monitor at some point? Fortunately, the digital era is no bar to this ancient practice. Each BBS in your dialing directory gets its own digital sticky note (pick a color!), plus another that’s shared between them all. Record notes, make reminders, or be naughty and jot down a password or two. (We won’t peek.)

Of course, the basics are still all there. Traditional ANSI, PETSCII, and ATASCII terminal emulation give you the proper BBS experience; teletype (TTY) and “raw mode” provide support for special-use systems. Upload and download files using the standard XMODEM, YMODEM, and ZMODEM protocols. Save transcripts of your calls as text or raw data logs. There’s even a session timer in the status line to show you how long you’ve been connected. (Not responsible for flashbacks to long-distance bills from the 1980s.)

A comprehensive dialing directory helps you to keep track of your favorite systems. You can also import up-to-date BBS lists from popular online BBS directories. Have multiple devices? Automatically sync your dialing directory and call history between them all—whether iOS, iPadOS, and macOS—via iCloud.

And last but not least, it’s free. No ads, no in-app purchases, no weird tracking shenanigans. It’s just you and the soft glow of the pixels calling out to you.

It’s time to get back online with MuffinTerm.

## Key features

- Telnet BBS connection
- Authentic retro display modes (CP437, PETSCII, ATASCII)
- Simulated modem speed
- CRT curvature and scanlines
- File transfer (XMODEM, YMODEM, ZMODEM)
- Digital sticky notes for BBSes

## Recent user reviews (10 of 30)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/muffinterm/id1583236494/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Nice! Vintage style terminal

*2026-01-07, version 1.2.7*

It would be awesome to support USB serial port connection!

### 5/5 — Awesome!!!!

*2025-09-05, version 1.2.7*

Been waiting for an app like this. Calling to C64 BBS’s with PETSCII is beautiful!!! Thank you so much!!!!!

### 5/5 — Visually best Ive found

*2025-08-15, version 1.2.7*

Reminds me of Telix
And it really does look like its 1989 again. Has a few settings like tube curvatures, warm tv and scan lines really brings things back.

### 2/5 — File transfer is not working

*2025-06-10, version 1.2.7*

After attempting to transfer a file using modem the transfer is failing. Modem has been around since 1990 and modem and Modem since 1980.

The issue is not with the bbs but with Muffinterm. I tested it using some of the other telnet clients and it works fine.

### 5/5 — Perfect

*2025-05-03, version 1.2.7*

The perfect terminal emulator for connecting to modern BBSes.

### 5/5 — Amazing!

*2025-04-01, version 1.2.7*

This app is seriously awesome!  Threw me straight back to the early 90s!

### 5/5 — Awesome app. A-Net Online BBS

*2025-01-30, version 1.2.7*

This app works awesome! 
Check out a-net.online and mystic-anet.online
Both BBSes port 23 telnet.

### 3/5 — Fun but Zmodem has issues

*2024-07-15, version 1.2.7*

Works great. Fun for quick BBS sessions. Two things though:

1: would be nice to have X/Ymodem support
2: Zmodem downloads work great but uploads fail.

### 4/5 — Only have one request

*2024-05-06, version 1.2.7*

Please add a feature to save login information and populate it at the login screen. This app is brilliant otherwise.

### 5/5 — Awesome!

*2024-05-04, version 1.2.7*

This is really an amazing app (both the iOS version and Mac). The amount of video modes, supported terminal emulators and other features is astonishing. The fact that this app is free is just insane. Great job to the developer, you seriously rock!

## Frequently asked questions about MuffinTerm

### What is MuffinTerm?

MuffinTerm is a terminal emulator application designed to provide a classic Bulletin Board System (BBS) experience on modern devices. It allows users to connect to telnet-enabled BBSes around the world, replicating the look and feel of vintage computing terminals.

### What are the key features of MuffinTerm?

Key features include authentic retro display modes like CP437, PETSCII, and ATASCII, with pixel-accurate rendering. It also offers nostalgic aesthetic effects such as simulated modem speed, CRT curvature, scanlines, and warm tube tint. Users can upload and download files using XMODEM, YMODEM, and ZMODEM protocols.

### How much does MuffinTerm cost?

Based on the provided information, MuffinTerm is a paid application. It does not appear to have in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a one-time purchase for the full experience.

### What kind of BBSes can I connect to with MuffinTerm?

You can connect to any BBS that is enabled for telnet access. The app is specifically designed to emulate terminals from the DOS and home computer era, supporting popular systems that used text modes and character sets like CP437, PETSCII, and ATASCII.

### Can I transfer files using MuffinTerm?

Yes, MuffinTerm supports file transfers using traditional BBS protocols. You can upload and download files using XMODEM, YMODEM, and ZMODEM, which were common methods for transferring data on BBSes.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.2.7 — 2024-02-08

Fixed an issue that could cause call statistics to be reverted in certain situations when syncing between devices.

### 1.2.6 — 2023-11-12

Fixed a bug that could cause a crash in certain situations on some OS versions.

### 1.2.5 — 2023-08-30

Addressed an issue with certain PETSCII BBS software where the BBS could misinterpret text sent from MuffinTerm in some situations.

### 1.2.4 — 2023-08-20

Updated the keyboard shortcut for the redial command. Added an additional alternative version of the command that reconnects to the last BBS called by a specific console rather than the application-wide history list (if the two differ).

Fixed a visual bug that could cause the terminal to be obscured by the keyboard or be otherwise misaligned under certain circumstances.

### 1.2.3 — 2023-08-12

Added a keyboard shortcut for reconnecting to the most recently called BBS. Added support for VT cursor show/hide terminal codes (DECTCEM).

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## More apps by Molly Black

- [BookFolder](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookfolder/id1561283025)

All apps by Molly Black: https://appshunter.io/developer/1561283027

## Related topics

[muffinterm](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/muffinterm) · [bbs](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bbs) · [gekko c64](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/gekko-c64) · [bmacloud](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bmacloud)

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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 2026-07-06.*