rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH

rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH

VPN over SSH and tssh

30 ratings
11 reviews
Free

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • April 19, 2026
  • July 22, 2026
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About

This app provides a powerful, desktop-class terminal emulator with GPU acceleration and native support for SSH, Mosh, and tssh. It offers features like system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git integration, and AI assistance for hands-free command execution and web searches.

GPU-accelerated terminal
Native SSH and Mosh support
System-wide VPN over SSH
Native Git client
AI voice and text agents
Cloud and Kubernetes integration
Hardware security key support
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What's New in rootshell

1.0.9

July 22, 2026

Screen Sharing - Connect to Your Mac's Screen: rootshell now reaches your Mac's desktop, not just its shell - right from your iPhone or iPad. Nothing to install: turn on Screen Sharing in System Settings and connect. - High Performance Mode: Smooth video up to 4K at 60 FPS, encrypted. Match Client sizing creates a virtual display sized exactly to the device in your hand - no panning or letterboxing - and remote system audio plays on your device. - Standard Mode: Classic VNC for constrained networks and non-Mac machines - drive a headless Mac mini, Raspberry Pi, or Linux box from the app you already SSH with. Tunnels over an SSH or tssh jump host; nearby Macs appear via Bonjour. - Full Input: Tap, drag, pinch-zoom with edge panning, real trackpad and mouse pointers, two-way clipboard, and hardware keyboards that get modifiers and key repeat right. - One-Tap Mac Login: At a Mac login or lock screen, rootshell offers to type your saved password, detected by a vision model running entirely on your device - no frame ever leaves it. - Sessions live in a tab, a split, their own window, or full screen, and save as profiles that sync across devices. Clipboard Manager - Optional device-only encrypted clipboard history (Cmd+Shift+C) with a keyboard-driven HUD and transforms: base64, hex, URL encode, JWT decode, hashes, JSON format, shell escape, and more. Off by default. Display - HDR Brightness Boost: On HDR displays, drive the terminal brighter than usual via a floating HUD (Cmd+Ctrl+B) - now on Screen Sharing panes too. Keyboard Toolbar - Up to five configurable drawer rows: stack or cycle them with the More button, and drag keys between any rows in the editor. tmux Control Mode (tmux -CC) - Choose what closing a tab or Cmd+T does while attached, large pastes arrive atomically, panes recover cleanly after backgrounding or network roaming over tssh, and fixes for blank panes, stuck resyncs, and orphaned window tabs. iOS Local Shell - Major shell overhaul: [[ ]] conditionals with regex, parameter expansion, background jobs (&, jobs, wait), printf, arithmetic, brace expansion, set -e/-u/-o pipefail, clean LF line endings, and a fix for large command-substitution hangs. - croc file transfers can now discover peers on your local network for direct nearby transfers. Connections - Force IPv4 for SSH, a Block HTTP/3 (QUIC) VPN option, NetBird peers connect by stable DNS name, and device details for Tailscale and NetBird peers. AI - Claude Sonnet 5 and the GPT-5.6 model suite are now selectable. Appearance - Jellyfish: a new background effect with bioluminescent drifters; Butterflies and Jellyfish now steer around your terminal text. Performance & Stability - Lower terminal memory use, no more freezes under heavy output (recent zellij), Mosh sessions resume drawing after backgrounding, frozen blank tabs fixed, VPN saved-password sign-in fixed, deleted iCloud passwords stay deleted, plus many crash fixes.

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User reviews

The very best, finally!

Great design. Everything I need

Great App!

I was originally very suspicious of this app due to some detected high background activity. However, after a couple of weeks of careful packet monitoring I see I was mistaken! This is an excellent application with a nice interface and I can confirm it does not phone home.

Response from developer

We are happy to investigate any unexpected battery usage. We have provided this user with detailed instructions on how to share relevant debug logs from the application. We are not aware of other users reporting similar issues. In general, iOS and iPadOS prevent our application from running in the background except in limited system-managed scenarios. No user data is sent to us. rootshell does not collect analytics or credentials from users of this application. rootshell also goes beyond many applications by offering multiple authentication options in which we never see a private key, including support for YubiKey, FIDO2, and opkssh. Any claims suggesting otherwise are inaccurate and unsupported.

Amazing - especially for free

I needed a terminal app for mobile use that would enable easy use of multiple coding agents and easy switch between them. Crucially it needs to survive network drops and screen off. This does it all, looks group, is flexible and lots of customization. Awesome.

Best terminal app for Claude on iPad

Developer is super responsive and goes above and beyond to make this app great. You can to resume sessions with tssh and change lots of configuration settings. Very friendly with tmux and Claude Code terminal.

hands down best terminal for ios

like many others, i’ve tried just about every other paid or free terminal app for ios and all of them left something to be desired in one way or another (or wanted some unacceptable subscription fee to make their app usable as a daily utility). this app is so sick it just fills me with joy. smooth, fast, stable, modern (libghostty 🤘) with more features than i could ask for, and nothing asked in return. god bless these devs!
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FAQ

What is rootshell?

rootshell is a desktop-class terminal emulator built on a GPU-accelerated engine. It offers native SSH, Mosh compatibility, system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git, and AI assistance, all within a single application.

Does rootshell have ads?

No, rootshell is ad-free. The application is available for free and does not contain advertisements, allowing for an uninterrupted user experience.

What protocols does rootshell support for remote connections?

rootshell supports native SSH with various key exchange algorithms including post-quantum options. It also offers Mosh-compatible roaming sessions and tssh integration with QUIC and KCP transport for lower latency.

Can rootshell be used as a VPN?

Yes, rootshell can turn any SSH or tssh session into a system-wide VPN. This allows you to route all your device traffic through your remote server using standard SSH, QUIC, or KCP transport without requiring extra server software.

How does rootshell integrate with tmux?

rootshell provides native tmux integration by allowing you to attach in control mode. This transforms tmux windows into native tabs and panes into real splits, enabling seamless copy, paste, search, and scrolling with native gestures.

What AI features are available in rootshell?

rootshell includes a voice AI agent that can read scrollback, run commands over SSH hands-free, and search the web. There's also optional text AI integration with models like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini for command execution and output analysis.

Is rootshell suitable for managing cloud resources?

Yes, rootshell supports connections to major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and DigitalOcean. You can browse instances, access serial consoles, and generate EKS kubeconfigs, as well as debug Kubernetes nodes.

What is the rating and update frequency of rootshell?

rootshell has a high rating of 4.8 stars from 23 ratings. It was last updated on June 29, 2026, indicating active development and maintenance.